Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the property of Stargate (II) Productions, Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. This story may not be posted elsewhere without the consent of the author.

"O'Neill, the fourth life form is very close." Thor's voice broke the silence and Sam lowered her eyes, suddenly feeling awkward for staring at the colonel for so long.

"Yeah, Thor, we found her," the colonel reported, giving Sam a reassuring pat on the leg before he stood up. "Think you could-"

A brilliant flash washed over the quartet and Sam cringed, closing her eyes. No, it couldn't be. Not another-

"Beam-yeah, thanks," Jack said casually. Sam opened her eyes, sagging slightly as she took in the clean and uncluttered lines of an Asgard ship.

"Major Carter. I am pleased to see you," Thor said.

Sam looked up, taking a moment to enjoy the novelty of looking UP at an Asgard. "Thank you, Thor."

Behind her, she felt Teal'c shift, getting to his feet. Realizing that she just couldn't sit there all day, she made a move to get up, taking the first hand that was offered. The deck pitched slightly and she tightened her grip, digging her fingers into the jacketed arm.

"Whoa, Carter, you ok?" She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, meeting the colonel's concerned gaze.

"Fine." She tried to smile reassuringly. "I guess I just stood up too fast."

"Right." He frowned at her, staring for a few seconds. Not sure what to say, she stayed silent, taking a moment to study him. Astonishingly enough, he looked just like she remembered. It was as if the past several weeks hadn't happened.

His face, hair, even his smell was the same. A faint aroma of sandalwood and soap that she's come to know over the past seven years.

"Our medical facilities are not calibrated for humans, however given the simplistic nature of your anatomy-"

"It's ok," Sam interrupted, the alien's well meant words grating a bit. Even though she knew he meant no offense, it didn't mean that she wasn't going to take any. She was getting sick and tired of the Asgard throwing their superiority around then asking repeatedly for help from 'simplistic humans'.

"As you wish."

"Carter?" O'Neill frowned at her.

"I'm fine," she insisted, the near physical presence of her teammates starting to get on her nerves. Too close, they were all getting too close.

"Major Carter?" She turned, narrowing her eyes as she glared at Teal'c. He quirked an eyebrow and wisely remained silent as Daniel simply stared at them.

"Thor, the last time we were here, you offered us quarters," she said, pointedly ignoring her teammates.

"Of course, although-"

"They're not geared for simplistic humans," she interrupted. "I'm sure they'll be fine."
He simply nodded and stepped past her. She followed him, not caring if the others thought she was rude or not. They could get over it.

The soft clumping sound of her boot steps echoed off the walls and she fought a shiver, not wanting to admit that her ears kept listening for the tell tale clatter of tiny metal claws.

Lost in her own thoughts, she nearly tripped over the diminutive alien as he stopped. He passed his hand over a hidden panel and a door opened, mercifully a door she could see the outline of. A real door, not some mind made-construct of countless blocks. "I hope that this will be sufficient for your comfort."

Sam stepped past him, unable to maintain her ire. He didn't mean any harm, she knew that. He just lived in his own little cloned world. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Thank you." She summoned up a smile, mainly to hide the fact that she had the urge to drop kick his little gray-

"I recall that you did not enjoy our food-"

"I'm not even-"

"And I did salvage some foodstuffs from your ship. I can have a selection made available for you," he continued, not seeming to notice her interruption.

"That'd be nice," she said, more to appease him than out of any real feeling of hunger. The sooner he left, the sooner she could have some privacy.

"I shall see to it." He turned, then turned back. "Major Carter, I am most…relieved to know that you did not perish on the Replicator ship." He blinked up at her and she could hear sincerity in his voice, even if she could not see it on his face.

"Thanks," she said softly, her last little bit of anger fading, replaced by a wave of exhaustion.

He walked out of the room, his bare feet silent on the shiny deck, the door sliding shut behind him. Finally alone, her shoulders sagged. Suddenly nervous, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and turned, her eyes scanning every surface, desperately afraid that she'd find a pattern, see the outline of tiny blocks.

She walked over to one of the walls, reaching out to touch its surface. It was cool and smooth under her fingertips. There was no pattern, no movement. It was a wall, just a wall. She heard a sound and she jumped, staring in horror as a narrow bunk slid out from the vertical surface. There was a flash of light and small bundle appeared on the foot of the cot. A blanket and thin pillow, along with what she presumed to be the promised food and one of their canteens.

Remembering Thor's promise, she relaxed, feeling a little silly. She slowly crossed the room, sitting down on the bunk. What served as a mattress was thin, but definitely better than some of the places she'd slept in the past.

She pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them as her body started to rock slightly, the unconscious movement soothing her just a little.

Goosebumps raised on her arms as a chill raced down her spine. Reaching down, she grabbed the blanket from the foot of the bed, pulling it around her like a shield. For a bunch of naked little clones, they sure as hell kept their ship cold.

<><><><><>

Daniel watched Sam and Thor vanish around the corner and turned back to face Jack and Teal'c, frowning when he realized that they were just standing there. "Jack?"

"Give her some space," the colonel said softly.

"I don't think-"

"Daniel."

"Daniel Jackson is correct to be concerned," Teal'c interrupted.

