Disclaimer - MGM/Gekko/Double Secret own them. Blah, blah...
Spoilers for ‘Children of The Gods’, ‘The Enemy Within’, ‘The Broca Divide’, 'Enigma' (LOTS), ‘Politics’, 'Within The Serpents Grasp', ‘In The Line of Duty’, ‘Secrets’, ‘The Tok’ra, Pts 1 & 2’, 'Serpents Song', ‘1969’, 'Fair Game', ‘Point of View’, 'Deadmans Switch', ‘Jolinar’s Memories’, ‘The Devil You Know’, 'Foothold', ‘A Hundred Days’, ‘Nemesis’, ‘The Other Side’, ‘Divide and Conquer’, ‘Window of Opportunity’, 'The Serpents Venom', ‘The Curse’, 'Absolute Power', ‘Entity' (LOTS) and 'Double Jeopardy'. Phew!
Use of {} indicates memories. Use of {{}} indicates fast change between different memories.
*
Still in the security station, Sam stared at the monitor for the third time, watching as she crept into the control room, hid the laptop behind a piece of equipment, then made her presence known to Simmons. He jumped up from his seat, obviously surprised and embarrassed. After a few moments of talking - the subject of which was unknown but easy to guess - Simmons nodded and quickly left the control room.
Leaving Sam alone.
She retrieved the laptop, opened it, and connected it to the base computer systems. With no hesitation she typed into the keyboard, uploading the virus. After about ten minutes she closed the laptop, disconnected it from the computer, and put it back in its hiding place. Once done she sat in front of the main computer screen, her fingers resting on the keyboard but not moving.
In another three minutes Simmons returned, and she then left the control room, once again managing to retrieve the laptop without him noticing.
She did all this with no expression on her face.
Simmons was standing next to her, now, having been summoned to the security station by Hammond. He viewed the evidence with undisguised shock. “I…” He had started stuttering two minutes ago and was just now beginning to stop. “I…can’t believe this!”
Pretty much how she felt right now. This was unbelievable.
“I remember this, I remember Major Carter coming in and telling me to take a coffee break - I wasn’t about to argue. But I certainly knew nothing about what she was really doing there. She just said she had to check on something.”
Hammond regarded him carefully. “And you noticed nothing odd? No out of character behaviour?”
The Lieutenant shook his head. “No sir.” He paused. “Actually…I did think she seemed a bit distracted, and she didn’t smile which was a little unusual because she *always* smiles. I just thought it was due to the lateness of the hour.”
“And nothing else?”
The younger man concentrated hard for a couple of moments, clearly trying to remember. Apparently, he came up with nothing. “No sir. I’m sorry.”
“Very well. Thank you, Lieutenant. Dismissed.”
He nodded, gave Sam and odd look, then left.
Carter began talking immediately. “Sir, I don’t know what to say. I have absolutely no idea how this happened and I certainly have no recollection of-“
“Major,” He interrupted kindly. “Obviously I don’t believe for a second that you had any intent yourself to disrupt the base or the Stargate, but clearly something strange is going on. At first I considered the possibility that it was another alien invasion like our previous foothold situation, but security cameras clearly show there was no opportunity for anyone to subdue you or take your form.”
Sam sighed. Well, there was that hopeful theory out the window.
When she realised she was actually hoping for an alien invasion, she immediately berated herself. Internally, of course. The General would worry about her if she suddenly started calling herself names.
“I’d like Dr Fraiser to go over you with a fine toothed comb. I understand that you may be sick of the infirmary right now, but it has to be done.”
“Of course sir,” She glanced towards Janet, who was standing quietly in the background. “There’s something else, sir. A couple of something else’s I’d like to recommend.”
“I think I know what your first ‘something else’ is going to be, Major.”
They were obviously thinking the same thing. Had the situation not been so grin, she would have smiled. “Contact the Tok’ra.”
*
She felt as if she’d never been poked and prodded so much in her entire life. Even the most demanding missions had never left her feeling this exhausted, but she knew what was causing it - physical and mental exhaustion. The only thing that was keeping her upright at the moment was her determination that she was going to find out just what the hell was happening. Why the hell she…*she*…had done that to Jack.
The thought of it sickened her.
The wormhole forming at the moment was about to bring her what she needed.
Observing the familiar ripple of the event horizon, she waited anxiously for whomever it was who was coming. She hoped…pleaded…actually prayed, that it wouldn’t be Anise. She could put up with that particular Tok’ra very well and didn’t feel the least bit intimidated by her, but - truth be told - the woman was irritating. She could easily deal with her, but things being as they were at the moment she really didn’t want to bother.
And it had nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with the fact that she knew Anise, or Freya, had kissed the Colonel.
Sometimes she hated gossip.
Therefore Sam was even more relieved than usual when the familiar visage of her father appeared through the wormhole, accompanied by Aldwyn. He was the Tok’ra who had tried to retrieve the Goa’uld knowledge from Shifu, and had also accompanied Teal’c to Netu. Although she wasn’t always entirely sure of his methods, she couldn’t help but notice that he was very nice to look at.
Never let it be said that Sam Carter couldn’t be shallow whenever she wanted to. But this really wasn’t the time.
Jacob Carter almost bounced down the ramp, delighted to see his daughter again. “Sam!”
“Dad,” She grinned, relieved as he hugged her. It felt so good to be held by him again, and she could feel her spirits lift already. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too, Sammie.” Pulling away, he smiled at her. “So, what exactly do you need your old man for?” Before she could compose a reply, he noticed the armed guard. “What’s with the heavy artillery? You Earth types re-considering your alliance with us Tok’ra types?”
“No, dad. The guard isn’t to protect against you.”
“Who’s it to protect against?”
“Me.” She expected and received his shocked reaction. “I’ll explain on the way to the infirmary. Did you bring what I asked?”
“Yes,” Frowning heavily, he nodded to the man at his side. “Aldwyn has it.”
She saw the small box he was holding, and greeted him. “Aldwyn,”
He returned the greeting, smiling. “Major Carter.”
Sam faced her dad. “Come on. I’ll fill you in.”
*
“But they can’t still think you’re a serious threat, can they?” Jacob asked as they approached the infirmary, the concern for his daughter overpowering his common sense.
“There’s no way to know for sure, dad. Dr Fraiser’s run every test imaginable and although most of them have come up with nothing, we’re still awaiting results from the more complex ones. Until then they can’t afford to take any chances, and frankly I can’t say I blame them.”
“I guess,” He muttered, clearly displeased. Closing his eyes, he lowered his head. When he lifted it back up again, he spoke in the familiar voice of Selmak. “If this procedure does not work we will have to bring through the za’tarc testing machine. Not to determine if you are a za’tarc, but to determine if there are memories you possess that you cannot access.”
Great. Za’tarc machine meant za’tarc expert. Za’tarc expert meant Anise.
Sam was saved from responding when they walked into the infirmary. “Janet,” She greeted, spotting the doctor immediately.
Fraiser looked up from some test results, smiling. “Sam, General.”
“Dr Fraiser,” Jacob greeted, Selmak having apparently withdrawn again. “Always nice to see you.”
“Likewise, sir. Did you bring the device?”
“Of course.”
Aldwyn stepped forward and held the box out to her.
“Thank you, Aldwyn.” Smiling, she took the box from him then walked over to the counter. Sam moved to her side, and once she was sure they were out of earshot, Janet spoke. “I see Aldwyn’s still as cute as ever.”
“Actually Janet, I was just about to say that to you.”
Opening the box Janet stared, wide-eyed, at her friend. “Sam, you’ve got to be kidding.”
“Why?”
“For a start I’m older than he is.”
“Since when did age matter to you? Besides, if you think about it you’re not. He’s actually…” She performed the calculation in her head quickly. “Thirty years older than you are.”
Janet mock-glared at her. “That’s not the point, and you know it. Imagine if I took him home. I’d have to fight Cassie off just to get to him.”
Sam chuckled at the image. She had to admit that since turning fourteen, Cassie did seem to be a lot more interested in the opposite sex than she used to be.
