Title-  Waking Dreams
Author- Denise
E-mail - sky_diver119@yahoo.com
Category- Drama, angst, missing scene
Archive  Anywhere but please link to the page on my
own site.
http://www.geocities.com/sky_diver119/drama/waking.htm
Season- 8
Spoilers - New Order, Rising, Unnatural Selection, 48
Hours, Chimera, Abyss, Serpents Venom
Rating- PG
Content Warning- Nothing really.
Summary- What exactly IS reality anyway?
Disclaimer Stargate Sg-1 and its characters are the
property of Stargate (II) Productions,
Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions,
Sci-fi 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
Waking Dreams
By
Denise






"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~


=====
Denise's Fan Fiction
http://www.geocities.com/sky_diver119/index

The Stargate Compendium
http://www.geocities.com/stargatecompendium/

Where in the World is George Hammond?
http://witwigh.sesaworuban.net/