Just a Small Experiment - Part Seven
Jonas and Teal’c both stopped by again over the weekend, the Kelownan with a limited amount of information they’d received from the Tok’ra. He told her that more would be coming in a couple of days, but what they had should be a good start. Sam agreed. She spent her free time poring over the information.
The weather had improved over that time, so Sam took Daniel on a nightly walk down the street and around the park. Danny would pause from time to time to watch the other children at play, but showed no inclination toward wanting to join them. Sam noticed that the grip on her leg as they passed by occupied benches hadn’t begun to loosen, but she was confident that it would with some more time.
Based on the good interaction Sam saw between Danny and his various visitors, she decided to take things another step forward. On Wednesday afternoon she organized a small get-together, inviting Teal’c, Jonas, Janet, and Cassie to join her and Danny for a couple of hours before and after supper. Janet came over that morning to help put things together, saying Cassie would be coming over right after school.
“Is it just me, or does Cassie seem excited about spending time with Danny?” Sam asked as she cut up the fruit for a fruit salad. Danny was in the computer room doing lessons from the language software Sam had ordered the week before.
“It’s not just you,” Janet confirmed. She paused for a moment to give one last stir to the chocolate chip cookie dough batter she was preparing. “I haven’t been able to figure it out, but she’s chomping at the bit to take care of him. When I told her about your invitation for this afternoon, she about did a back flip.” The auburn-haired woman chuckled and shook her head. “There are so many things about her I don’t understand.”
“I’m beginning to think that’s just a price of parenthood,” Sam murmured, her glance traveling briefly to the computer room.
Janet gave her friend a gentle smile. “Yeah, it is. I really am glad you’re getting a chance to experience it first hand.”
Sam returned the expression. “Me too,” she said quietly.
They worked in silence for a few minutes. “So how have things gone with Sabrina?” Janet finally asked, spacing out the small balls of dough on a cookie sheet.
“She’s been great,” Sam enthused, pulling out a large plastic bowl for the cubed fruit sitting in piles on the cutting board. “I think Danny’s really starting to trust her, and I can’t say enough about how she’s helped me.” She put the multi-colored cubes into the bowl and stirred them together.
“That’s good to hear. I thought she’d be a good fit for this.” Janet double-checked the oven to make sure it was ready then slipped the full cookie sheet inside and set the timer.
Sam paused as the oven door shut behind her. “Yeah,” she whispered thoughtfully. She considered something for a moment then grabbed the cordless phone from its charger on the island counter. “Sabrina?” she said a few beats after she dialed the right number. “Hi, it’s Sam. No, there’s no emergency. I’ve invited a few of my friends over this afternoon to try and help Danny get accustomed to those kinds of things, and I was wondering if you’d like to join us.” She laughed. “Of course I’m serious. You’ve been more than just a psychologist during this whole thing; you’ve been a friend. And my friends are invited.” She smiled at the other woman’s response. “I’m sure. We’ll see you at four then. Bye.”
Janet’s eyebrows were raised when Sam turned around after replacing the handset. “I guess you have been getting along with Sabrina.”
“I’m just sorry I didn’t think of it earlier.” Sam shrugged.
“What about the colonel?”
“He... declined the invitation,” Sam said softly, her eyes dropping.
The petite doctor reached out to give her friend’s right arm a comforting squeeze. “He’ll come around, Sam. Once he gets his feelings sorted out...”
Sam nodded, her left hand reaching over to cover the other woman’s fingers. “He and Daniel were very close. And I think he feels guilty about how their friendship had been falling apart before... the accident.” She swallowed the usual lump that rose at the thought of her lost friend. “I’m dealing with my own guilt issues on that one. But I know the colonel will come around. He’s trying. And he’s started calling nearly every day to find out how we’re doing, or if I need anything. He’ll make it.”
Janet smiled. “Yes, he will. Jack O’Neill is nothing if not devoted to the people he’s chosen to get close to.”
Sam couldn’t help but give a small grin. “I think most people who’ve messed with us would whole-heartedly agree with that.”
Both women laughed and returned to their food preparation.
* * * * * * * *
Jonas and Teal’c had arrived by the time Cassie was dropped off by a friend of hers at the end of the school day. She threw the door open and cried out, “Hey, everyone! I’m here!” She barely remembered to close the door behind her before dashing further into the house.