“Besides,” Fraiser continued, examining the contents of the box. “We currently have much more important things to do than discuss my sex life.”
“Or lack of one,” Sam pointed out.
“Look who’s talking,” Janet shot back before turning to face their guests. “Seems as if everything’s here. You’ll be able to help us with this, General?”
Jacob shrugged. “I could, but to be honest with you Aldwyn’s had a lot more experience with this than either Selmak or I have despite our advanced years. He’d probably be the best man for the job.”
“I was just saying that,” Sam announced proudly, glad to see her friend’s face turn red. She was enjoying this. Seeing her dad and teasing Janet made things seem almost normal. She could almost imagine that the guard just inside the doorway wasn’t there. She wished she could maintain the illusion, but…she had to do this.
“Found something!”
Everyone jumped and turned to see Daniel stampeding into the infirmary, as usual, closely followed by Teal’c. She could imagine what Jack would say if he were here. “And everywhere that Daniel went, the Jaffa was sure to follow…”
God she missed him.
Realising everyone was staring at him - again - he apologised. “Sorry.” He scurried over to Carter. “Sam, we managed to get that information you wanted.”
“Over here,” She told him, and watched as he spread the papers he was holding on top of the counter, shoving the box to one side. She spoke quietly. “Did you have any trouble?”
He responded in the same soft tones. “No. We just used your name and got everything we wanted.”
“Good,” She nodded to herself, then looked closely at the paperwork. It took ten seconds for the information to sink in. “Daniel…”
He was staring at her. “I know. I don’t know as exactly as you know, but I know.”
This was…she had suspected this, but to actually *know*… “Wow.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c agreed.
“Have you told-“
“George!” Jacob exclaimed, again causing everyone to jump and stare at the doorway to discover that, as Jacob announced, there stood Major General George Hammond.
Not in the least bit fazed by the attention, Hammond strode in. “Jacob, good to see you again.”
They shook hands.
“As always, my friend.”
“Just wish it was under better circumstances.”
Jacob smiled, knowingly. “As always, my friend.”
Hammond chuckled, before facing Sam seriously. “Are you ready to do this, Major?”
There was no other choice, was there? “Of course.”
Aldwyn stepped towards her, focusing everyone’s attention on him. “If you’d like to make yourself comfortable, Major? It will probably be easier that way.”
Nodding, Sam climbed up on to a bed. She didn’t quite feel like lying down so she stayed sitting upright.
Janet smiled as she began to attach her sensor equipment to Sam’s forehead. It was obvious that the doctor wasn’t fond of this technology or the fact that Sam had to use it, but this time she wasn’t taking any chances.
Placing the last sensor on her forehead, Janet stepped back. “All done.”
Aldwyn - who had retrieved the device from the box and now held it in his hand - approached Sam’s bedside. “Ready?”
Exhaling heavily, she nodded. “Yeah.”
He leant towards her, and as he did so he murmured quietly so only she could hear. “You do realise - especially as you were once a host - that one the many abilities the symbiote enhances is the sense of hearing?”
Sam just shrugged at him, knowing at the time that he had probably heard her conversation with Janet. But then, that was the way she had intended it. “I know.”
Aldwyn smiled, and looked like he was trying not to look pleased. “Very well. Let us begin.”
*
Jack didn’t know what the hell to ask first after Reshan climbed off of him: what the hell? You have transport rings under here? Who the hell are you? What the hell are you really doing here? How the hell is he alive?
Ultimately his brain - not used to such sudden overuse - forced him to blurt out a single word:
“Martouf?!”
The man in question - who had just appeared from amongst the transport rings - stared at him, unrecognising and suspicious, as he spoke in that damnably calm tone he always used. “How do you know my name?”
Jack couldn’t believe this. He tried to stand but his leg quickly forced him to fall down again. “I…shit. It’s me, Marty. Jack. Jack O’Neill. Colonel Jack O’Neill. How the hell are you…?”
Martouf looked at Reshan. “Where did he come from?”
She stood next to him, a mixture of a confused smile marring her face. “Through the Stargate. He was injured; I helped. I do - or did - trust him, although I have no idea how he knows you.”
“How do I know him?!” Jack exclaimed. “I met the Tok’ra a couple of years ago. We have an alliance with them now!”
“What planet are you from?”
What the hell kind of question was that? “Earth.”
“We do not have an alliance with this ‘Earth’.”
“Yes you…”
And the thought occurred to him then. The thought that he really, really didn’t like. Jack calmed instantly, and spoke quietly. “What year is it?”
Martouf continued to frown. “34217.”
Jack blinked. “Okay, what year is it on Earth?”
“I have no way of knowing.” Turning towards Reshan, he spoke her name, clearly about to go on to something else, and-
Jack froze. No way. His hearing *had* to be playing up, it just wasn’t possible…
But as he continued to stare at them - at him, at *her* - the evidence began to collect together. How much she reminded him of Sam, the injury to her wrist that had healed up almost entirely with little treatment, the suspicion he had early on that it wasn’t her real name…
The force of it hit him like a staff weapon blast.
“Holy shit!”
They both stared at him, obviously recognising the profanity from his use of it earlier, but not knowing quite what it meant.
He didn’t care. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
He pointed at her, shouting.
“You’re Jolinar!”
*
“Ow!”
God, she was never going to get used to that.
Everyone watching winced in sympathy.
Aldwyn apologised. “I am sorry, but you know it will not hurt again.”
Reaching up with her hand, Sam felt the edge of the memory device embedded in the side of her head. “Not until you take it out anyway.”
“True enough,” He conceded. “Do you wish to use the holographic screen?”
Sam had been deliberately avoiding asking herself that question since the moment she had thought of contacting the Tok’ra. She definitely wasn’t comfortable with the idea of anyone seeing her personal memories - even she wasn’t comfortable with all of her personal memories. Yet, with the situation being as it was (and frankly, she was beginning to hate that term), she didn’t trust herself to be able to focus accurately enough on what was happening. It had been hard enough on earlier occasions, and then she didn’t have the added pressure of knowing that she had uploaded a computer virus, wrecked the Stargate, and was responsible for what happened to Jack.
She was going to need help.
“Yes.”
Aldwyn quietly acknowledged her response by picking up something else out of the box and placing it to her right, on the end of the bed. Intrigued, Sam stretched out a hand to touch it, and when he didn’t object she presumed her intent was allowed. Lifting it up, she examined it closely. It was black with dark orange segments, and-
“What’s this?” Sam asked even though she knew, indicating a part that was protruding out. A part that looked distinctly Goa’uld-like.
“A power source,” Aldwyn replied, taking it from her and studying it himself. “This device generates the holographic screen, and therefore requires a great deal more energy than the memory recall device alone. To ensure that it keeps functioning however long this takes, I attached it a power source.”
It had been said before and she remembered it now; the Tok’ra used Goa’uld technology as much as they could. It made their infiltration easier.
“I saw one of these on the planet. It was attached to the Colonel’s radio.” Of course! “It’s in my lab now.” Of course it would need a power source. “These…power sources. Am I right in thinking their energy can last for a very long time?”
The Tok’ra shrugged. “In your terms, yes.”
That explained it. That was how his radio had still been working. Although, she hadn’t been able to pick it up on RDF which probably meant it had just begun to run out of power-
“Sam?” Jacob asked. “What are you getting at?”
Distracted, she continued looking at the power source as Aldwyn placed it and the device back on the bed. “Nothing. Yet. Just a theory.” Shaking her head as if to clear her mind, she looked at General Hammond. “Sir, before we start this can I speak to you? Privately?” She wasn’t looking forward to this, but it had to be done.
“Of course.”
The rest of them quickly filed out leaving Sam and Hammond alone, except for the guard who remained discreetly by the doorway. Sam spoke quietly so he wouldn’t overhear. “Sir…” God. How was she going to do this? She just had to, that was all. “You…may witness some memories that appear…questionable in nature. I just want to assure you that despite anything you may see, I would never-“
“Major,” Hammond seemed as if he were trying not to smile. “I would never insult you by questioning your professionalism. If you tell me that you are a capable of dealing with the situation, that’s all the convincing I need.”
