Daniel Jackson shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his mind and body restless, his thoughts moving thousands of miles faster than the plane that was carrying him eastward. Sam was slouched in the seat beside him, sound asleep, while Teal’c had taken the opportunity to kel’no’reem for a little while.

General Hammond had pulled some strings and had gotten them on a military transport to Washington DC. They’d be arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in the morning, a few hours from now.

Intellectually, Daniel knew that he should be sleeping, but he couldn’t. He had too much on his mind.

He kept going back to Friday night, the night when everything had gone wrong. He couldn’t help but blame himself. It was clearly evident now that Jack had been looking for a friend, for some comfort, and had been reaching out to him in an effort to help relieve some of Daniel’s pain and grief in the process.

And Daniel had shoved it back in his face.

Thanks, but no thanks, he’d said. I don’t need you, Jack.

But Jack’s words kept coming back to haunt him. They echoed in his head. "I know how you feel. I know you feel alone. You feel helpless. There’s too much to think about and yet you keep turning the same thoughts over and over in your mind wondering what you could have done differently. Do you think bad things only happen to you? Why don’t you try my life for once?"

Right now, Daniel wished that he could go back and start again. He’d do things differently this time. He’d make sure he did.

He sighed deeply to himself, lost in his thoughts. He jumped when he heard Teal’c’s quiet voice from across the body of the aircraft. "Blaming yourself will not bring him back, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel turned, looking across the aisle to his friend, the dim light glinting off of Teal’c’s dark eyes. "I know," Daniel said, his tone somber and resigned.

"We are doing everything in our power to find O’Neill."

"I know." Even in the dimness, Daniel could tell that Teal’c’s eyebrow had started to climb his forehead. The puzzlement was especially evident in Teal’c’s tone of voice.

"Then why do you not sleep?"

"I can’t, Teal’c. I wish I could," Daniel said, realizing for the first time how true those words were. Right now he’d give anything for a few good hours of sleep to help wash away the exhaustion and the frustration. He wanted to be able to forget for a few hours—to push away the pain of loss.

Daniel glanced at Sam sleeping beside him, her face relaxed in slumber. That was another thing that he was envious of—Sam’s ability to sleep anywhere and at anytime. She could work for days on end when in the middle of a project with little, if any, need for sleep. Daniel could never do that. There were times on missions where he lay awake at night for hours staring at the stars or the tent fabric above his head listening to the sounds of his slumbering teammates.

Just like tonight.

"Teal’c," Daniel said after a few minutes of silence, "what do you think happened to Jack? Do you think that he’s okay?"

Teal’c was silent for a moment, but when he did reply, his voice, while quiet, was confident. "Daniel Jackson, O’Neill is one of the strongest warriors I have had the privilege to encounter in all the years of my life. I am sure that he will have certain success over the forces with which he has encountered."

Behind Teal’c’s outward mildness and gentleness, there was a core of strength and steel. Daniel had seen that strength exercised on a number of occasions, but when it came to his friends—especially Jack—Teal’c’s bonds of loyalty and strength were unbreakable.

Daniel couldn’t help but offer Teal’c a weak smile. "Thanks, Teal’c."

"For what, Daniel Jackson? I am merely speaking the truth."

"Then that’s exactly what I needed to hear," Daniel said, settling down once again, leaning his head back against the chair, his eyelids heavy.

"Very well, Daniel Jackson. May you find rest in your slumber."

Teal’c words were the last thing he heard before he drifted off to sleep.

Stephan Selig was not an easy man to speak to.

Even though Sam had tracked down his home address and had gotten all the details on the location of his office at the Pentagon, it was still difficult.

Brushing an imaginary piece of lint off of her sleeve, Sam Carter tried not to sigh as she shifted in the uncomfortable plastic waiting room chair outside Selig’s office. She’d been here for close to four hours now, with Daniel and Teal’c waiting—not so patiently—in the car in the visitor’s parking lot.

With the high security in this section of the building, it was next to near impossible to get either of the civilians in, which only left one person—Sam—to speak to Selig face to face. The fact that she’d worked at the Pentagon years ago had made her visit and entrance smoother than even she expected. Being involved with the SGC gave her high-level security clearances, opening doors that might have ordinarily been closed.