“Cassandra Fraiser, would you calm down,” Janet admonished the teenager when she tripped into the living room where everyone had gathered.
“Sorry, Mom,” Cassie replied, her smile still bright. It widened when she saw Danny sitting in the middle of the floor between the coffee table and the fireplace across from it. She set her backpack down beside the sofa and sat cross-legged in front of the boy. “How are you doing, Daniel?” she asked gently. Danny looked up from the blocks he’d been playing with and glanced at Sam before giving the girl a shy smile. Cassie looked thrilled as the boy returned to his project.
“Are we expecting anyone else?” Jonas asked, looking over at the dining room table and noticing an extra setting beyond the normal six that he’d been expecting.
Sam nodded. “I invited Sabrina Marconi to join us, actually. She should be here any time now.”
Cassie looked over, surprised. “You invited Danny’s psychologist? Isn’t that a bit on the weird side?”
“Cassie,” Janet hissed, watching Danny for his response.
Sam smiled. “A bit. But she’s been a good friend to both of us, and I thought it would be nice to just spend some social time with her instead of everything having to be so... clinical all the time. She’s a great lady.”
Janet gave her adopted daughter one last glare and turned a smile to her friend. “I noticed that the two or three times I’ve worked with her at the Academy hospital. That’s one of the reasons I picked her to call in.”
The doorbell rang at that point, and a few moments later Sam was escorting Sabrina Marconi into the living room to join the others. “I think the only person here you haven’t met is Cassandra Fraiser, Janet’s daughter,” Sam said, gesturing to the teenager who sat watching Danny continue to build a pyramid with the wooden blocks.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cassandra,” Sabrina said with a smile, amused by the display.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Cassie returned, giving the psychologist a glance over her shoulder.
“Cassie, where are your manners?” Janet said with a sigh.
Sabrina dismissed the auburn-haired woman’s concern with a grin and a wave. “She replied to my greeting; don’t worry about it. What have I missed?”
The adults continued their casual conversation, with Cassie chiming in every now and again, for the next two hours. Danny built a number of structures with his blocks, politely waiting to be noticed when each was finished; Cassie cut down those waits by announcing the end of the projects. No one noticed the shock on Danny’s face when she’d interrupt whoever was speaking.
Dinner went smoothly, then Danny helped Sam take everything into the kitchen and load the dishwasher. The living room discussion resumed for about another hour and a half when they were done, this time with Danny drawing in his pad of paper on the coffee table. Janet dragged Cassie off when she finally got her daughter to admit she had homework, and Sabrina soon followed, profusely thanking Sam for the invitation.
Sam moved Danny to the kitchen table once it was only them and her teammates left, rejoining them once the boy was settled. “I take it there’s a reason you guys stayed,” she commented as she sat down on the couch next to Jonas.
“I wanted to see if you’d come up with anything on the information the Tok’ra sent along, and Teal’c has a message from the rebel Jaffa,” Jonas said.
“A message?” Sam asked the Jaffa sitting in the chair to the left of the couch.
“Indeed,” Teal’c replied with a nod of his head. “Rak’nor contacted me earlier today with information gathered from the Jaffa located at the Alpha Site.” He handed her a manila folder. “I recorded it for ease of use when I am not here to assist you.”
Sam opened the folder and paged through its contents. “That’s great, Teal’c. Thanks.”
Jonas looked around the room. “So where’s the folder I gave you before? Have you come up with anything?”
“I think I’m starting to get a handle on how the Eyes work, at least theoretically,” Sam said, laying Teal’c’s folder down and rising to her feet. “Let me get my notes from the computer room and we can go over them. Maybe you guys will see something I’ve missed.”
“What have you discovered?” Teal’c asked once Sam had returned.
Jonas angled his body so he was more or less facing her when she sat down. “Will it help stop Anubis’ super weapon?”
Sam took a deep breath and consulted her notes. She gave them an overview of her theory on how the Eyes of Power functioned, then picked up Teal’c’s folder and skimmed over what was there. “The recollections of the Jaffa seem to support the theory,” she said finally, looking up at her teammates. “They need to be part of a circuit, and when placed in series the power produced is increased exponentially.”
Jonas frowned at her. “That sounds like a battery.”
