Mal slapped the button to close the garage door and stepped out of the car. "All right, let's settle in and I'll give the General a call."

"I'll start on the tacos!" Lee told him as she grabbed the grocery bags out of the back of the car.

"John, we're going to figure this out, I promise," Mal told him.

"I know you're doing your best, Colonel, but I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet. As you pointed out these guys have money and with money comes a reach we can't begin to match." John moved past him and followed Lee into the house.

"You two try to keep a lookout. If these creeps are as good as they appear there's a good chance they'll find us here," he told Van and Oliver.

"We're on it, Mal, don't worry," Van told him before he turned to Oliver. "I'll take the back?"

"Go for it," Oliver replied.

Mal watched as they entered the house and split off to take up posts to watch for any sign of John's stalkers. He pulled his phone out and dialed General Carter's number. "General?"

"Fill me in, Colonel."

"We have John O'Neill but we were forced to flee Denver. He's being followed by some high-end shady-looking guys. We lost them but I can't say how long that will last."

"And you want permission to bring him here?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Let me make some calls and I'll give you a callback," Sam told him.

"Thank you, General." He disconnected, shoved his phone back into his pocket and went inside. "General Carter is going to make some calls and attempt to secure permission for us to bring John back to the base."

"That's good. In the meantime, have a drink, sir." Lee held out a glass to him.

"We're on the job, Captain, we shouldn't be drinking."

"Relax, sir, it's virgin. No alcohol I promise. Tacos are almost done."

"Great, good. Let's hope something can go right from here on out." The doorbell rang.

"Colonel, there's a woman at the door!" Oliver shouted from the living room.

"Great, thanks, Oliver!" he shouted back. "Would have been nice to know she was here before she rang the bell," he muttered as he went to answer the door. He peered through the peephole and promptly cursed. After a deep breath, he pulled the door open. "Mom, why are you here?"

She swatted at him. "It's nice to see you too, Mallie." She shoved a small potted plant at him. "Here you go, a little housewarming gift."

"Mom, I'm busy. You should have told me you were coming. Some advanced warning would have been nice."

"Since when does a mother have to call before visiting her child?" She pushed past him. "This house is simply adorable. I'm so happy for you! It's nice to see you settling down!"

"Hey, Colonel, the tacos are ready," Lee called as she came out of the kitchen. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know we had company. Hi, I'm Captain Leonore Kain." She thrust out her hand.

"Hello, dear, I'm Kassidy Albrecht, Malachy's mother." She shook Lee's hand.

"Mom, we're in the middle of something here, I don't have time for this now."

"Oh hush, Mallie." She turned to Lee. "How long have you and my son been seeing one another?"

"Oh, no, we aren't ... I mean he's ... you know ..."

"We work together, Mom. She's part of my team," Mal told his mother.

"Yeah, what he said." Lee pointed at Mal.

"Mal, we got company!" Oliver told him as he skidded into the entryway from the living room. "Our friends from Denver found us."

"Are you having a party, Mallie? You shouldn't upset your neighbors, dear, you've just moved in," his mother told him.

"I'm not having a party, I'm working. Now, I need you to get back in your car and go," Mal told her.

"I'm not leaving, I came here to see you!"

Mal cursed. "Mom!"

"Do not use that sort of language, Malachy! I should wash your mouth out with soap."

"Mother, I am working and some very bad men are outside the house. I need you to leave! Right now!"

"I am not leaving!" She crossed her arms over her chest.

Mal cursed some more. "Everyone grab you shit. We're going now! In the garage and in the car!"

"Someone go get me a bar of soap, this boy is not listening to me," Kassidy said.

Mal grabbed his mother's arm. "We are leaving now."

"Malachy Dempsey Albrecht, you stop this minute! I want answers, please tell me what's going on?"

"My last name is Hughes, Mom, you know I changed it back as soon as I turned eighteen. We are leaving. Now." He pulled her to the garage and gave her a gentle push to encourage her to get into the front passenger seat. "Captain, you drive."

"No, sir, you drive. If there's any gunfire, I'm a better shot."

"Captain, just drive. It's your car. You know how it handles better than I do."

