NEW LIFE

Rose Stetson

Two hours after the end of "Odyssey":

"Colonel Carter."

Teal'c's voice reached the depths of her subconscious. As she became aware, the dream which she had been enveloped in dissipated. By the time her eyes opened a few seconds later, she couldn't remember any of the details. "Teal'c?" She asked, trying to wake herself.

"You did not heed my suggestion." He said as she looked up and found herself in the engine room.

"Sorry, Teal'c." She said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "I really wasn't tired then...I mean, maybe a little, but that's normal..."

"You must rest." He said, seriously.

"No, I'm fine. I've recharged my batteries. I'm great."

He eyed her skeptically.

"Look, General Landry wants these reports when we get back. I'm just trying to catch up." She said, returning her attention to her laptop.

Teal'c placed a firm hand on her shoulder as she tried to continue her work. "You must rest." He insisted.

"Okay, okay..." She said, pulling away from the laptop. "I'll take a nap. Happy?"

He nodded.

She couldn't help but chuckle. "You know where to find me if you need me."

"We will not."

"Okay..." She said, still mystified. "If you say so..."

"I do."

"Then, I'll...see you later..." She said, leaving the engine room.

What was up with Teal'c?

--

Two days later:

Sam looked behind her as she walked toward the dining room table.

Daniel looked up from his notes, and caught her strange antics. He watched her, curiously.

She turned around, and jumped. "Oh, Daniel..."

"Hi." He said, giving her a small smile. "What's going on?"

"Is Teal'c behind me?" She asked, looking behind her.

"Uh...no." He said, shaking his head.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

He studied Sam as she sat down across from him. "What's going on?"

"Have you noticed anything...weird...over the last couple of days?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Besides that...James Bond routine you just did?" He asked, cheekily.

She gave him a patronizing smile. "No, I mean...have you noticed Teal'c acting weird lately?"

"Uh...no." He said, shaking his head. "Why?"

"Because he keeps following me around, bringing me milk, and telling me that I should "rest"."

He gave her a strange look.

"Weird, right?"

"Yeah." He said, nodding. "But...you're not exactly the poster girl for a good night's sleep."

"Says the poster boy for insomnia." She countered.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I haven't noticed anything weird. And...maybe he's right. You probably need to take it easy until we get home."

"I think he switched my coffee to Decaf, Daniel. Why would he do that?" She asked, seriously.

"Maybe because you're acting like that..." He said, taking a sip of his own coffee. "Look, I need to get back to translating the Asgard database."

"Of course...go ahead." She said, eating her salad.

"Teal'c's probably just keeping an eye on you. Don't let it weird you out, okay?"

"Okay." She conceded.

--

A week later:

"Tell me he's doing something similar to you." Sam said as she jogged with Vala down the corridors of the Odyssey.

"Um...he's doing something similar to me." She lied.

"He is?"

"No, he's not." Vala admitted.

"It's not like I don't appreciate that he's worried about me, but...it's weird, you know?"

Vala laughed. "Sam, you don't know the meaning of the word "weird". Weird is getting dumped in a forest on a planet you've never even heard of, getting rescued by a man who can't walk normally, and being impregnated by the Ori."

"That's true." Sam said, nodding. "But...still...I can't shake the feeling that Teal'c knows something he's not going to tell me. Something like...I die in the first few weeks of the time dilation field because of overexertion."

Vala shook her head. "That's not possible, Sam. If it were, we wouldn't be back here doing what we're doing. You're the only scientist we have on board."

"True." Sam said as they paused. "But still..."

"Hey, we were stuck in the field for fifty years, weren't we?" Vala asked, looking at Sam seriously.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Well, fifty years is a long time to be single. And since you and I are the only females on board, maybe you and Muscles..."

Sam wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Agh! Me and...Teal'c...I don't think so."

"Why not? He's handsome, sweet and he's obviously crazy about you."

Sam shuddered. "Okay. That's enough."

Vala looked up at the ceiling somewhat absently. "I wonder who I was with...couldn't have been Daniel. Maybe it was Mitchell..."

Sam rolled her eyes as she continued her jog. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the end of the ramblings of one Vala Maldoran.