“Along the lines of a solar cell considering the crystalline structure, but there are some major differences that I can’t be sure of until I’m able to examine an Eye directly. I’m guessing naquadah is involved somehow, but it’s only a guess.” Sam sighed and let her eyes drop back to the papers she held.
“How will this assist us in eliminating the threat of Anubis’ weapon?” Teal’c asked.
“I...I’m not really sure,” Sam admitted.
There was a long pause as each member of SG-1 considered the situation. Sam was so caught up in her thoughts that she jumped when a small hand touched her knee. She looked away from Teal’c’s notes to meet Danny’s bright blue gaze. “They’re like batteries?” the boy asked in a nervous whisper.
Sam blinked, sparing a quick glance for her shocked teammates. “Um, yes actually. At least sort of.” She bit her lower lip as she tried to think of a way to describe the differences to a three year old.
Danny licked his lips. “Then why don’t you take one out of the weapon? Then it won’t work, just like your cell phone.”
“Your cell phone?” Jonas parroted. Beyond him, Teal’c had raised an eyebrow in question.
“Earlier this week I found out I needed to change the battery on my cell phone, so I tried to explain what was wrong to Danny,” Sam explained. She turned her attention back to the child. “Now Danny...” she began before trailing off, her gaze becoming suddenly distant.
Jonas leaned forward. “Sam? What is it? Are you okay?”
Danny squeezed her knee in response to the worry he heard in the Kelownan’s voice. “Sam?” he breathed, thoroughly frightened.
Sam shook her head and came back to the present, a smile beginning to blossom across her features. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she reassured the others as she ran a gentle hand over Danny’s soft blond locks. “I was just thinking. And I think you just gave me an idea, Danny. Are you finished with your drawing?”
He shook his head, his shoulders relaxing somewhat. “No, but there’s not much left.”
“Then why don’t you go ahead and finish it, and then we’ll get you ready for bed.” Sam turned her head to look at the two aliens. “Can you guys stay a while longer? I’d like to bounce some ideas off you and maybe get the beginnings of a plan going.”
Both of them agreed to stay. Sam and Danny went through their usual bedtime routine, and the woman emerged from the boy’s bedroom when he had fallen asleep. Then the three teammates talked until after midnight, each of them leaving the discussion with a sense of hope they hadn’t had for a long time.
* * * * * * * *
Two days later, as Danny napped, Sam and Sabrina had their weekly talk. As it reached its conclusion and things had turned toward a more casual tone, the doorbell rang, startling both women. “Who in the world is that?” Sam asked, rising to her feet and starting for the door.
Sabrina followed. “I was just going to ask you the exact same thing,” the psychologist murmured.
A total surprise waited for Sam behind the front door. “Hey there, Sam,” Jacob Carter said with a large smile.
“Dad!” the blonde woman exclaimed, a grin breaking out across her face as he pulled her into a tight embrace. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve got that information you were asking about,” Jacob replied once they’d pulled back to arm’s length.
“That’s great,” Sam replied as she ushered him inside and closed the door behind him. She noticed the deliberate look he gave Sabrina who waited just beyond the front hall. “Dad, this is Doctor Sabrina Marconi. Sabrina, this is my father, Jacob Carter. She has clearance, Dad.”
Jacob relaxed, offering the woman his hand. “So are you the latest addition to Sam’s department?”
“No, not really,” Sabrina said in return as she accepted the handshake. “I’m a psychologist. I was brought in for a special assignment.”
Jacob’s brows furrowed. “Special assignment?” He looked at his daughter.
Sam nodded. “We’ve had an interesting few weeks,” she said wryly.
“And I will say my goodbyes before you start the explanation,” Sabrina said with a smile. “I’ll be by again next week, of course, and there’s always my standing offer if you need me before that.”
“I know. Thanks, Sabrina.” Sam smiled. “I’ll see you then.”
“It was nice to meet you, sir,” the black-haired woman said to Jacob once she’d reached the door. Her eyes twinkled merrily. “Both of you.” With a wave, she was gone.
Jacob looked at Sam with a raised eyebrow once they were alone and headed for the living room. “I guess she does have clearance,” he commented.
Sam shrugged. “She needed it.”
“Would this special assignment Doctor Marconi mentioned have anything to do with the fact that George told me you were on leave for another three weeks? Are you recovering from an injury nobody told me about?”