"But I'm a better shot, we've established that."

"She has a point," Oliver said as he came into the garage with Van.

"When did we establish that exactly?" Mal asked.

"I did take out the guy Van had the duel with. From one hell of a distance, I might add."

"Fine, I'm driving. Everyone in the car, now. We need to move."

"Malachy, tell me what is going on! I am not going anywhere until someone explains things to me!" No one answered her.

Van yanked open the tailgate and jumped inside. "If anyone needs me I'll be back here curled on the floor like a newborn baby!"

"Wait for me," Oliver climbed in beside him.

"Hey, I already called this spot!" Van shouted.

"There's enough room for both of us!"

"There is a third row if you pull the seats up," Lee told them.

"No time, Captain, we need to go now!" Mal said as he closed the door on his mother's protests.

Lee stepped over and slammed the tailgate shut before she climbed into the backseat. "The nerds are safely tucked into the back, sir."

Van popped up to look at her over the seat. "I heard that!"

Mal slipped behind the wheel and turned over the engine.

"Malachy, what is going on?"

"I don't have time to explain right now. Just keep your head down." He twisted around to look at Lee. "Are we ready?"

"Uh, sir, where is John?"

"Goddammit." He flung the door open and ran into the house. He found John sitting at the kitchen table with a plate of tacos in front of him. "Were you not paying attention when I ordered everyone to leave?

"Oh, I heard you, but it's a shame to let these tacos go to waste. You should have one, the Captain is an excellent cook. Is she seeing anyone?"

"Let's go, now. If you want to stay here with the scary guys then by all means, enjoy the tacos," Mal replied sarcastically.

"All right, I'm coming." He stuffed the last bite of the taco he had been eating into his mouth. They both froze when they heard glass breaking from a room down the hallway.

"Let's go."

"Right behind you." John grabbed his duffle bag and followed Mal to the garage.

"Sir, we need to go," Lee said as he and John climbed into the car. The second Mal started the car she hit the button and put the window down, then drew her weapon.

"Going." He put the car into reverse. "Everyone hang on because this isn't going to be slow and easy." He hit the button for the garage door. The moment the door was up enough to allow the car to exit, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The tires squealed and the car shot back out of the garage.

"Malachy, this is not safe!" his mother screamed. She jabbed at the button for the garage door. "Do you want someone to steal everything you own?"

"Not my main concern right now, Mom!"

The moment the car cleared the garage the men in the SUV began firing on them. "Hang on, guys."

"No seatbelts back here!" Oliver called out.

"You chose to sit back there," Lee called back to him before she hoisted herself halfway out the window and returned fire.

"Malachy, those men are shooting at us! That is not very nice. Stop the car immediately, I need to speak to them about their behavior!"

"Mom, this is not the time! A conversation with those guys is not going to happen! They won't listen to you!"

Kassidy turned to look at Lee. "That isn't safe, young lady, get your butt back in your seat and put your seatbelt on!"

"Sorry, ma'am, but that isn't an option!" Lee yelled. "One down, sir but I swear that SUV is a fucking clown car. There's a lot of these bastards!"

"Watch your language, young lady!"

"Sorry, ma'am." Lee continued to return fire. The back window shattered. "My car!"

Mal took a corner at top speed. The tires squealed in protest and the entire car rocked sideways. "Hang on!" He jerked the wheel back and kept the car from rolling.

"Stop telling us to hang on, we get it!" Van yelled from the back.

"Right, sorry! Look, we aren't that far from the base. As long as I can keep ahead of them we should be good."

"My clip is empty!" Lee yelled.

Mal cursed and took a hand off the wheel to wrestle his sidearm free. "John, give her the gun!" He held it as far as he could over the seat while still maintaining control of the vehicle.

"Got it." John took the gun, scooted across the seat, and handed the gun to Lee.

"Thanks."

"This is a crappy rescue," John said.

"Well if you'd like, I can let you out here," Mal yelled.

"Malachy, I want answers! Tell me what is going on."

"I wish I could, Mom, but you don't have the clearance." He took another turn. "We're almost to the base."