Relieved, she breathed out heavily. “Thank you sir.”
The General opened his mouth to say something else, then apparently changed his mind several times because his mouth kept opening and closing. Finally, he got whatever he wanted to say out. “When all of this is over Major, I suggest you talk to Teal’c.”
“Teal’c?” Why?
He was trying not to smile again. “Ask him about something. Something you can’t remember.”
With no further clues he turned away and called everyone back into the infirmary.
Sam stared after him. What the heck did *that* mean? She watched the Jaffa as he walked into the infirmary calmly, but if by some chance he had managed to overhear their conversation, he gave no indication.
Well, fine. When this *was* over, when she knew just what was going on, she was going to have a little talk with Teal’c. Find out whatever it was that he - and apparently, Hammond - knew that she didn’t.
Aldwyn was next to her again. Shaking off thoughts of Teal’c and secretive Generals, she focused her attention on him. “Let’s do it.”
Picking up the activator from the box, he waved it over the recall device. Sam heard it beep, was aware that they’d all moved to surround her, then the holographic screen began to materialise above the device resting on the bed. She watched as a few of them observed it with awe, but most of them observed with curious familiarity. Sam closed her eyes, feeling-
{“Keeping you awake, are we Carter?”}
{“Sorry sir - I fell asleep in the lab. Wasn't particularly comfortable. I don’t feel like I got any sleep at all.”}
{{“…I care about her…”}}
Shaking her head, Sam tried to divert her thoughts.
Apparently, Aldwyn knew what she was up to. “Major, this will work more accurately if you try not to obstruct any memories you have on purpose.”
Opening her eyes, she sighed. “Sorry. Instinct.”
Instinct.
{“I want you.”}
{“Why?! I mean no!”}
This was a bad idea. What the hell had she been thinking? Okay, so maybe she may not have been able to look at things clearly or with an unbiased view, but wasn’t that worth escaping this humiliation? The only good point was the fact that - as yet - everyone still had the courtesy not to laugh. Although dad had a very strange expression on his face.
“I understand.” Aldwyn seemed least affected of all of them, but he was the ‘expert’ here. He’d had more experience at doing this than anyone - was probably used to seeing the strange memories those damn devices dredged up. “Now, think back to the night you uploaded the computer virus. Quite some time before. Evening. What’s the last thing you remember?”
The last thing she remembered… “I was in my lab, working on…something.”
The image of a naquadah reactor appeared on the screen, and her hands could be seen working on it.
She agreed with the image. “Yes - the reactor. I’m working on a way to make it more efficient.”
{“Carter?”}
“Sir?”
{“Sir?”}
Yes, yes. The Colonel had walked in.
{“Do you remember when I strongly suggested that you should get a life?”}
{{“Didn’t I order you to get a life?”}}
She was grinning. In the memory, and now. {“Yes sir.”}
{“Well, what I meant was that you should actually, you know, get a life. Like *now*.”}
{“I have a life. It may not be one involving fishing or violent sports, but it’s a life.”}
{“Hey - there is nothing wrong with fishing! Just ask Teal’c.”}
{{“Was that an invitation? Sir?”}}
{{“Nothing wrong with that, is there?”}}
“He asked you to go fishing?” It was Daniel who had asked the question.
It wasn’t a big deal, it really wasn’t. “Yes.”
“Really?”
“I fail to see why you are finding it hard to believe,” Teal’c interrupted. “I understand that he also asked you. It stands to reason that he would invite other friends.”
See! She was right. Thank God for Teal’c.
And she didn’t need this distraction right now, either.
Closing her eyes, trying to block them out, she concentrated on her memories of that evening.
{“Hey - there is nothing wrong with fishing! Just ask Teal’c.”}
{“I don’t think Teal’c would back you up on this one, sir. He’s already warned the rest of us never to go.”}
{“Ha! So much for friendship! You know, I stood up for him when he joined us. Protected him. When no one else would.”}
{“I know sir.”}
In the memory, he started fiddling with something. He always did.
{“So…you gonna take his advice?”}
{“Sir?”}
{“Teal’c’s advice. You gonna take it?”}
She wanted - at the time - to pretend that she didn’t know what he was talking about. To play dumb. But she couldn’t do that to him. Not ever.
{{“You miss him.”}}
{{“Yeah.”}}
{{“Is this a problem?”}}
In all honesty… {“I don’t know.”}
Jack had looked almost relieved. {“Well, I’d better be off. Most of us have prior engagements with our own beds.”}
Good. Good. Humour. She could hide behind that, just as he did. {“Have a good night’s sleep, sir. Up bright and early tomorrow.”}
{“I’m all too aware of that, Carter. P4W 692 is bound to be fascinating for Daniel types, but-“}
P4W 692. P4W 692.
{{“Who - or what - is Sam?”}} He was strange. Different. He looked surprised.
{{“Why?”}}
{{“You mentioned the word several times when I found you.”}}
This ‘Jack O’Neill’ seemed embarrassed. Jolinar smiled internally.
{{She’s…someone I work with. A friend.”}}
“Sam!”
Her eyes snapped open, and it was only when she saw Janet staring down at her and various other heads came into view, that she realised she had fallen back onto the bed, unconscious.
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked.
“I’m…I am…”
Janet, concerned, kept changing between staring at Sam and staring at her readings. “Your brain activity has increased dramatically. How are you feeling?”
“I…”
{{“Keeping you awake, are-care about her-sir, just-NO-is that an-a friend-miss him-best friend’s wife-engaged-what?!-get a life-don’t leave me like-Colonel’s radio-Martouf-I was shouting-Bynar touching-have to arm wrestle-sweet little tank-where’s Mom?-I have cancer-captured by Sokar-come and get her-Sam-Sam-Sam-“}}
“Sam! Sam!?”
She spoke. “Jolinar.”
*
As it turned out, arguments between members of the Tok’ra didn’t appear particularly different to arguments between those who didn’t happen to have snakes wrapped around their brains. It did seem quite a bit calmer than most arguments, but that probably had something to do with the fact that Martouf was one of the quietest people he’d ever met. Annoyingly so, sometimes.
Occasionally he could hear one or both of them slip and suddenly talk in what sounded worryingly like Goa’uld. Of course, when they did that, he had no idea what they were saying. His Goa’uld vocabulary was still pretty much limited to ‘kree’, although he had insisted several months ago that Daniel teach him the phrase ‘I’d like a single room with an en-suite shower, please.’ Just so he’d had something memorable to say the next time he came face-to-face with Apophis. Imagining the surprise on that snaky bastard’s features had kept him amused for hours…
The chances of Martouf or Jolinar saying anything containing the words ‘shower’ or ‘en-suite’ were extremely low.
He still couldn’t believe this.
After trying to convince them that he wasn’t some Goa’uld spy and that he really thought he’d travelled to the past - proof ranging from what personal information he knew about them, to “Do I *look* like a Goa’uld spy?” (admittedly not a good argument) - they’d stepped out and were now talking in what could charitably be called the ‘hallway’.”
When they had walked out, Jack’s reaction for the first five minutes as he tried to deal with this was “Wow.”
He’d just stared at the wall, repeating the word.
Wow, indeed.
What were the odds, really, that he’d end up *here*, with *them*? As Carter liked to say, astronomical.
Carter. Sam. He couldn’t help but wonder how she was doing. Presuming that they were alive - and he *was* presuming they were alive - they would have discovered several days ago that he wasn’t on the planet. At least, he hoped they hadn’t found a pile of his decaying bones…
No. He was determined to be Mr Glass-Is-Half-Full.
Footsteps.
Martouf - Martouf! - and Jolinar - Jolinar! - were now standing in the entrance to the ‘cave room’. It was so weird seeing them both there.
“We have made a decision,” Jolinar announced.
Well, that was something. “Please, feel free to share it.”
Martouf proceeded. “We have a device that enables us to know if you are lying-“
“Oh for crying out loud! That zatox testing thing, right?”