“No, of course not!” Sam said hurriedly in reaction to the worried look Jacob gave her. “I promise there’s nothing wrong with me.”
“But you have a psychologist visiting you at home,” the elder Carter pointed out.
Sam sighed. “She’s not really here for me, not exactly anyway.”
Both of Jacob’s eyebrows shot up. “So what’s going on, Sam? George told me it was something you needed to tell me yourself, and Jack had the rest of SG-1 avoid me like the plague while I was at the base.” He frowned. “I could have sworn I saw him smirking the couple of times I caught sight of him in the halls.”
“Well... Dad...” The blonde woman took a deep breath and released it, hoping it would relax her at least somewhat. It didn’t work. “I’ve told you about all the problems the NID have caused us over the years, right?” she began.
“Yeah,” her father said slowly, his eyes narrowing. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“You’ll see. Anyway, a little less than two months ago, after...” Sam’s breath caught as she remembered what had happened the day before her latest NID adventure. Oh, Daniel... “Um, did General Hammond tell you about what happened on Abydos with Anubis?”
Jacob nodded. “He sent word to the Tok’ra a couple hours after you got back. I’m so sorry, Sam.”
The physicist bowed her head and swallowed hard. “I know, Dad. I just wish I knew...” She took another deep breath and returned to her explanation. “Anyway, the day after, Colonel O’Neill got a call from a scientist that was working for the NID on a secret project in the mountains of northern Colorado. We went up there to clean it up. There was only one survivor.”
The man blinked. “What does that...”
The question trailed off as a small figure entered the room blinking and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. Danny swallowed and froze when he caught sight of Sam’s visitor. “You’re awake!” Sam exclaimed when she saw him standing in the archway between the dining and living rooms. “Is everything okay?” He nodded as she hurried over and knelt down in front of him.
“Uh, Sam,” Jacob began, his eyes widening dramatically, “is there something you wanted to tell me? Because I could have sworn there weren’t any children living here the last time I was here.” He suddenly sat up straight. “What’s the man’s name and where can I find him? You’re getting support, I hope.”
“Dad, no! It’s not like that!” Sam cried, surprised by the angry tone. “This is the survivor I just mentioned. He’s my ward.”
Jacob shook his head slightly. “Your ward? Why do I get the feeling this story is a lot more involved and complicated than I thought?”
Sam shrugged. “Because it usually is.”
Jacob sighed. “That’s the truth.” He looked more closely at the boy shyly half-hiding behind his daughter. “There’s something familiar about him,” he murmured thoughtfully.
“There’s a reason I’ll explain later. For now, I’d like to introduce my ward, Daniel MacDonald. Danny, this is my father, Jacob Carter.” She gave the child a warm, comforting smile that seemed to take the edge off his nervousness.
“Is Selmak there with him?” Danny whispered into Sam’s ear, his eyes never leaving the former Air Force general.
“Yes, but he doesn’t normally talk when they’re outside the mountain,” Sam answered gently.
Jacob gestured to get her attention. “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. Danny knows about Selmak?”
Sam looked him in the eye. “The NID had some very specific goals. Danny and the other children were told everything about the program.”
Jacob shook his head. “A lot more complicated.” He stood and moved over to Sam and Danny, going down on one knee to look the boy in the eye. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Daniel. It’s good to know someone’s going to be around to keep my daughter in line when I can’t be here to do it myself.” He smiled.
Danny swallowed hard and shot a nervous look at Sam. He hesitated for a long moment then brought his head out completely from behind Sam’s arm. He returned the smile with a tiny, shy one of his own.
“He doesn’t really talk much,” Sam explained. “Only to people he’s comfortable and feels safe with.”
“That’s not a bad rule, Daniel,” Jacob replied with a nod. He watched with interest as the boy’s brows furrowed slightly and his head stuck out a little further, his eyes darting all over his face and upper body. “What’s up, kiddo?” he finally asked.
Sam had also watched her ward’s behavior. “I think he’s trying to look for proof that Selmak’s there, too,” she guessed.
Jacob’s head bowed briefly. “It is a pleasure for me to meet you as well, Daniel.” The echoing timber signified it was Selmak speaking. “Unfortunately you will not find any physical evidence of my presence.”
Danny straightened to his full height out of shock and stared at the blended Tau’ri with wide blue eyes. “There really are two of you here,” the boy whispered, his words barely audible.