"T?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"When the Replicators infiltrated this vessel, Fifth had the opportunity to gain custody of both of us," the Jaffa reported, aware that Thor's logs and thus O'Neill's knowledge were lacking some details.

"But he only took Sam," Daniel said, finishing Teal'c's thoughts.

"Revenge?" Jack asked.

"That is likely," Teal'c confirmed. Daniel felt his heart sink as realization set in. While he'd never met Fifth, he had read that, while he'd been away, SG-1 had confronted human form Replicators, mechanical beings that not only looked human, they acted it. And what was the strongest human emotion? "Do you think he-"

"It is likely that Fifth sought vengeance for perceived wrongs," Teal'c said, sparing Daniel actually having to say the word.

"If she's hurt-" Daniel started forward, stopping when Jack grabbed his arm.

"Don't."

"Jack?"

"They play mind games, Daniel," he said, his eyes narrow and set. Daniel recognized the expression. It was the patented O'Neill 'Don't even think about asking me for details', look.

"What if he didn't just play mind games?" Daniel asked after a few seconds. There was a very good chance that Sam just wanted some time to compose herself. But what if there was something more?

"Daniel Jackson?"

"Look, just because they used mind games in the past, doesn't' mean they haven't-embraced their inner primitive."

Jack looked to Teal'c who shrugged, conceding Daniel's point. "It is possible that she is merely fatigued and wished time to rest and compose herself."

"Yeah," Jack said, sighing as he ran his fingers through his hair. His reluctance to disturb Sam was obvious, and it warred with his responsibility as a friend and leader to ascertain the safety and health of his team. "Thor?" he said loudly.

"O'Neill?" the small alien appeared at his side.

"Thor, old buddy, I need a favor."

<><><><><>

Sam walked down the empty corridors, cringing as her footfalls echoed off the barren walls. She had slept a little, although she had no idea for how long, her watch having stopped working while she'd been with Fifth.

She'd awoken to find herself alone in the room still wrapped in the blanket. In an effort to clear her head, she'd examined the food and discovered that, while Thor may have remembered her dietary preferences, he still hadn't grasped the concept of refrigeration so the turkey sandwich was better abandoned, although she had finished off the canteen of water and now felt a bit better.

With her stomach grumbling for some food and the memories of her abrupt behavior floating through her brain, she'd left her refuge, silently marveling that the guys had left her alone this long. She'd fully expected to wake up with at least one of them camping outside the door.

She reached a junction in the halls and paused, trying to remember if they'd taken a left or right. Faint voices echoed down the corridor and she smiled, recognizing the sound. Maybe she'd slept longer than she'd thought. It usually took the colonel at least four hours before he'd drag out the playing cards.

"Daniel, for crying out loud, draw or fold," he groused, his entreaty a familiar one.

"What? You have a date or something?"

The colonel was an impatient player, drawing on luck and observation to guide his way. Daniel, on the other hand, usually preferred a more deliberate game, one where he watched the discards and played the probabilities. Which meant that their games were usually tests of will, augmented by the shared desire to annoy the hell out of each other.

One of these days she needed to ask Teal'c precisely how many decks he'd 'confiscated' over the years, on those occasions when even his endless Jaffa patience had run out.

Finally arriving at the room, she paused at the threshold, taking a moment to study her friends, people she'd thought she'd never see again. The colonel and Daniel had made themselves at home, the pair making good use of the crates Thor had salvaged from the teltac, turning them into a makeshift table and chairs.

The expected deck of cards was strewn out between them, and if the pile of pretzels was any indication, they really had been playing for several hours.

Teal'c was seated on another one of Thor's shelf like beds, his posture one of meditation, even though Sam knew he no longer needed to Kelnoreem.

None of them noticed her and she fought the urge to just turn on her heel and go back to her room. "Major Carter." Teal'c's quiet voice proved her observation wrong and aborted her flight. She sighed, pasting a smile on her face.

"Hey," she said, walking into the room.

"Carter," Jack said as Daniel got up, motioning for her to take his seat. "Have a nice nap?" he asked casually, aimlessly shuffling the cards, the little laminated pieces of cardboard effortlessly flying from hand to hand.

"Yeah, thanks," she said, feeling her cheeks color a bit at the memory of how she'd acted.

"Sam-"

"I'm ok, Daniel," she interrupted, not in the mood for a discussion, no matter how well meant it was.

"I was going to ask if you were in the mood to play a few hands," he finished dryly, dragging out another crate. "Jack doesn't cheat as much when you play."

"Oh."

"Chill out," Jack said, glancing over at her. "T, wanna play?" he asked, signaling to her that there's be no debriefing, no questions beyond 'how many cards?' Not yet anyway.

"I would," Teal'c replied, quickly following Daniel's example and retrieving a crate to sit on as Jack started to deal. Sam picked up her cards, automatically sorting them. She felt some of her tension drain away.

She fanned the cards out in her hand, the familiarity of the game allowing her to let her mind wander. This was what she'd missed for the past few months, what she so desperately wanted to get back.

The mission was a success and things were finally getting back to normal. Now, if she could just get Thor to turn up the heat.

<><><><><>

Voices echoed down the hall and Sam closed her eyes, gritting her teeth as they grew in volume, walking past the door to her lab before fading. Too many people. There were way too many people on this base.