They both looked surprised. “Za’tarc. Yes. Although it has yet to be proven that they actually exist, and we use it more just to discover if someone is lying. ”
No way. “Okay, first of all - I’ve already been forced to use that thing once, and I don’t wanna do it again. Second - there’s almost no chance that you ‘happen to have one’ on whatever kind of ship you ringed down from, and as you won’t want me going with you in case I discover the location of some secret base, I’ll have to stay here while you waste valuable time travelling there, getting the machine, and bringing it back here. Thirdly…did I mention, I don’t wanna?”
They continued staring at him.
Jack sighed. “Look…honest to God, I really think I’ve been sent back in time. As I said earlier it’s happened before, and I really don’t want to waste time-“
“If you really have travelled back through time,” Martouf interrupted. “There is no need to worry about ‘wasting time’. Presuming there is some way to send you back, you could be sent back to the moment you left. Effectively, you wouldn’t have lost any time at all.”
“But *I* would. This time spent waiting could be time I spend back where I’m supposed to be.”
Despite his argument, he could see they still weren’t ready to believe him.
“Can I speak to Jolinar for a moment? Alone?” At her and Martouf’s glare, he continued. “I’m hardly in a position to try anything.”
Still wary, Martouf nonetheless conceded, leaving the room.
Jack stopped himself from sighing. He didn’t want to do this - it felt too much like blackmail - but he had to convince her. From what they’d discussed earlier, he may not of known exactly where he was in Earth years, but he did know she’d already been to Netu. He murmured it quietly: “I know what you did with Bynar. I know what you had to do to escape.”
Jolinar looked as if he’d physically punched her.
He watched, sickened, as she left the room quickly and without a word.
*
“How is she doctor?”
Janet sighed inwardly as she faced General Hammond. She could tell exactly where he wanted this conversation to go already - years spent working as a doctor and in this facility in particular meant she was usually able to predict what the General would want. There was no way she was going to let that happen - as a doctor, and as a friend. “As far as I can tell sir, she’s simply asleep. Her brain activity almost went off the chart for a while, but now it seems to be settling down.” Thank God.
Here it came:
“Can you wake her?”
No. Absolutely not. “I believe it would be best for Major Carter if we let her rest, sir. I understand that you’re concerned about Colonel O’Neill and what - if anything - the Major has discovered, but what she needs most is uninterrupted sleep.”
“Doctor-“
“Sir, she is physically and mentally exhausted - and I dread to think how this latest turn of events has added its toll to her. I’ll override you if I have to.”
Taking the threat seriously, Hammond relented.
Sometimes it felt good to be the doctor.
Then Daniel spoke up. “Uh…we may have something, General.”
Rather than let them disturb the patient she ordered them - all of them - out of the infirmary. Jacob argued the most but eventually even he went, and as he did Janet wondered if Sam ever realised how alike he and O’Neill were.
“Come on Sam,” She murmured once they were gone, touching her friend’s arm gently. “You have to rest, and then get this figured out soon. You have to keep working on that motorcycle of yours.”
“What is a motorcycle?”
Surprised, Janet spun around to discover that she was nowhere near as alone as she thought she was.
“Aldwyn!” Realising how loud her voice was, she instantly lowered it to a whisper. “I thought I ordered everyone out of here?”
He was standing in the doorway, looking in. “I apologise, Doctor Fraiser. I…feel somewhat guilty for Major Carter’s state of unconsciousness.”
She considered telling him it was his fault, but a) there was no definite proof of that, b) her response would have been fuelled by her personal dislike of the memory recall device, and c) he *was* very attractive.
Oh, this was wonderful. Her best friend was lying unconscious not a foot away from her, and she was busy thinking about…
That didn’t really matter anyway. “It’s okay, Aldwyn. There’s really nothing you can do and she’s not seriously ill. She’s just sleeping.”
He nodded looking only a little relieved, before walking towards her quietly. “I have been wondering something.”
She smiled at him, secretly hoping to God that he hadn’t overheard her talk with Sam earlier. “Yes?”
Aldwyn paused a few feet away. “Has her mind been…changed…since the last time she used the recall device?”
“Changed?” That wasn’t a specifically scientific term. Janet searched her own mind, trying to find something, anything that may have caused Sam’s unusual reaction. In was, in fact, the tenth time she had done so. The perils of being a doctor. “Not as far as I know. There…” Wait a minute! “About two months ago she was inhabited by an energy being that had first made its way through our computer systems. Her own personality was completely repressed - the entity had total motor control, and was quite intent on staying in her body.”
“How did it eventually leave?”
“Colonel O’Neill…we…threatened it. The entity’s race was susceptible to radio waves and we threatened to attack its race unless it left Major Carter. It seemed to agree but in the end Colonel O’Neill had to shoot the Major with a zat gun. Twice.” God, that was a difficult memory to dredge up. Just thinking about it now…the advice she had to give…the things she had to say…
Sometimes it felt horrible being the doctor.
“He shot her with a zat’nikatel? Twice?”
“Yes. It got rid of the entity because Sam was - effectively - brain dead. Fortunately we discovered that before she was shot, the entity had transferred Sam’s consciousness to a…well, I suppose you could call it a ‘storage facility’ that it had created itself. Once we realised that, I just had to provide Sam with a conduit to get back into her body.”
He had a soft smile on his face. “You make it sound simple.”
“Trust me Aldwyn - it didn’t feel like it at the time.” It certainly hadn’t. She’d honestly believed they’d finally lost one of SG-1 this time…not to mention her best friend.
Of course, it wasn’t Janet it had been hardest on.
She hoped he was okay, and not just for his sake.
The Tok’ra standing next to her was frowning. “It is possible - although there is no way to be certain - that several of the things you have just described could have some explanation for Major Carter’s abnormal reaction. Being inhabited by an ‘energy being’ could have altered her brain chemistry in some way that would interfere with the memory device, or being shot twice with a zat’nikatel could have left sufficient residual electrical charge to make enough of a difference. I am sorry, doctor. This is my fault. I should have thought to ask first.”
Perhaps he should have, but… “Aldwyn…we have no way of knowing if any of that made the slightest bit of difference, and frankly it’s all speculation. It was a long time ago. All we do know is that using something that makes any kind of connection to the brain is bound to carry an element of risk. Sam was well aware of that when she went into this.”
“I suppose you are correct. After all, I am not the doctor. You are.”
“Yes, I am. Now…shoo. Get out of here. Leave me and my patient in peace.”
“Very well. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye,” She indulged.
Before he reached the doorway, he studied her again. “Doctor…”
She had her head stuck in the middle of a batch of results already. “Yes?”
“Thank you.”
When she looked up, he was already gone.
*
Something was definitely squeaking. Janet wondered for a moment if it was her own shoes - Sam had told her they were particularly annoying a few days ago - but she quickly realised she wasn’t walking, and the sound was coming from outside the infirmary.
Frowning, she leaned away from her desk, trying to see what was about to come through the doorway. It was…a trolley. Covered in a sheet. Being pushed by Daniel.
Still frowning, she stared at him. “Daniel, what on Earth are you doing?”
Seeing her he almost jumped, although he couldn’t have been surprised to see her. “Ah. Doctor Fraiser. I brought you something.”
He proceeded to push the trolley over to her, as she continued to stare at him.
“On a trolley?”
“Yes.” Daniel stopped when the trolley was at her side. Locking the wheels, he then pulled the sheet off with a failed dramatic flourish.
It was… “Dinner?”
“Yes.” He began lifting, pouring, adjusting and fiddling with everything resting on the trolley. “You always take care of us and I just thought ‘who takes care of Janet’?”
“Janet takes care of herself, Mr Jackson.”
He smiled to himself. “Despite your advice to all and sundry, I know your diet isn’t what it could be - you often miss meals. So, I thought I’d make sure you receive a fulfilling and healthy meal.”
“Burgers and fries?”
He finally stopped playing with her food. “Well fulfilling, anyway. It was all they had in-“
“Thank you,” Janet had finally had enough of teasing him. “I really appreciate this Daniel. Thank you.” Although it did seem a little out of his normal behaviour.
“Good. Eat.” He seemed happy enough just to stand there and watch her eat.