“That is correct,” Selmak agreed, smiling softly.
“Are you okay?” Sam asked Danny, a little worried at the shallow breaths he was taking as he stared at her father. His only response was to grip the sleeve of her sweater with his left hand, out of sight of their visitor.
The older of the two adults stood, his expression faltering. “We can come back later,” Jacob’s clear voice said softly, his brown eyes reflecting the concern he and his symbiote were feeling over possibly scaring Danny.
Sam looked at him and shook her head. “No, that’s okay. We really should talk about the information you brought me.” She turned her attention back to Danny. “How about you work on your language lessons while I talk to my dad? Will that be all right?” Sam asked gently, rubbing his arm softly. Danny took a deep breath, and with one last look at Jacob, nodded. “I’ll be right back,” Sam said to her father before leading her ward into the computer room.
When she returned she joined Jacob on the couch. “Where was I in that explanation?” she asked.
“Why don’t we start with the reason that boy looks so familiar?” Jacob suggested.
“It has to do with the experiment the NID was running.” Sam looked around to make sure Danny was still in the computer room. “They’d collected a number of genetic samples from key SGC personnel, mostly SG team members. They cloned them, Dad. There had been twenty clones at the laboratory. When we got there only Danny was left.”
Jacob blinked. “Clones? The NID was cloning SGC personnel? What for?”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “Why do you think?”
“I can think a few reasons, and none of them good.” The Tok’ra considered it for a moment. “Danny’s a clone of Daniel Jackson, isn’t he? That’s why he looks so familiar.”
“Yes, he is,” Sam whispered.
Jacob shook his head, his expression confused. “Why are you taking care of him? Wasn’t there another family with proper clearance that could have taken him in?”
Sam bit her lower lip. “We found out that Danny would only trust the members of SG-1 because of the traumatic things that happened there. Sabrina was brought in to figure out what would be best for him, and she decided that one of us had to take him in for him to have any chance at a normal life. I agreed to become his guardian.” She stared at her father, waiting to see his reaction to her declaration.
He considered it for a long, silent moment. “I take it he’s been here for a while already.” He waited for Sam’s nod of confirmation before continuing. “He obviously trusts you, and if things were as bad for him as you say, that means a lot.” He looked her straight in the eyes. “I’ve always thought you’d make a wonderful mother, Sam, and I’m glad you’re getting the opportunity. Will you still be a member of SG-1?”
“Yes,” Sam answered, smiling in relief. “Sabrina says it would be traumatic for Danny if I left the team, since he was raised hearing our mission reports like other kids are told fairy tales. The Stargate Program was the kids’ whole world; changing the status quo would be bad for his sense of security.”
“I can see that,” Jacob conceded. “And you’re okay with all of this?”
Sam nodded. “It’s a challenge, that’s for sure. But when I see him smile...” She gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “It makes it all worthwhile to know I’m giving him his chance at a normal childhood, or as normal a childhood as possible considering his background.”
Jacob smiled softly. “You love him already, don’t you?”
The woman swallowed down a sudden surge of emotions. “With all my heart,” she admitted in a choked voice.
Her father pulled her into a tight embrace. “Then everything’s going to be just fine,” he murmured into her hair.
“Um, you said you had some information for me that I asked for,” Sam said once she’d recovered her composure and straightened in her seat.
“That’s right. George asked for me to bring it since I’d be able to leave the base.” He pulled a folder out of the bag he brought with him and set next to the couch when he sat down. “I made a hard copy for you to use while you’re at home. The original data disk is still at the mountain, waiting for you in your lab.” He handed it over.
Sam opened the folder and glanced over the contents. “Have your operatives in Anubis’ ranks been able to get in any further?” she asked as she read.
Jacob sighed. “Not yet. One of them thinks she might have a solution to that after hearing about your request for information about the Eyes of Power, but we haven’t gotten word about her success or failure.”
Sam gave a slow nod of the head as she carefully looked over a diagram. “If this means what I think it means, I just might have an idea to shut down Anubis’ super weapon.” She looked up from the paper and grinned. “Wanna help me hammer it out?”
Jacob returned the expression. “What are fathers for?” he quipped.