Without an appointment, Selig’s secretary was apologetic but unmovable. The only way Sam was going to speak with him was if one of his meetings ran short.

So far that hadn’t happened.

"Major Carter?" Selig’s secretary asked, her voice perfectly poised and pleasant.

"Yes?" Sam said, glancing up and rising to her feet, watching as the secretary lightly touched her earpiece and nodded to herself.

"I’m sorry, Major, but it seems that Mr. Selig had another appointment off premises. He will not be returning to the office today."

"What?" Sam exclaimed sharply before she took a breath to regulate her quickly rising temper. "I’ve sat here for the majority of the morning. Why didn’t he have the courtesy to speak to me for five minutes?"

"I’m sorry, ma’am," she said looking unapologetic. "I did say that I could not guarantee that he would have time to see you today. If you’d like, I can try to schedule an appointment for you." She helpfully flipped open an appointment calendar, turning the pages too quickly for Sam to read the fine flowing handwriting covering each of them.

"Sure."

"Well…" she said, scanning the pages, flipping a few back and forth. "I can schedule a fifteen minute appointment on the 1st or a half-hour appointment on the 10th. Which would you prefer?" The glanced up, her pen hovering over the book.

"The 1st or the 10th? Well, I can probably stay another day. Let’s make it the 1st," Sam said, grimacing a little.

"Oh, I’m sorry, you misunderstood," the secretary said, an insincere smile on her face. "I did not mean this coming month. Dearest me, Mr. Selig is much too busy for such a last minute appointment. I can schedule it for two months from now on the 1st or 10th. Didn’t I say that?"

Sam closed her eyes slightly and counted to ten, trying to calm herself down. Now she remembered why she hated working in Washington so much. When she finally replied, her words were dripping with sarcasm. "Thank you for your help, but I’ll attempt to find Mr. Selig at another time."

Striding from the office, Sam barely resisted the urge to slam the door closed behind her, instead, pulling it gently, the latch barely making a sound as it caught the door frame.

When she finally made her way to the car, she was fuming. Slamming the car door after she climbed into the sedan, she let out a string of curses that would have even turned O’Neill’s head.

"I take it he wasn’t in," Daniel said calmly from the driver’s seat, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror.

"No, he wasn’t," Sam said tightly. "Can we just get out of here for now? I need some room to think."

"Sure, Sam," Daniel said, starting the car and pulling out of the lot.

"How can you be so calm?" Sam asked, amazed that the two men were taking things so well.

"Sam, we knew this would be a long shot when we decided to come here," Daniel said patiently, his eyes fixed firmly on the road and the cars around him. "It’s not like we can’t find him. We have his home address."

Sam expelled the breath she was holding long and hard. "I know, Daniel," Sam said, running a hand through her short blonde hair. "It’s just that some of the people in Washington can be so frustrating to deal with. No wonder why the Colonel never trusts anyone here."

"Perhaps a meal would help us to formulate a new plan of attack," Teal’c suggested from his place in the front passenger seat.

"That’s a good idea, Teal’c," Daniel said immediately.

Sam looked back and forth between the men seated before her before she realized the reason behind Teal’c’s statement. "I’m sorry, guys," Sam said, leaning forward between the two front seats. "It never occurred to me that I’d be so long. Why don’t we stop and get lunch. I know a great place we can go to."

"Sounds good, Sam," Daniel said, throwing her a grateful smile.

Sam directed Daniel to the small bistro not far from the Pentagon. It had been a usual lunch spot for her when she used to work in Washington and she was pleasantly surprised to find it still in business. Daniel pulled into the smallish lot, having to wait several minutes until a parking spot opened up. Sam had jumped out immediately, offering to get a table for the group.

A few minutes after Sam was shown to a table in the back of the restaurant, Daniel and Teal’c appeared, their eyes roaming through the throng of people, looking for a familiar face. Sam stood and waved them over, seating herself once again as they made their way carefully through the closely packed tables.