Realistically, there were more personnel here than the base was designed to hold, but she knew it was just temporary. With the discovery of the address to the Pegasus galaxy, the SGC was serving as staging grounds for a colonization and exploration effort.

Hundreds of people roamed the halls, gathering and collating supplies, double and triple checking everything. She leaned over her laptop, her hand coming up to massage her forehead. They were so damned noisy. In the past few days, she'd taken to literally sequestering herself in a borrowed lab, her own having been visited by Rodney McKay one too many times.

The crowd of explorers meant that even a normally quick trip to the commissary was now a half hour ordeal consisting of lines and crowded tables, not to mention waiting for every elevator and even a line at the normally sparsely populated ladies restroom.

"So this is where you're hiding."

The colonel's voice startled her and her eyes flew open, color rising in her face. "Sir."

"Down," he said, waving his hand as she moved to get to her feet. "You know, McKay has totally made himself at home in your lab."

"Yeah," she said softly, retaking her seat.

"He's got stuff all over the place, doohickeys everywhere. And I think he might even have requisitioned a new coat of paint on the walls," he said casually, moving closer to her.

"I guess he's glad he's not in Russia anymore," she said dryly.

"Ya think?" He stopped and looked at her, frowning slightly. "You ok?"

"I'm-"

"Ah." He held up his hand and raised his eyebrow.

She sighed. "I just have a headache," she admitted.

He nodded. "You know, one of the nifty things about a promotion is that you also get more sick and vacation days."

"Sir, I'm-"

"Carter, you look like crap," he said bluntly. "You have enough leave stored up for three people, take some time."

"There are a ton of things-"

"That we can handle," he interrupted. "Look, what happened with Fifth-"

"I already said that-"

"You already said precisely what you wanted us to hear." He held up his hand to silence her protest. "I don't remember everything, but I do recall enough to know that my little foray into Replicator mind reading was not a pleasant experience, and they weren't even as pissed at me as Fifth had to have been with you."

She lowered her eyes, suddenly fascinated with the keyboard of her laptop, his words venturing too close to the truth for her own peace of mind. She'd never told them exactly what Fifth had done to her, not beyond the most basic of details. Fortunately, they'd been content with that. "Take some time," he said gently. "Go…shopping, take Cassie to the mall, spend a long weekend in Denver," he suggested.

"Col-General-"

"Carter," he interrupted her again. "Once we get rid of the rabble, I'm actually going to have to run this place and…you know me and regulations." She looked up at him. "If I'm gonna have to enforce them---I hate memorizing. I need someone awake and alert to remember them for me. Someone rested," he said pointedly. She sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing that she may as well give in gracefully. "Take the rest of the week," he said. "Come back Monday and start fresh."

"What about the Atlantis people?"

"With any luck, by the time you come back, we'll have our base back," he said. "Go home, relax. If anything happens around here, Siler can handle it."

"Yes, sir," she said softly.

"And if you have the need to suck up to the boss, offer to take Teal'c furniture hunting," he quipped.

"General?"

"If I ever find out who got him hooked on HGTV, I will shoot them. Enjoy yourself, you've earned it," he said sincerely, turning and walking out the door.

She watched him go, listening as his footsteps faded down the hall. She stared around the empty lab for a minute, then shut down her laptop, picking it up and tucking it under her arm. She walked out into the hall, meshing with the other personnel there. They cast her a few looks, but none of them talked to her. Feeling oddly alone, she bypassed her lab and went straight to the locker room, quickly changing her clothes.

She made her way to the surface and got into her car, unable to banish the feeling that her time off wasn't quite a reward.

<><><><><>

Sam walked down the corridors, a part of her dreading seeing the general. She hated it when he was right, he gloated. Not horribly, not a lot, but enough to make her life miserable for a day or two.

Despite herself, she'd thoroughly enjoyed her time off, even if she had been a little bored towards the end. Following the general's suggestions, she and Cassie had taken a day to go play, spending a whole afternoon at an outlet mall north of Colorado Springs, stocking up on supplies and clothes for the girl who was due to start college in a couple of weeks.
Sam had even tried to spend some time with Pete, but he'd been off on a case, somewhere where his captain hadn't wanted to tell her about.

Not quite used to being on the other side of 'you have no need to know', she'd found herself with time to burn over the weekend. She'd cleaned her house a couple of times, puttered in the yard, rearranged her living room and even took in a movie or two at the local multiplex.

By the time Sunday night rolled around, she was rested, well fed and thoroughly stir crazy. Much to her surprise, the guys hadn't called, not with work issues anyway. She had made a trip to Lowe's with Teal'c one night, helping him with supplies for his new apartment, and she and Daniel had grabbed a sandwich another night, but other than that, she'd had almost no contact with anyone from the SGC.

A part of her had enjoyed it, it had been years since she'd had so much uninterrupted time off, but she had to admit, that a part of her did feel just a little bit left out.

But, now her vacation was over and she had a lot of work to do. She still had to find out the whole story, but apparently there'd been some issues with the Atlantis group, mainly the fact that they were all still here instead of safely off in another galaxy.

Finally arriving at her lab she swiped her card, unlocking the door. She took one step in and stopped short, stepping back to verify the numbers outside the door. Yep, it was her lab. So why did it look like a tornado had hit it? Or a frat party.