It was a little off-putting. Back to the teasing. “So…you did all this out of the goodness of your heart?”
Daniel was studying her cautiously. “Well…yes.”
“It has absolutely nothing to do with being motivated by…oh…guilt?”
He was looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Why would I feel guilty? How’s Sam?”
Unable to miss the quick change of subject, Janet tried not to smile. “I did happen to get accidentally locked in a storage cupboard. I don’t suppose you know how that happened?”
“Nope. Sorry. How’s Sam?”
Determined not to answer the question, she asked one of her own. “What’s the ‘something’ you may have?”
“Sorry?”
“Earlier,” She absently began chewing on a few fries. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was… “You said you may have something for the General. What is it?”
“Oh,” Pulling up a chair he sat on the opposite side of the trolley and helped himself to a handful of fries. “Well, Sam asked me and Teal’c to look into something. I guess she realised something or thought of something while we were visiting the planet, and she knew she was going to be too busy to do it herself, so she asked us to check it out.”
“Check what out?”
Daniel swallowed another mouthful. “Solar flares.”
“Solar flares?” Janet was confused for a moment, then remembered SG-1’s encounter with them before. “You think the Colonel was…?”
“Sent back in time. Yeah. Or forward I guess - but the past makes more sense. According to the data we were able to get, a solar flare erupted on the Earth’s sun at the precise moment Jack stepped through the wormhole. Presuming what happened last time happened this time…”
Janet nodded, trying to take it in. “But why would Sam think of this?”
Daniel shrugged. “She didn’t say. I…Jolinar! She mentioned Jolinar before she passed out, and we saw some of Jolinar’s memories…”
Excited, she leant towards him. “That memory we saw, when someone was talking to the Colonel *about* Sam.” She hadn’t put it all together before because it was such a confusing jumble just watching it. Janet couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like for Sam - small wonder she passed out. “That must have been-“
“Jolinar! Does that mean *that’s* who he met on the planet? Wow! That’s…”
“Amazing, I know.” And then the realisation came: it didn’t change anything. “But it doesn’t help.”
Daniel seemed to realise it then too, his enthusiasm draining out of him in an instant. In disgust, he threw some fries back onto the trolley. “Knowing about Jolinar…going to the planet…none of it will have made any difference whatsoever. He’s in the past.”
“There’s no way we can save him,” A new voice said, and Janet and Daniel turned to see Sam half-sitting in her bed. “He’s right. He knows he’s right. There’s nothing we can change. We shouldn’t even try.”
*
“Major, you do understand how I’m finding this a little hard to believe, don’t you?”
Sam understood more than he realised. In fact, if it hadn’t been the fact that it was Sam herself who knew or had experienced these things, she probably wouldn’t have believed it either. “Sir, I do understand, but it does make some kind of strange sense.”
Pausing, she took the opportunity to survey the people around her. Once again they were all back in the infirmary, surrounding her bed. Almost everyone was frowning.
“Think about it,” She continued. “Why was I the only one who could make sense out of anything on P4W 692? I’m certain now that the Goa’uld do have some kind of immunity to whatever causes it, and as I’d been a host to Jolinar it could have been some after-effect - as Daniel suggested at the time. And, how did I know about the cave, which would have been impossible to find even though I could see what was real and what wasn’t? Or the tacs surrounding the cave? I wasn’t fully aware of it at the time, but I *knew* they were there, I *knew* how to avoid them. The only way is if Jolinar had been there. Even before I used the memory device, I had flashes of memories - when I first stepped foot on P4W 692, for example - as if something or someone was trying to tell me something. The Colonel left a message for me, specifically *me*, in the cave knowing I was the only one who was going to find it. How else would he know to do that, unless he’d encountered Jolinar? And of course,” Sam took a breath. “There’s the computer virus.”
“But as you’ve said before,” Hammond told her. “Jolinar doesn’t control you. Not anymore.”
“Obviously she does to some degree. Or did. She’s not alive, I’m not saying that somehow Jolinar is still knocking around inside my occipital lobe, but maybe there’s some…remnant, somewhere. Something that had to be left behind in order to get me to do it. When we travelled back to 1969 we returned to this gate here, on Earth. Obviously that didn’t happen with the Colonel - he had to be stranded on P4W 692 so Jolinar could find him, which is where the computer virus comes in.”
“The energy surge!”
Sam smirked at Daniel. “That’s it. We know that a powerful enough energy surge can divert the wormhole to a different Stargate. That, combined with the solar flare, ensured he would end up coming out of the Stargate on P4W 692. It’s probably that combination of factors that stopped him coming out of the second gate here.”
“Sam,” Janet interrupted softly. “I’m not saying you’re not right, but…Jolinar died. She decayed inside your body. I don’t see how-“
“That’s it!” Daniel yelled.
“Will you stop doing that?” Jacob asked.
Daniel ignored the question, but faced Jacob anyway. “She’s right! When a Goa’uld symbiote is dying inside its host, what does it do?”
“It tries to survive. It’ll drain as much energy out of the host as possible. All of the hosts health.”
“Right! It wouldn’t bother to try and save the host - it couldn’t care less. It’d be dragged kicking and screaming - metaphorically, naturally - rather than try and save the host. If it has to die, it’s going to take the host with it.”
Janet’s eye lit up. “But Jolinar didn’t do that.”
“Exactly! Jolinar didn’t try to abandon Sam or take her energy - she saved her. Instead of the symbiote and the host dying, just the symbiote did. It died inside Sam, decaying just as Dr Fraiser said. A Goa’uld would never do that - that must be what made the difference. What made Jolinar able to leave a message behind.”
Finished, gasping for breath, Daniel smiled at the General.
The General was frowning at Sam. “Major…no offence, but I’d like to add another guard to your watch.”
She’d been expecting that.
Daniel was already objecting. “General!”
“It’s okay, Daniel.” Sam smiled, letting him know it was okay. “This may all be speculation, but the fact remains - she does or did control me somehow, and we don’t know if she will again.” Feeling her father squeeze her hand, she turned to him. “Besides, it’s all worth it. We may not be able to bring the Colonel home ourselves, but at least we know more about his situation. And hopefully, I’ll remember more.”
“It is interesting,” Teal’c said.
“What is?”
“Jolinar had to leave instructions in your mind so you would upload the computer virus, causing the power surge that would cause Colonel O’Neill to encounter Jolinar in the first place.”
“Yes.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Then you are - in a sense - his destiny.”
*
Okay, so he was willing to admit that he may have been wrong. It wasn’t often that he would admit it, mainly because the people he argued with most - Sam and Daniel - were usually right, and he was almost always wrong.
Was it his fault he wasn’t a rocket scientist or didn’t know a lot about old dirt?
The ‘discussion’ he could hear right now between Jolinar and Martouf more than equalled any of the shouting matches he’d ever had with Sam, Daniel, or even Sara.
This time it was almost entirely in Goa’uld, and all that Jack had been able to decipher was that there’d been no mention of ‘en-suite’ or any kind of plumbing facilities whatsoever.
Maybe he should have asked Daniel to teach him something a little more useful.
Jack had to admit that he was surprised at Martouf’s anger. He’d seen flashes of it occasionally, but that was all. Most of the time the guy came across as being pretty unemotional - to him, anyway.
Now Martouf was dead.
Now both of them were.
But at the moment they were arguing in the hallway.
Too weird.
Just as he tried to concentrate once again on the argument, it stopped with a particularly loud outburst from Jolinar. Two sets of footsteps pounded towards him and he watched them barge into the room - suddenly very scared.
“Yes,” He asked, his voice irritatingly an octave higher than it usually was.
“Get up,” Jolinar ordered, and there was no doubt that it *was* an order.
“Why?” Jack argued, figuring he might as well be insolent to the end.
Jolinar glared at Martouf, who began collecting up everything in the room.
She looked at Jack. “We’re leaving.”
“Umm…where are we going?”
“Obviously we are unable to send you home from here as we do not possess the technology to travel through time. Therefore we will need to search for other options.”
It sounded like they were willing to help him. Jack decided this was good and wasn’t about to argue. This time.