Daniel’s face showed his surprise when he sat down next to her. The table they had was deep in the rear of the restaurant and relatively far from the adjoining tables—compatibly speaking. They’d be able to talk amongst themselves without fear of being overheard.

"Sam," Daniel asked, glancing back at the long line of people still waiting to be seated—and throwing various annoyed looks in their general direction. "How did you manage to get a table so quickly? They look like they’re about ready to kill us."

Sam flashed Daniel a smile before answering. "I used to come here all the time and I got to know the owner very well. He told me that I’d always have a table. Actually," Sam said, leaning forward and lowering her voice, "this table was supposed to be occupied by someone else, but they’re late so Harry decided to give it to me."

"I like your friends, Sam," Daniel said, sharing her smile before turning to the menu.

Lunch went quickly and they were able to come up with another plan of attack so to speak. Stephan Selig’s house was in Virginia, a short distance from where they were now. They were going to drive out and try to catch him at home. Sam knew that they had some time to spare, so they decided to find a hotel in the area and wait until dinner—that way they were sure to catch him at home. Staying over wouldn’t be a problem because they’ d each brought an overnight bag just in case.

The extra time would also give them the chance to speak with General Hammond once again to see if the team working on the investigation at the Mountain had found anything else that might lead them to Colonel O’Neill.

She just hoped they weren’t too late.

Daniel stood outside Sam’s room for a moment before knocking lightly on the door. Unfortunately, they had been unable to get adjoining rooms at the hotel—some kind of conference was in session—and they were lucky to get the two rooms they had, even though they were on two different floors.

It was fine, it just made things awkward when they needed to speak in person.

Rapping lightly on the door, Daniel heard Sam’s voice float to him, "Just a minute."

"It’s me Sam," Daniel said, leaning forward, trying to project his voice into the room and past the door.

A few seconds passed before he heard the chain slide and the door opened to reveal a fresh-faced Sam Carter.

"Hey," Daniel smiled, stepping into the room at her gesture. "You about ready?"

"I will be in a minute, Daniel," Sam said stepping back into the bathroom.

"Sure thing," Daniel said, settling himself in the desk chair. "Did you get the chance to talk to General Hammond?"

Her voice was a little muffled. Knowing Sam, she was probably trying to see herself in the steamy bathroom mirror. "Yes. He said that they weren’t able to come up with anything. The evidence that they found at the Colonel’s house didn’t give them much to go on. In General Hammond’s opinion, whoever we’re looking for is a professional, that’s for sure," Sam said, stepping back into the room. Her hair was still a little damp, but her makeup was in place.

It wasn’t every day that they got to dress like normal people, Daniel thought, as Sam pulled on a pair of black shoes. They were all dressed for comfort tonight—slacks and shirts all around—although Daniel was almost certain that Sam was also fully armed.

Sam flashed Daniel a bright smile as she stood, grabbing her leather jacket from where she’d thrown it earlier on the bed. "Ready?"

"Sure am," Daniel said, rising to his feet and following Sam out of the hotel room. "Teal’c’s gone to get the car from the Valet. Did you get directions?"

"Right here," she said, holding up a folded piece of paper. "It shouldn’t be too hard to find. We just have to pray that he’s home."

"Sam," Daniel said after a few moments of silence as they stood at the elevator doors waiting for the car to arrive. "What are we going to say to him once we get there? I mean…" Daniel said, searching for the words, "we can’t exactly accuse him of doing something…we’re not even sure if he’s the one who staged this whole thing…I mean…"

"I know, Daniel," Sam said, putting her hand lightly on his arm. "We can talk to him. We can tell him the truth, that we’re working on a missing person’s case and that we were hoping he’d be able to shed some light on the matter."

"As if he’d just tell us that he did it," Daniel said sarcastically. The doors slid open before him and they stepped inside. Sam touched the button for the lobby and leaned back, holding onto the handrail, her face thoughtful.

"Do you really think he has something to do with this?"

"I do," Daniel said, his voice certain.

"Then, we’re going to have to get him to admit something to us," Sam said, meeting Daniel’s gaze, her blue eyes determined. "We’ll just have to find a way."