"Hey, that door was shut for a reason." A strident voice echoed down the hall and Sam turned, raising her eyebrows at the sight of Rodney McKay almost running down the corridor. "You can't just bust in and-Sexy." He cut off mid rant, skidding to a stop.

"McKay." She crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring her irritation at his dismissive nickname for her. "Making yourself at home?"

"Well, yeah, that's what the general told me to do," he said, stepping past her and plopping his briefcase down on her table.

"He gave you my lab?" she asked, following him into the room. She scanned as she walked, searching for anything else he may have messed up.

Her lab was one of the perks of being one of the 'old timers', people that had been a part of the SGC back in the beginning, when it was still a small base and they'd had more empty than full rooms.

Now, with the number of teams tripled that of seven years ago, space was at a premium and there weren't many that had the room or equipment she had, not without sharing anyway.

McKay frowned at her. "Ok, not given, per se, but he made it clear that this lab is one hundred percent at my disposal for the duration."

"Duration of what?" she demanded, moving closer to him as he reached out and booted up his laptop.

He stared at her, giving her an odd, belittling look. "The duration of me figuring out exactly how to get your futzed up gate to dial the Pegasus Galaxy so maybe we can find that lost city you keep missing," he said.

"I thought you already found it," she said, her temper wearing thin. "In fact, I thought that by now you'd be off harassing some poor people on the other side of the universe."

"We would be, if it wasn't for your half-assed gate protocols," he shot back, stepping away from his computer and walking around the table towards her.

"There is nothing wrong with my-"

"Oh please," he interrupted. "We've been through this before. You took shortcuts and now, instead of just Teal'c being trapped in the gate, there are a few hundred people that are stuck here because of your shoddy work."

"Half-assed!!"

"There you are, Carter," Jack interrupted, walking quickly into the room. "Siler said he'd seen you."

Sam turned to him, grateful to finally have an ally. "General, could you please-" He held up his hand, silencing her.

"Let's take a walk," he said seriously, motioning for her to follow him.

Ignoring McKay's gloating look, she trailed him out into the hall, not even waiting until they were out of earshot of the door before she grabbed his arm. "Sir, with all due respect, what the hell is going on?"

"I honestly thought that they'd be done by now."

"Done?"

He sighed. "Look, Carter. McKay needs your lab."

"My lab?"

"It's the only lab with the right equipment for him to figure out what he did wrong."

She sighed, not liking the feeling she was getting. "Just spit it out…sir," she requested.

"Somehow the gate screwed up. It dialed Pegasus, but couldn't maintain a stable wormhole, we couldn't send anyone through. Now they're all stuck here. McKay's job is to get it fixed so we can get all the Atlantis explorers on their merry way and I can get my base back."

"If they need help-"

He shook his head. "McKay and Siler have been working on this since the day you left. I wanted to call you in a couple of days ago, they say right now explaining it to someone will just slow them down."

"Slow them down?" she asked incredulously.

"They say they're almost there and just want to be left alone. Weir agrees with them."

"What's Doctor Weir got to do with this?"

"Until they're gone, she's in command of the Atlantis personnel. She wants McKay left alone and I have to honor her wishes," he explained.

"But General-"

"Carter, the decision is final. McKay is subletting your lab until he can get his head out of his ass and fix things," he said, the tone of his voice telling her that protesting wouldn't solve a thing.

"Am I allowed to stay on the base?" she asked pointedly, crossing her arms across her chest. "Or do I get to go home and rearrange my spice rack?"

"For cryin-of course you're allowed to stay on the base. Look, I would have called you in last week but…" He broke off and leaned in, lowering his voice. "Weir's got the President's ear, she's got him convinced that it has to be McKay that fixes this mess and my hands are tied. I was gonna catch you this morning before you got down here then there was some emergency about yellow versus green Kiwi's and something about bananas and…I just forgot," he apologized. "If you try to help McKay, all he'll do is use that as an excuse to why he can't do his job. You're not gonna be his scapegoat. Let him keep fumbling around. He's got until the end of the week, then, if he hasn't fixed it, I'll call the President myself, let you step in and we'll be rid of all these folks in time to catch Saturday Night Live."

He smiled at her and her shoulders sagged. She could never stay mad at him, and he knew it. "Do you have any projects for me then, General?" she asked.

"Siler's been letting our own diagnostics slide to help out Lemon Boy," he said. "In the mood to tackle those?"

"In my sleep."

"I'd rather you were awake. The snoring annoys Walter."

"I don't snore," she protested. He raised his eyebrows. "Any more than you do."

"Touché," he conceded. "Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee."

She followed him down the hall, casting one last glance over her shoulder at the open door of her lab. It was only a week.

<><><><><>

Sam typed the last line of code and took a second to scan it before hitting the enter key, unconsciously holding her breath until she saw the code begin to run, seemingly endless streams of numbers and letters scrolling up the screen.

She cast one last look at the monitor, then got out of her chair, making her way back to the coffee pot that was hiding under the staircase. She poured a cup of the dark liquid, wrapping her fingers around the ceramic mug, fighting a bit of a shiver as the coffee warmed her hands.