The moment the gates of the base came into sight, the SUV backed off and fled. Mal slowed and rolled up to the guard shack.

"Colonel Hughes?"

"Hey, Hank, how's the wife and kids?"

"Sir, was that vehicle firing on you?" Hank asked.

"Yes, it was. Would you mind opening the gate?" Mal asked.

"Oh, yes, of course, sir." Hank opened the gate and Mal rolled through.

"I am going to hunt those assholes down and murder them for what they did to my car," Lee grumbled.

"Your language is disgraceful, all of you!" Kassidy told them with a huff.

Mal parked and got out of the car. "Let's go see the General and get this entire deal straightened out."

His mother hopped from the car, ran after him, grabbed his, arm and dragged him to a halt. "Malachy, explain this to me, now."

"I already told you that I can't. This is my job, Mom, you know that I can't talk about it. It's top secret."

She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. "People were shooting at us, Malachy. I think that requires an explanation."

"Right, since when does my well-being concern you?"

"Malachy, how dare you!" she replied with a gasp.

He spun to face her. "You have looked the other way every time Elias attacked me but now you want to show your concern? Why, Mom, because you were involved? Spare me." He turned and stomped over to the elevator. He looked back when he realized no one else had moved. "Well? Are we going or not?"

"Yes, sir." Lee herded everyone into the elevator, including Mal's mother. "This job is such a joy," she muttered as the doors closed.

The elevator doors opened and Mal stalked out ahead of everyone else. They stopped at the security checkpoint, Mal signed them in, and then they got into the second elevator that took them down to the levels where the SGC was located. The second the doors opened, Mal stalked out and headed for the briefing room.

"Malachy!" his mother called. He ignored her and continued down the hallway.

"I'm sure he'll get over it, ma'am. I think he's upset you were in danger," Van told her. "He loves you, that much is clear. Mal doesn't always express his emotions well."

She smiled and patted his cheek. "He's very lucky to have friends like you."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She sighed and looked back down the corridor to Mal's retreating figure. "I simply don't understand why he and Elias cannot put their differences aside and get along. It's been years. They aren't children any longer."

"Mal was willing to work with Elias but for whatever reason Elias seems quite determined to make his life miserable." Van shrugged.

She shook her head. "I can't understand why. They're both successful, there is no reason for jealousy or anything else of the sort."

Van shrugged. "I'm sorry, ma'am, I can't explain what is in Elias' mind."

She nodded slowly. "It's nice to see Mal happy. He talks about all of you a lot, even if he can't explain exactly what it is he does here." She looked around. "What exactly is this place?"

"It's an Air Force base," Lee told her.

"I understand that, dear but what do you do here?"

"All we can tell you is that the mountain houses NORAD along with several top-secret operations," Lee told her.

"I wish we could explain," Van said. "Even if we can't tell you what it is Mal does, you should know he's a damn fine leader." Van's cheeks turned pink. "Sorry, ma'am, a darn fine leader. We all trust him with our lives."

A small smile touched her lips. "You know, he's named after my father. He'd be so proud to see Mallie following in his footsteps."

"I'm not sure I understand." Van frowned.

"My father was in the military. Army. When Mal told me he wanted to join the Air Force it scared me to my toes. I didn't want him out there in some war zone. But he looked at me, pointed to the sky, and told me, 'Mom, I want to be up there looking down at the world. I need to be able to stare down at everything so I will always remember why I'm here, why I'm doing this and what exactly it is I'm protecting. I need to do this, I need to keep people safe because not everyone can defend themselves." She took a deep breath. "He's a protector, always has been. I know that and I know why he does this job, but I will always worry about him. Since his father died he's never seemed to be able to settle, to make anything permanent. It's as if he's afraid whatever he cares about will be taken from him as his father was."

Van took her hand in his with a smile. "Unfortunately, that is how life is sometimes. We lose those we care about and there is nothing we can do about it, but we won't abandon Mal. Not intentionally."

"We should catch up to the Colonel," Lee told them.

"Yes, good idea." Van offered Kassidy his arm. "Ma'am?"

"You are such a sweet boy, thank you." She took his arm and allowed him to escort her down the hallway.