She was still glaring at him. Yeah, he was definitely getting the impression that mentioning Bynar had *not* been a good idea. Still, at least they seemed to be doing something other than fighting. “Actually, you might have just the technology to send me home. Whatever ship Marty ringed down from, does it have…” Crap. Where was Carter when he needed her? Probably in her lab calculating wormhole thingies and working too hard, that’s where. “…sensors? That can detect solar…um…flares! Yeah, do you have anything that’ll detect solar flares in a sun before they happen?” He was quite proud of himself for remembering all that. He knew Carter would be.
Jolinar frowned. “No.”
Ah.
“However,” Martouf interrupted, ignoring Jolinar’s glare as he paused mid-pack. “I believe I understand the theoretical use of solar flares for time travel.”
Oh God. No wonder he and Carter got on so well…
If Martouf noticed Jack’s disgust at anything scientific, he didn’t comment on it. “The Samantha you work with,”
“Sam,” Jack butted in, finally saying something that’d been bugging him for years. “She prefers Sam, you know.”
“Why is that important at the moment?”
“No reason. Continue.”
“This is her theory?”
“Yeah, one that seems to have been proven, too. Knowing when the next solar flares were going to be is what got us back to our own time from thirty years in the past.” Although - admittedly - they had gone through a little too quickly. He couldn’t imagine Cassie *ever* getting that old.
Pondering Jack’s response, Martouf absently continued packing. “Jolinar is correct - we do not possess any technology on the tel-tac that is capable of predicting solar flares. However-“
“You know a man who does?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
Woo hoo! Progress. “Great! Help me up, will ya?”
Leaving his work where it was, Martouf took Jack’s out-stretched hand and steadied him until he was standing.
Wincing a little, Jack nodded towards the other side of the room. “Help me over to that chair?”
Again Martouf helped him, without complaint.
Once there, Jack fell almost gratefully onto the chair. It certainly wasn’t comfortable, but it definitely made a nice change from the floor. “Thanks,” He gasped, annoyed at how much effort it was taking to do anything. Unhooking his radio, he held and studied it. He needed something… “I don’t suppose you have any Goa’uld batteries?”
“Batteries?”
“Small, portable power sources.”
“For what?”
“I want to leave a message.” Truth was, he wasn’t entirely sure why he wanted to leave a message behind. To stop her…them worrying? Maybe. “I need a power source to do that.”
Jolinar - who had been watching - relented, walking over to the ‘heater’. She pressed buttons, fiddled with knobs, entered instructions, and eventually the side opened and she pulled something out - something black and orange. She held it out to him. “This is a very simple mechanism. That may enable it to be compatible with your limited technology.”
He wondered if the dig at his stupidity was intentional, and when he met her gaze as he took the battery from her, he knew that it was. Man, she could really hold a grudge. “Thank you.” Deciding two could play at that game - and also knowing he was being childish, but what else was new? - he immediately ignored her and began studying his new acquisition. He was nowhere near the techno wiz Carter was, but if it really was simple even he should be able to figure it out.
No such luck.
Just as he was about to hurl everything he was holding at the wall, Martouf interrupted.
“Here, let me.”
Annoyed, Jack handed them over and watched with increasing anger as Martouf managed to connect the radio and battery together with relative ease, after first removing the batteries already in the radio.
Ah. Yeah. That probably would have helped.
“It is working now,” Martouf announced, handing the connected items back to O’Neill.
“And this’ll work for a long time, right?” Jack hadn’t even thought to ask before - everything of theirs just seemed to last forever. He didn’t know how far back he had travelled, but they were both still alive. He wasn’t taking any chances.
“Several decades, yes. And it is a small enough power source so that it will not be detected by any ship that may happen to scan this planet.”
“Useful,” Jack admitted, wondering just when they’d get around to inventing things like this on Earth.
Martouf continued packing then. He and Jolinar walked in and out of the cave doing God knows what.
Jack didn’t really care, just as long as it kept them busy for a few minutes. He needed time.
Pulling a small pad of paper out of one of his pockets, he also managed to find a miniscule pencil after much groping and shifting. He had to remember to put this stuff in pockets that were easily accessible so he’d be prepared the next time he was stuck on a planet with Kathy Bates, a Vulcan, and a broken leg.
Sighing, Jack balanced the paper on the thigh of his good leg and began to write. Or, at least he tried to. What the hell was he going to write? ‘How’s it going? Be back soon? Hey, you’ll never guess who *I *bumped into…?’
‘I miss you’.
Not likely.
Jolinar helped him make up his mind.
“We are leaving now. Hurry up.”
He scribbled down the next thing he thought of.
*
As the rings cleared and the light faded, Jack looked around. Yep - definitely a tel-tac. Looking exactly the same as just about every tel-tac he’d ever encountered - except the one Jacob had modified when they had to bring aboard that mine. “Don’t you guys ever change the design of these things?”
“If something works well, why change the design?”
“Good point,” Jack relented, grimacing as Martouf helped him over to the side. They were in the cargo hold of the tel-tac. The doors one way led to the front of the ship where the…well, where the bridge was for lack of a better term. The doors the other way lead to…actually, he had no idea. He’d never gone through them.
The side of the cargo area also doubled up as beds. Hard, uncomfortable beds, but beds nonetheless. He thanked Martouf as he sat on the edge of one of the beds, and then the Tok’ra walked to the bridge.
Leaving him…and a woman who was very unhappy with him.
Jack and Jolinar.
James Caan and Kathy Bates.
“You don’t have a sledgehammer in here, do you?”
“What?”
“Never mind.” Frankly he was relieved she had no idea what he was talking about - but he was getting worried about being in a confined space with her for any length of time now that she was pissed at him. Fortunately, he was about to be saved: the tel-tac started moving, and as it did she went to the bridge, the doors closing behind her.
Alone, really alone for the first time in days, he managed to lift his leg up onto the bed - amid much grunting - and he lay down, rubbing a hand over his face. What a day. What a couple of days! He was still trying to deal with the fact that both of the people currently occupying the bridge were dead. He hadn’t said anything about of course, but it had been difficult. Questions had been hard to answer - especially when he first tried to convince them that he did know them without mentioning the little fact that they were dead.
Weird.
In however many years it was, one of them would inhabit Sam, and the other would start hitting on her.
Somehow everything always seemed to come back to Sam.
He wondered if she had ever been aware of any of this. Her memories of Jolinar had always been fragmented. Strong enough, certainly, but she’d told him several times there wasn’t much she could make sense of. Then again, even if she had been aware of this she wouldn’t have been able to say anything, for fear of ruining that time-line thing she’d mentioned when they’d gone back to the sixties. He did - at least - have the presence of mind to remember that.
Which was saying something at the moment. He thought he was dealing with this quite well.
It was after the ship had shifted to hyper launch and he had almost drifted off that the door from the bridge opened and Martouf entered the cargo area. The door shut behind him - in that neat three-directional thing that it did - and he sat on the bed next to Jack’s.
“You have annoyed her.”
Didn’t take a genius to figure that one out. And it really hadn’t, obviously, as he’d figured it out himself quite nicely. “Ya think?”
Martouf didn’t look at him. “I do not know exactly what you said to her, but it offended her deeply.”
Jack felt a stab of pain that had nothing to do with his injured leg. Although he had his own doubts at the time, he knew it had to be done. The idea of really hurting Jolinar was nearly as repulsive as the idea of hurting Sam. Maybe because they’d become so intertwined in the future. “Yeah, I really am sorry about that. Really. But it was the only thing I could think of that would convince her that she knows me - or will.”
“It did work,” Martouf conceded. “She believes you, and for that so will I.”
The silence returned, and Jack was thankful for it. He’d never really talked to Martouf before and was finding it a little…
Odd.
It was easier not to like the guy.
Unfortunately, Martouf began again. “Samantha…Sam…the woman you speak of so frequently…”
Did he really do it that much? Good thing Hammond wasn’t here. “Yes?”
“Do we come to know her, too?”
If only he didn’t. “Yes, you and Sam come to know each other very well. But her and Jolinar? They’re like sisters.”