The good news was, the week was almost over. With her lab still off limits, she'd spent the past several days getting caught up on a long list of gate diagnostics that she'd been neglecting. She had to admit, it had been rather nice. While McKay and Weir had been burning the midnight, and all night oil, she'd been able to bail nice and early in the evening, even taking in a movie one night with Cassie.

"Color me skeptical, I've heard this song before." Sam heard Jack's voice echoing down the stairwell, punctuated by the clanging of a series of footsteps. Looked like the briefing was over.

"This time, I got it," McKay said, appearing around the twist in the stairs. He had a laptop in his hands and was trailed by Doctor Weir and General O'Neill.

"I've heard that too," Jack said dryly, rolling his eyes as he made contact with Sam.

"General," Weir protested.

"Look, Doc. I hate to break it to you, but Rodney," he said, accentuating the man's name. "Here has hit his deadline."

"Seven point four billion dollars and you're gonna charge me by the hour?" McKay shot back, claiming Sam's chair. He reached for the keyboard, stopping to stare at the screen. "What is this?"

"It's a gate diagnostic," Sam said, moving to stand behind him.

"Yes, fancy running that on the gate room computers. The question is, why is it running?"

Sam looked to Jack, swallowing a sigh when he simply shrugged, silently indicating that he was staying out of this one. "Just normal maintenance," she said sweetly.

"Well, then it'd be no big deal if we ended it," he said, punching some buttons and aborting her diagnostics.

"McKay," Sam protested. "You not only just ruined that diagnostic, you probably just wiped out the last three I've run."

"Oh. Sorry," he said insincerely, plugging his laptop into the LAN. He quickly connected it to the system, running a program that she didn't recognize. Jack coughed and she looked up, meeting his eyes. They stepped back and Weir moved forward, lightly resting her hands on the back of McKay's chair. "Sir?"

"You have any idea what he's done wrong?" he asked, pitching his voice so that they wouldn't hear them.

"The further you travel, the smaller the margin is for error. Chances are he's trying to correct by too much."

"No finesse, that sounds like McKay," he agreed. "Think you can fix it?"

"Maybe, given time," she said, annoyed that he was asking this question now when what he should have done was get the President to tell Weir to let her help. That's what General Hammond would have done. "I really haven't studied much of his material."

"YES!" They both turned as the Stargate started to spin.

"Think it'll work this time?" he asked softly.

"How many false alarms has he had?"

"Aah, five, six?"

"Maybe lucky seven," she said with a slight shrug. The seventh chevron locked and the gate kept spinning. The eighth chevron locked and it opened with a dramatic whoosh.

"Lucky seven it is," Jack said.

"General?" Weir turned.

Jack stepped forward, palming the microphone. "Siler, send the MALP," he ordered.
The sergeant hurried to complete his order, grabbing the controls to send the MALP up the ramp. "If the readings come back good, your people will only have half an hour to get through the gate," he said to Weir.

"Rodney," she said.

"What?"

"Go spread the word."

"Me?"

"Rodney," she repeated, her tone brooking no argument.

"Fine, fine. I'm going," he said, pushing back the chair petulantly. "Don't touch that." He pointed at his laptop.

Sam claimed his chair, calling up the MALP telemetry. "It's dark."

"Switch-"

"Switching to infrared," she interrupted, typing the commands. "It's a big room," she said.

"The atmosphere?" Weir asked, now leaning over the back of Sam's chair.

"Sensors state there's Oxygen, no measurable toxins. There's viable life-support."

"Looks like you're going on a trip, Doc," Jack said.

"Looks like it," she agreed, shooting him a smile. "General, thank you for-"

"You got a wormhole to catch," he interrupted.

"And thirty-eight minutes to catch it in," Sam reminded.

"Then I better get moving." She hurried from the room as people started to file in, led by a troop of Marines. For once, Sam sat back and enjoyed the novelty of watching others leave, for once, not feeling the pang of not going, or even the urge to go. She was all for exploring, it was the part of the job she loved the most, but a one-way trip to another galaxy just wasn't her cup of tea at the moment.

Almost forty minutes later, the last of them went through and the gate snapped shut, silence rushing in to fill the void. After the noise and chatter of so many people, the quiet was almost oppressive.

"Colonel, I think we got our base back," Jack said.

"And my lab?"

"And your lab." He clapped his hands. "Ok, now that our house guests are gone, we should have just enough time to make it to Teal'c's' before Daniel eats all the nachos."

"What's going on at Teal'c's?"

"His housewarming," he explained, frowning at her.

"Housewarming?"

"Yeah, tonight. Pot-luck."

Sam slowly shook her head. "This is the first I've heard of it." She knew Teal'c had been moving into his new place, and she kinda expected an apartment warming eventually, but she also hadn't seen her friends much this past week.

"Huh. Well, no biggie. You know now," he dismissed.

"But if it's pot luck-"

He waved his hand. "You can hit a deli," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"I didn't even get him a gift," she said, getting to her feet and following him from the room.

"Carter, for seven years he's lived in one room and the only thing he had more of than candles was hats. He won't care. He'll just be happy that you're there." He reached the elevator and swiped his card, summoning the car. "Eighteen hundred," he said as the doors opened. "And it's BYOB too."