* * * * * * * *
Sam and Jacob took a break a couple of hours later to call out for pizza, and Sam took advantage of it to talk to Danny in the computer room. The boy hadn’t come out at all during the time she and her father had been fleshing out the idea she’d had regarding the Eyes of Power. “Danny?” she said gently from the computer room doorway.
Danny looked over from the monitor and smiled. “Is it time for dinner?” he asked quietly.
“Not quite yet. I just ordered pizza for the three of us.” Sam watched her ward’s reaction carefully.
“Oh.” Danny’s shoulders slumped. “Are Jacob and Selmak still here?”
“Yes. We’re not finished with our talk yet.” Sam stepped fully into the room and knelt down next to the child’s desk chair. “Why does that bother you?”
Danny shook his head. “It doesn’t bother me,” he said quickly.
Sam smiled. “Maybe not, but you were pretty scared earlier. Why?”
Danny took a deep breath and released it, his head dropping and turning back toward the monitor. “Selmak is inside Jacob. He takes over.”
“When they both agree he should, yes,” Sam replied, frowning.
“They agree?” Danny asked, confused, as he snapped his head back toward Sam.
She nodded. “Yes, they do. Selmak is one of the Tok’ra. He and my dad share his body. They don’t make each other do things they don’t want to do.” Her smile returned. “They’re a team.”
Danny chewed on his lower lip. “But what about the Goa’uld?”
Sam blinked. “What were you told about the Goa’uld and the Tok’ra?”
“They’re both parasites that go inside humans and take them over. The Tok’ra sometimes work with us, and the Goa’uld want to kill us.” Danny swallowed and looked Sam in the eye. “They told us not to trust any of them.”
“Oh, Danny,” Sam said with a sigh. “The Tok’ra fight against the Goa’uld just like we do. That’s why we’ve agreed to try to work together with them. And they don’t take over their hosts, not usually. They blend with their hosts and share everything with them. Sometimes the host will talk, and sometimes the symbiote will. It all depends on what they both agree to do.”
“So we can trust them?”
Sam looked into the bright blue gaze and saw that not all of its innocence had been destroyed by the NID. It made the truth that much harder to admit to. “We’d like to, but we can’t always. My dad and Selmak have been pretty honest with us so we trust them, but there have been others that haven’t told us the whole truth about what they really want when they ask for our help. We’re careful with them, but they’re still our allies.”
Danny gazed at Sam for a long time, silently considering what he’d been told. Finally he nodded. “Okay,” he said quietly.
“Sam,” Jacob called from the dining room, “the pizza’s here. Do you want me to take care of it?”
“No, I’ve got it,” she called back over her shoulder. “Will you come join us?” she asked Danny as she stood.
The boy swallowed and nodded again. “I’ll come,” he whispered.
Sam smiled. “You’ll like my dad, you really will. And I’ll be beside you the whole time. Now come help me carry in our supper.”
Danny hopped off the desk chair and followed his guardian. Supper went smoothly after that, the boy relaxing as he heard the two adults continue to bounce ideas back and forth on how to stop Anubis and his super weapon. If Jacob and Selmak were going to help with that, they must be all right. He smiled down at his plate.
When the meal was finished, Sam quickly took care of the remains before she and her father returned to the living room couch to where they’d left their notes. Danny was set up with his drawing materials at the kitchen table. He began a new sketch while the Eyes of Power discussion began anew.
Three and a half hours later - interrupted only by a half-hour break for Sam to put Danny to bed - the two Carters leaned back in their seats. They had something, something big, something that had a pretty good chance at success. Jacob looked at his daughter. “You realize that there are some big ‘ifs’ here,” he cautioned her.
“Of course. But if those ‘ifs’ fall into place, we should be able to take out that weapon without any real danger to anyone.” Sam couldn’t help but smile at that statement.
“That’s the best part of this plan,” Jacob said, returning the expression. “So when do you want to start on the new crystal?”
Sam gazed off toward the bedroom where the child in her care lay sleeping. “As soon as possible.” She sighed and looked back toward her father. “I guess my leave is going to have to be cut short. Anubis just won’t wait.”
Jacob’s shoulders fell slightly, feeling a deep sympathy for his little girl. “No, he won’t.”
They both sighed. Jacob wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulders, pulling her in close. In return, Sam rested her head on the man’s shoulder, accepting the comfort. Both of them couldn’t help but think of the sacrifices that had to be made to protect the galaxy from the threats it faced.
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