“Really?” He was clearly finding it hard to believe.
“Absolutely. They’re…inseparable.” Actually, he was beginning to enjoy this.
“I am pleased to hear that,” He really did look it, too. “Jolinar…does not make friends easily.”
“Yeah. Wonder why that is?”
“She has many associates and those who respect her greatly…”
“But not a lot of friends.”
“No.”
“Well no offence Marty,” Jack waved his hands about, still lying down. “But she can come across as being a little abrasive.”
“Yes,” Martouf smiled privately. “I understand why she would seem that way to you. But surely if you know her in the future, you know that is not all she is…?”
Jack fought to compose a reply. “I’ll be honest with you - I don’t know Jolinar nearly as well as Sam does.”
“Does Sam have many friends?”
Jack grinned to himself. “Sam? Oh she has loads. You wouldn’t think it for a woman who hides away in some dungeon experimenting on doohickeys for most of her life…but she’s a real people person.”
“And you and Sam. Are you involved?”
Now he wasn’t enjoying himself. His smile faded. “No. Not like that.”
Martouf was even quieter than usual. “This perturbs you.”
He really shouldn’t be talking about this. “Where I’m from…because we work together, it’s against the rules for us to get involved. Hell, she’d never be interested in an old war horse like me, anyway.” When he finished, he finally realised who he was talking to. The man who would become - for all intents and purposes - his nemesis.
Even weirder.
He supposed the only good thing to come out of it was the fact that to protect the time-line, Martouf could never mention this conversation to him. It was, in a way, the safest conversation Jack could ever have.
Hmm.
He almost convinced himself to talk about it.
He chickened out.
“Where are we going?”
Martouf let him change the subject. “Tollana.”
That caused him to sit up, sending his head spinning. The bruise on the side of his head still throbbed occasionally - usually when he moved too fast. “The Tollans?”
“You know them?”
“Sure. Friendly sort.”
The Tok’ra missed the sarcasm. “Indeed. As the Tok’ra are friends with the Tollans and they are technologically advanced, I am hoping they may be able to help you.”
Jack looked at him finally. “Martouf,”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever said this to you before - not seriously. But I guess you’ll know for sure when we meet again.”
“Said what?”
“Thank you.”
Martouf turned to study him, eyebrows lifted.
“For helping us,” Jack continued. “For being our friend. For being Sam’s friend.” He meant that last one more than he realised.
It was no surprise Martouf was studying him strangely. In his mind, they’d only just met.
“You are welcome,” He answered anyway.
“And Marty…”
“Yes?”
“I have no way of knowing how far back in the past I’ve gone, but when we get to Tollana…if by some amazing chance you happen to meet someone who is called or is thinking of calling their son Nareem…”
“Yes?”
“Smack ‘em round the head for me, will ya?”
*
Visiting the commissary had never felt like such freedom before. Janet had let her out of the infirmary after twenty-four hours, but again insisted that Sam keep a babysitter with her who wasn't a guard. Desperate to keep away from Simmons - she really didn't want the added stress - she'd asked Janet herself to accompany her to the canteen.
The doctor - currently having no other patients who required her attention - relented.
Sam being Sam of course, she couldn't relax completely. She may have been in the canteen about to start eating a meal, but she'd convinced Janet that she wouldn't have gone at all if she couldn't bring along her laptop so she could continue working on the solar flare calculations. Janet hadn't been pleased, but they had managed to reach a compromise.
"At least they have more variety today," Janet announced as she placed her tray on the table and sat in the chair across from Sam.
"In what?" Sam asked absently, a fork piled with food permanently halfway to her mouth as her other hand scrolled through information on the computer screen.
"Food," Janet picked up her fork and began jabbing it into the sliced carrots on her plate. "Daniel brought me burgers and fries yesterday, remember?"
The words managed to make contact with Sam's equation-numbed mind. "What?" She asked, dragging her eyes from the screen and looking at her friend. "Daniel brought it to you? I thought you got it together."
"No," Janet shrugged; her own carrot-laden fork paused on the way to her mouth. "He thought I wasn't eating enough so he brought me a meal."
Sam smiled. "And this didn't seem a little unusual to you?"
Chewing thoughtfully on her food, Janet swallowed then shrugged again. "I'll admit it seemed a little odd. But that's Daniel for you. By the way, you're about to lose the contents of your fork."
Following Janet's gaze, Sam saw that she was right - her fork had started listing starboard, and if it went any further the fork-full currently resting on it would end up on the table. Quickly lowering the fork and relinquishing her hold on it, she returned her attention to the doctor. "You don't think that maybe-"
"No, I don't."
"Janet, you don't even know what I was going to say."
Fraiser chewed merrily on another mouthful. "Yes I do, Sam. Who do you think you're talking to? I know you too well."
Maybe she did at that. "If that's the case, why don't you think it's possible?"
"Because Daniel doesn't see me that way. And frankly, it'd be weird if he did."
"Why?"
"I know him. Medically. Inside and out. In a way I've never known anyone I've been in a relationship with. I'm supposed to get involved with a man whose appendix I've held? I don't think so. It'd be..."
"Odd?"
"Yes."
"But that's Daniel," Sam grinned.
Sighing, Janet paused eating. "What's going on? Just the other day you were trying to throw Aldwyn onto my lap, and now you're trying the same thing with Daniel."
"Nothing's going on Janet - I just want you to be happy."
“And you know as well as I do that I don't need a man to do that. That's not what this is about."
"Janet-"
"Do I have to use my medical authority?"
"I'm pretty sure it doesn't cover situations like this."
"Oh I don't know," Janet mused aloud. "I could claim that you're refusing to talk about something which could be hindering your emotional recovery. Naturally MacKenzie would have to be called in-"
"You wouldn't."
Her gaze was deadly. "I had to crawl through the ventilation system of the SGC, Sam. I'm capable of doing anything at the moment. Even to my best friend."
"You know I actually had nothing to do with that."
"I don't care. Talk."
Lowering her head as she lowered her voice, Sam closed her eyes firmly for a few moments. Janet was right. She knew that. She hadn't really been aware of why she was doing what she'd been doing. She had - foolishly - told herself that it was because Janet deserved it. And she did, that was true.
It just wasn't the reason.
"I'm...I don't know if I can explain."
Janet's voice was gentle, as if her earlier threat had never been uttered. "Can you try?"
"I..." This was difficult. "Ever since this started, I've been aware of something. Something about Jolinar and Martouf. Not specific memories or occurrences, just something."
"Do you know what it is?"
Shaking her head, Sam searched her mind for a word - any word - that would be able to aptly vocalise what it was she was sensing. It wasn't love, or affection. It was-
"Regret," Her eyes widened as she murmured the single word and met Janet's gaze. Surprised, she felt tears suddenly flood her eyes. "Oh God, Janet. She regrets something so much."
Reaching out, Janet covered her hand with one of her own. "Any idea what it is?"
Closing her eyes again, she tried to remember, tried to force the memories to come. "No!" She snapped, exasperated. Opening her eyes she shook her head. "I can't remember. Not specifically. There was...there was something. Something she wanted to do so badly that she never could." Pausing, she wore a watery smile and tried to blink away the un-fallen tears. "I guess my awareness of that is what's pushing me to push you to go for something. So you don't regret it."
"I don't think I will, Sam. I was married to Michael, remember? I have enough regret all ready."
Chuckling, grateful, Sam pulled away her hands and wiped at her eyes. She felt much more emotional about this than she'd expected to. "Thank you."
Janet was smiling broadly - perhaps a little teary-eyed herself - but it soon transformed into an inquisitive look. "Do you regret anything?"
Sniffing, Sam shrugged. "If you had asked me that three years ago, I would have said no."
"And now?"
No. She couldn't talk about that. Not now.
Janet must have seen or sensed the withdrawal because she immediately smiled, said "Never mind," and resumed her meal as if nothing had happened at all. "So, how are your calculations coming?"