The doors closed, leaving her alone in the hall. She looked at her watch, sixteen thirty five. The way things were going, she'd be lucky to even make it home…of course, she'd probably be even later seeing as she didn't even have Teal'c's new address.

<><><><><>

"I am stuffed," Daniel declared, pushing back from the table.

"Makes me glad we got two family meals," Jack said, his own plate littered with the remains of their dinner.

Saying that he was tired of pizza and Chinese, they'd hit Church's, deciding that fried chicken with all the fixings was a good choice for the party.

Sam had arrived late, her need to bring something necessitating a trip to the bakery and a dash through the mall to find Teal'c some sort of a gift. By the time she'd found the place, more hindered than helped by Daniel's directions, the guys were already starting to eat.

Teal'c's apartment was small, consisting of a dining/living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and den. It was in an older section of town and Sam thought it was perfectly suited for a bachelor pad.

Obviously, the general's joke about furniture shopping had some merit as the apartment was sparsely, if comfortably, furnished with the basics, all of which seemed to fit Teal'c's style of simple, slightly bulky and classy.

He still liked his candles and the golden pillars dotted various horizontal surfaces. Them, along with some draped fabrics and dark wood, created an aura of something between early harem and an oriental temple.

His apartment was actually old enough to have hardwood floors, which he'd covered with an assortment of decorative rugs and woven mats. All in all, it was a mix of the exotic, tinged with elegance and it perfectly matched its owner.

"I bought a cheesecake if someone wants dessert," Sam said, pushing back her own plate, the pile of stripped bones attesting to her contribution in eating the chicken.

"Maybe later," Jack dismissed, getting to his feet. Daniel and Teal'c followed, claiming places on the sofa as Jack started to explore Teal'c's entertainment center. Glaring at her friends, Sam set to clearing the remains of their dinner, filling the trash can and shoving the leftovers into the refrigerator.

"I wish to secure your permission," Teal'c said as Sam walked into the living room. Finding Daniel sprawled on the sofa and Teal'c claiming his recliner, she perched on the arm of the sofa.

"Permission for what?" Jack asked, flipping through a stack of DVD's.

"I wish to bring Ishta to Earth to visit."

"Really?" Daniel asked.

"This sounds serious," Jack commented. "You've never invited her before."

"While my quarters at the SGC were sufficient for my needs, they lacked-"

"Atmosphere?" Daniel interjected.

"Privacy," Teal'c corrected dryly, his expression silently confirming precisely what activities they wanted to participate in, in private.

Daniel coughed and Jack raised his eyebrows. "I'll see what I can do," Jack finally said. "You may have to have a couple of SF's hanging outside-"

"Sarah and I don't need that," Daniel interrupted.

"Sarah's not an alien."

"She spent two years as host to Osiris."

"She doesn't have a tattoo and a snake in her gut. She's a security risk," Jack shot back.

"So was Pete," Daniel said, his tone annoyed and petulant.

An awkward silence settled over them and Sam felt color rise in her cheeks. She knew Pete had messed up, just as she knew only some fast talking by both O'Neill and General Hammond had kept both of them out of hot water.

Even though she hadn't done anything wrong, the suspicion was still there. The looks and whispered comments still followed her down the halls and drifted across the commissary. If her record had been just a little less exemplary, she knew there would have been an investigation, one that would have, if not ended her career, certainly would have slowed it to a crawl.

Pete had committed a cardinal sin. Something that, had the X-Files been a reality, would have gotten him killed. But Pete had done it, not her. It wasn't her fault. So why did they keep bringing it up?

Was this why they'd been ignoring her this past week? Why she'd been all but forced to take time off? Why she'd been kept from working on the Atlantis project? Why her invitation to Teal'c's apartment warming was more of an accidental slip of the tongue than something sincerely offered.

Maybe they were trying to tell her something, a message she'd been too blind to see.
"Carter-"

"You know, I think I left one of those diagnostics running." She got up, quickly making her way to the hall.

"Sam." Daniel clumsily followed her, nearly falling off the couch.

"Major Carter."

"I'm sure Ishta will like it here," she said, grabbing her purse.

"Carter, for crying out loud." He reached out to grab her arm and she glared, for the first time in her life ready to do bodily harm to her friends. Wisely, he backed off, raising his hands in surrender. "This isn't over," he warned.

She ignored him, pulling the door open. She stepped out into the hall, shutting the door with a restrained slam. "Yes it is," she whispered, walking swiftly down the hall, wanting to get as far away as she could before any of them changed their minds and decided to come after her.

She hurried outside, taking a deep breath of the cool night air, her hand instinctively going to her jacket pocket for her keys, groaning when she realized that her jacket, and car keys, were still up in Teal'c's apartment. There was no way in hell she was going back there, ever.

Telling herself that she'd certainly walked further, she started down the street, her arms held close to her chest in a vain attempt to stay warm.

Her footsteps sounded loud in the still of the night, and the empty expanse of the nearby lake created a deep, dark hollow. Her heart began to beat faster and she felt her apprehension rise as she walked. The streets were deserted, quiet and abandoned and she realized that she was alone. They weren't coming after her, probably because they didn't care. They didn't want her anymore, not just as their teammate, but also as their friend.

She was nothing, nobody, just a nameless cog in the machine, easily discarded and just as easily replaced. She didn't matter, not to them, not to anyone.

The darkness loomed, threatening to swallow her whole. The shadows grew larger and larger, swallowing the feeble light from a few occupied windows. The lake swept up and lapped at her feet, slowing and drawing her down like quicksand. Her legs were heavy and she couldn't move. She struggled to breathe, suffocating in the sweltering darkness. Overwhelmed by the cold and dark and fear, she stopped, sinking into the dark abyss. She pulled herself into a ball, and prayed, wondering if anyone would find her-wondering if anyone even cared to look.

<><><><><>

"O'Neill." Thor's voice cut through Jack's light slumber, causing him to jerk awake. His hand flew to his side, reaching for a weapon he wasn't carrying.

"What?" He turned his head, searching for the source of the voice. He could see that Daniel and Teal'c were similarly startled, both of them having stretched out on a bunk like Jack's, located in a small side room, what Jack guessed passed as guest quarters on the Asgard ship.

"I have been monitoring Major Carter's condition as you requested," Thor said, appearing on a monitor on the wall.

"What's wrong?" Jack demanded, knowing that the alien wouldn't be contact him for no reason. Jack could see Daniel and Teal'c getting to their feet, picking up on the urgency in Thor's voice. Jack followed suit, swinging his legs over the edge of the bunk.

"Perhaps it is best if you see." A bright light flashed and Jack found himself in the room where he'd left Carter. Only Teal'c's quick reactions kept him from falling to the deck.

Jack staggered to his feet as Daniel walked forward. Carter was curled up on a bunk, wrapped in a blanket. She was pale, and obviously deeply asleep, not having stirred as four people violated the privacy of her room. "Sam?" Daniel moved closer, reaching out and giving their friend a shake.

"In the past few hours, Major Carter's condition has changed. At first, she was merely asleep, however, that sleep has grown deeper and deeper. I grew concerned and performed an intensive scan," Thor briefed them. He waved his hand and a graphic swirled down from the ceiling. Jack squinted, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

He could see the outline of a human skull, the expected image of a brain oddly dotted with a myriad of tiny, glowing dots. "What am I looking at?" Jack demanded.

"I have discovered miniscule remnants of Replicator in Major Carter's brain," Thor said.

"What?" Jack asked, alarmed.

"Is it of danger to us?" Teal'c asked.

"Oh my god," Daniel whispered, moving back from her even as he expressed his concern.

"The remnants are not a danger to us, only to Major Carter," Thor said. "They appear to be…the human equivalent of shed skin cells. It is likely that, in your prior encounter with the Replicators, you also possessed such remnants."

"Then why didn't they get sick?" Daniel asked. "You didn't get sick, did you?"

"We suffered no physical effects of the Replicators," Teal'c said.

"Just a headache," Jack said.

"After your encounter at Halla, the Replicators were in stasis for a period of time, possibly long enough for you to gain significant distance from Halla, and long enough to allow your bodies to purge these remnants," Thor explained.

"But since we're still here, and Fifth is still alive-"

"The bastard salted the earth," Jack interrupted Daniel.

"What?"

"O'Neill's observation is correct," Teal'c said. "This is likely some sort of attempt to gain revenge."

"I agree," Thor said.

"You said these things weren't a danger to us," Jack said.

"I do not believe it is revenge upon the Asgard or Tau'ri he seeks, rather revenge upon Major Carter," Thor said. "My scans indicate that these remnants are interfering with Major Carter's normal brain processes. Allowed to proceed unchecked, it will kill her."

"Well, then get them out!" Jack said, moving closer to Thor.

"I regret that I cannot," he said. "They are too small and are resistant to my beaming technology."

"So she's gonna die?" Daniel asked, now holding Sam's hand.

"That is most likely," Thor said sadly. "I wish to apologize, O'Neill. I should have suspected this possibility and taken safe-guards to prevent it."

"You can't do anything?" Jack asked, raising his voice. Thor slowly shook his head.

"We must destroy Major Carter's body," Teal'c said evenly, his words openly shocking Jack and Daniel.

"What?"

"The underestimation of the Replicators is what has led them to gaining a foothold in this galaxy, and nearly resulted in this ship being destroyed just a short time ago."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for-" Daniel broke off, turning to look at Jack. "Jack."

"I can't just-"

"Thor blasted his whole planet with hit. He wouldn't have done that if it harmed anything but a Replicator."

Jack turned to the Asgard. "Thor?"

"I do not know the effects your weapon would have upon Major Carter," Thor said.

"If we don't do anything, she's dead already," Daniel said.

"Get it," Jack ordered. Thor walked over to a control panel and waved his hand. The transporter flashed and Jack's newly made weapon appeared in the middle of the floor.
He bent over and picked it up, raising the bulky device to study it closely.

"O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

"I was…this thing have a…stun setting or something?" Jack asked.

"My analysis shows only one level of effectiveness," Thor said.

"Right." Jack sighed, closing his eyes for a second before he raised the device. He noted that both Daniel and Teal'c stepped back, removing themselves from the line of fire. He squeezed the trigger, cringing as the distortion wave washed over Sam, scaring him for a few seconds that she would wink out of existence.