Relieved - God, Janet could read her *so* well - Sam happily turned her attention back to the laptop. "I think I've almost cracked it." She began typing in a few numbers, her mind gladly slipping easily from confusing emotional problems to easy mathematical ones. "See, the key is not to forget to take into account..." A number flashed up on the screen. "What?!"
Janet's meal was forgotten again. "What? What is it?"
"We need to find the General."
*
He'd never seen Tollana as anything other than a volcano-wrecked planet before.
And he wasn't about to now.
He understood why he had to stay on the tel-tac. The time-line had been messed with enough just by him meeting Jolinar and Martouf, and they needed to limit contact with anyone he was going to know in the years to come. On the off chance that anyone Martouf encountered on Tollana knew Jack in the future, he couldn't risk accidentally letting something slip. Jack knew this was practical and reasonable. It'd been hard enough keeping things from just the two people he was travelling with.
It was also frustrating as hell. First, he'd been trapped for days in a cave. Then, he'd been trapped for the three days it took to travel to Tollana - and what a bundle of laughs *that* had been. Now he was still trapped on the ship after Martouf had ringed down to meet one of his 'special friends' (Jack presumed it meant contact), but now it was him and Jolinar and no one else. No one else at all.
She was keeping to the bridge, and despite Jack's growing cabin fever he was glad for it. The confrontation was coming, he knew it was. He was just hoping to get out of there before it did.
Jack was contemplating biting off his leg just for something to do when the familiar sound of the rings began. Turning on his bed he watched the rings appear, saw the light carrying Martouf, then watched it all disappear to leave the Tok'ra standing in the centre of the cargo hold.
"You're distinctly lacking technology of any kind," Jack pointed out, unable to hide his disappointment.
Having detected the use of the rings from the bridge, Jolinar rushed in. "Anything?"
"Something," Martouf nodded, before speaking to Jack. "The Tollans are reluctant to share their technology with us."
"There's a surprise," Jack muttered. Christ, what *was* it with those people?! He really should have anticipated this happening.
"Why?" Jolinar demanded. "They have never been reluctant to share their technology before."
"Apparently," Martouf sighed. "Since our last dealings with them they have had an unfortunate encounter with a people known as the Sariita."
If it had been possible, Jack's ears would have perked up. "The Sariita?" They were the people who'd made the Tollans scared to share their technology, weren't they?
"Yes. The Sariita requested technology, and the Tollans gave it to them. The Sariita...misused it. One of the many consequences is a change of the ecological conditions on Tollana. They anticipate it may be as little as a year before they are forced to evacuate to a new planet."
Shocked, Jolinar walked closer to him. "Have you offered our assistance?"
"Of course, but you know the Tollans as well as I do. They are a proud people. However, we must remember that they do possess spacecraft as well as a Stargate. I am certain they will all be able to evacuate in time."
"Where to?"
"They are uncertain, although they are searching for compatible..."
Jack remained quiet as they continued talking, absorbing the new information. If it really was only a year - roughly - until the Tollans evacuated...
He realised someone was talking to him. "Sorry?"
It was Martouf. "I reminded my 'friend' about a favour I did him."
"Great! So he's going to give you the technology anyway?"
"No."
Shit.
"However..."
Ah ha!
"He did say that he would contact someone else who might be able to help us. Other friends of the Tollan."
Jack's enthusiasm had all but shrivelled up. "Does this mean more hyper launching?"
"It does. We are to rendezvous with their friends at the appointed destination at the appointed time."
Why didn't they just shoot him now? It'd be faster than death by boredom.
Death by brown and ugly food didn't sound so embarrassing anymore.
He didn't like this. He wasn't used to doing nothing while everyone around him did something useful. Sure, in some situations with his team he ended up feeling superfluous, but more often than not he knew he had a purpose. A job to do.
His job here was to lie down a lot and avoid a very angry woman.
Maybe it was important after all.
"Sure. Shall we get moving?"
Agreeing, Martouf retreated to the bridge to get things - as Jack said - moving. Jolinar remained for an extra moment or two, simply for another opportunity to glare at him.
*
And here it came.
He knew it was her without looking up - she walked in a different way to Martouf. Careful. Calculated.
“You did not recognise me.”
Jack nodded. He’d half been hoping she wouldn’t have realised and wouldn’t ask the obvious question. Of course, it was one of the rare occasions when he was being naïve. Or maybe he had simply underestimated her. That didn’t happen a lot, either.
“If you really do know me in the future, why didn’t you recognise me?”
He met her gaze. It was almost impossible not to - she was practically standing on top of him. “You’re…different, when I know you.” He winced at his choice of words. *That* was going to wet her curiosity no end. Still, what else could he say?
“You mean I have a new host?” She asked, frowning.
“I didn’t say that,” Jack corrected, fighting for the right words. “And you know I can’t get any more specific because of that time-line thing.” He was finally starting to appreciate it, instead of finding it frustrating. This time round it was going to protect him.
She didn’t like his response - her glare pretty much backed that up - but she appeared to concede his point before continuing with her next comment: “I…strongly believe I would have never discussed the events on Netu with *anyone*. Explain how you know.”
Crap. “You didn’t have a lot of choice. In fact, you had no choice at all. That’s all I can say.”
“Does Martouf know?” The question was asked quickly, suddenly, and she looked as if she hadn’t meant to ask it at all.
He didn’t look away. “I can’t answer that,” Thank God for Black Ops training. “But I would like to apologise.”
She was so surprised her anger almost deflated in an instant.
Jack continued. “I know what I said angered, offended and insulted you. I want you to know I never meant to do any of that, but it was the only thing I could think of that would grab your attention.”
Again with the surprised expression. “Really? You could think of nothing else that would ‘grab my attention’?”
“Not to that degree, no. Why? You keeping any other big secrets I should know about?”
He’d meant it as a joke, but by the expression on her face she certainly did have some more big secrets. “I…didn’t mean…I was joking.”
The relief was palpable.
They avoided looking at each other until the silence was broken by Jack’s stomach rumbling.
Jolinar smiled, and Jack hoped that she had finally forgiven him.
“You are hungry.”
“Yeah,” He grinned. “What gave me away?”
“You require food,” She moved towards the rear of the tel-tac - which Jack now knew contained waste facilities as well as storage - to get him some food.
It was just as well she never made it, because suddenly the ship shuddered, almost forcing Jack off his bed and it would no doubt have spilt his dinner all over his clothes.
"What the hell was that?"
Jolinar was already in the bridge by the time he finished asking the question.
Swearing, he got up as quickly as he could and followed her, determined not to be left out. Marty was at the controls, and Jolinar was...looking at something technical, that was for sure.
Leaning against a wall, Jack peered out the windows to see what was attacking them. He caught a glimpse of some kind of fighter zooming past; he didn't recognise it completely, but it looked Goa'uldish.
Jolinar shouted something in Goa'uld.
Martouf muttered something back.
"Hello?!" Jack shouted as the ship rocked again. "Non-Goa'uld speaker standing *right* here."
She glared at him again and he was almost glad to see it.
Martouf spoke first this time. Thankfully, in English. "How did Cronus know where to find you?"
Cronus? "Cronus?"
"Yes," Jolinar responded. "We have something of a personal history. But I don't know how he could have known where we were." She looked at a loss.
Jack wasn't. "The Tollan!"
Almost looking away from the controls, Martouf continued to pilot the tel-tac as best he could.
"Why?" Jolinar demanded. "Why would they betray us like that? They are aware of the Goa'uld but they do not get involved with them in any way."
"But they *are* involved with you!" The ship rocked again, and Jack nearly lost his footing as he clung desperately on the outside of an escape pod. "I'm not saying the whole planet is in league with him, but isn't it possible that just one of them doesn't like you?"
There was no response for a while, the only sound being the thuds hitting the tel-tac.
"It could be possible," Jolinar relented.
Nodding, Jack again tried to see the fighter. "I don't get it - why would Cronus himself attack you in such a small fighter? Wouldn't his ego prompt the use of a mothership?"
"It is not Cronus who is actually piloting the vessel," Martouf pointed out.
"Well who is it?"
Jolinar grabbed the side of the chair she was leaning against, trying to stay upright.
"The Ashrak."
TBC