The wave passed harmlessly through the bulkhead and dissipated. Jack lowered the weapon and hurried forward, his left hand going out to check Sam's pulse. He felt Daniel and Teal'c move up behind him. "She's alive," he reported after a few seconds, stubbornly waiting to feel her heart beat several times before he let himself believe that it was real.

"Thank god," Daniel muttered.

Jack felt Sam stir and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a couple of times and frowned, obviously confused. "Sir?" she muttered.

"Nothing," he said. "Go back to sleep." For once, she followed his orders and closed her eyes. Jack turned, looking to Thor.

"My scans indicate normal human brain activity," he said.

Jack sighed, scrubbing his hand with his face. "I am getting too old for this crap," he muttered.

<><><><><>

Sam walked into the room, the voices of her teammates guiding her way. They were still on board the Daniel Jackson, slowly making their way back to their own galaxy and Earth. Thor had offered to help them use a stargate to get home, but the colonel refused, declaring his desire to have a little downtime. And it was a decision that Sam didn't mind.
She was in no hurry to get home, especially since she knew she was going to be spending some quality time as a guest of Doctor Brightman.

"Sam." Daniel waved her over. "How do you feel?"

"Better, thanks," she said, joining the rest of her team. They were gathered in a room Thor had given to them, one now liberally cluttered with remnants of her and Teal'c's supplies. She'd spent a lot of the last day asleep, recovering from Fifth's little going away gift.

A dark hand impinged itself in her vision as the unmistakable scent of turkey cold cuts teased her nostrils. She looked up and accepted Teal'c's offering with a smile. "How long until we're home?" she asked, taking a bite. She chewed slowly, trying to separate the textures and flavors, not quite sure what she'd do if one of them was wrong.

"Time is relative," Jack dismissed, his comment causing Sam to raise her eyebrows.

"English translation, he doesn't know," Daniel quipped.

"All we have to do is ask Thor-"

"That will not work, Major Carter," Teal'c interrupted.

"Why not?"

"Apparently, when Jack was merged with the ship, he did some tinkering," Daniel explained.

"Tinkering?"

"You know, playing with the lights, turning off one deck's gravity-resetting all the clocks." He glared pointedly while Jack just shrugged, not bothered by his alleged transgression.

"If they were any kind of decent advanced race, they'd have safeguards in place to keep these things from happening."

Sam smiled, turning her attention back to her sandwich while the bickering continued. She'd had one just like this before-How long ago had it been? One day, two, ten? It only felt like a day, but if he'd been able to mess with her perception of reality, he could certainly have messed with her perception of time. She could have stayed in there for years without ever realizing it.

Distracted, she missed the looks that passed between her friends, the silent jerk of Jack's head, telling Daniel and Teal'c to make themselves scarce.

Both of them got to their feet, the movement pulling Sam from her memories. She glanced at them, then at Jack, knowing what was coming. She could get up, try to avoid it. Of course, they were on a space ship, there weren't many places for her to run.

Unwilling to take the first step, she turned her attention back to her sandwich, idly picking at the turkey, tearing off little shreds that she stuffed back between the pieces of bread.

"So," he said after a minute. "Fifth."

"Yeah."

"And he's pissed," he pressed.

"Yeah."

"And?"

"He didn't-"

"Don't say he didn't do anything," he interrupted, the tone of his voice making her look up. He knew, or at least suspected. He knew what it was like, what they were capable of.

"Memories," she sighed, fully aware that he wouldn't drop the topic until he knew what had happened.

"Memories?"

"Some of them were mine. Some…I think he got them from the other Replicators. First and the others."

"How do you know?"

"I saw Ba'al," she said flatly.

"Oh." He looked away, caught off guard by the mention of his own dark past, not expecting it to mingle with hers in such an intimate way. She hadn't wanted to tell him that detail, just like she never wanted to tell Teal'c about her new knowledge about his time with Terok.

"Then there was a farm," she said, breaking the somber mood.

"A farm?"

"With horses."

"Horses?"

"And pigs."

"Sounds…like hell," he quipped.

"It wasn't real though. And I knew it wasn't. He got tired of hurting me and decided to keep me like a pet. He said he'd keep me there forever, then he just let me go."

"Just like that?" he asked, openly skeptical.

"Pretty much," she said, setting her boundaries. He'd never told them all the details of his time with Ba'al. Never told them which of his memories Apophis had used against him four years ago, so she saw no need to bare her soul to him. He had his secrets, and she wanted hers. Private pain was so much easier to deal with. She knew she'd tell him eventually, some day in the future when her memory was dull and the pain had faded to a vague ache. Some day, but not now.

He stared at her for a few seconds, obviously deciding whether or not to push for more details. She stared back, daring him to ask, dreading that he would.

"When we get back, I gotta have a little talk with Weir," he said, leaning back.

"Sir?"

"If we're gonna be eating cold cuts, it's not gonna be that generic crap. She's gonna start ordering some of the good stuff. And not just that whole wheat bread either," he groused, neatly dropping the subject in his own unique way.

"You really think she's going to listen?" she asked, playing along, grateful for his respect of her preferences.

"Hey, we saved the world. We saved the Asgard's world. That's gotta count for something."

"Of course," she said dryly, unable to smother a grin.

"Is there anything you want?" he offered. "Cause I'm making a list."

~Fin~

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