Sam had just returned from two days of meetings in Area 51, very boring meetings. She couldn't wait to get back to her lab and do some actual work. Her visit to Area 51 consisted of meetings about doing work, what work should be done; who should do the work, scheduling the work, etc. but no work was involved. Sam left her bag in her lab and headed for the commissary. She wanted a cup of coffee and a chance to chat with her friends. She'd looked for Daniel in his office and checked the gym for Teal'c and Mitchell. SG-1 wasn't scheduled to go off-world for two days so when she didn't see anyone she figured they were together eating or drinking. She walked past the Control Room and saw Walter was halfway through the dialing process but had clearly stopped. She caught his eye and with a shrug mimed "What's going on?"

"It's very complicated Colonel Carter." He gestured her into the room.

Sam looked down through the window and saw a beautiful black haired woman at the top of the ramp. She was dressed in black leather starting with knee high boots, very tight pants, some sort of bustier top and a long coat gathered at the waist. Her shoulder length hair was loose and there was an expansive wide grin on her face. Sam decided to call her "the woman in black". Teal'c stood off to the side and, surprisingly, Dr. Lam was on her other side but standing very close to the woman. General Landry was behind a circle of security team members and Daniel and Cam stood facing the gate within the circle. Both men looked stressed and agitated but in addition Daniel looked furious. There were so many voices speaking at once that she couldn't make sense of any of it and decided to go down to the Gate Room. As she turned to leave she saw Dr. Lam whispering to the woman. The doctor moved directly in front of the woman in leather. The woman looked unsure of what the doctor was doing but continued to smile. Cam and Daniel both went rigid but Sam noticed that General Landry didn't look concerned.

Sam entered the room and heard Dr. Lam say "Finish dialing the gate Walter and let her through or she'll kill me. Vala has some sort of Goa'uld weapon in my back." When no one moved or said anything she looked angry.

Now that Sam was in the room no one was talking. Sam looked at them one by one. Daniel glared at the 'woman in black'. In return the woman just smiled at Daniel. Mitchell looked confused. Odd as it was Sam thought that Teal'c was giving Daniel a dirty look. A relaxed Landry stood back watching all of them with a bemused expression.

A bright light flashed behind Sam and she turned slightly, not wanting to take her eyes off anyone in the Gate Room. She saw that it was Jack and gave him a quick smile. Then he was next to her whispering. "Do you know what's going on? How long have you been here?"

"I have no clue. I just walked in on this a couple of minutes ago."

"Daniel sure looks pissed. Who's he angry at, Carter?"

"I think the woman in black, Sir. Dr. Lam called her Vala."

"Isn't that the one who stole the Prometheus? Something sure has Danny Boy all hot and bothered; he looks like he's going to have a nervous breakdown."

"He does seem discombobulated."

"Carter? What the …"

"It's a perfectly respectable word, Sir."

"If you say so. She is kinda hot. What's with the geek and the sexy aliens? Our Daniel's some sort of intergalactic chick magnet."

Sam rolled her eyes at Jack in response.

"What's with that anyway? Why Daniel?"

"He's very sweet and kind."

"There's no way that woman got involved with him because he's sweet."

"Ok. So maybe he's also gorgeous and sexy."

"What? Carter, are you kidding me?"

"You asked!"

"Well, he doesn't look very sweet at the moment. He can't decide if he wants to kill her or jump her bones."

Sam and Jack had been whispering but no one seemed to have even noticed they were there. No one was speaking but, as the cliché goes, the silence was deadening.

Daniel spoke first, in a deep growl. "Vala, you aren't going to hurt the doctor. Just let her go and we can discuss your situation like reasonable adults."

Vala replied with a string of what sounded like Goa'uld curses and insults adding at the end. "You know that I'm far from reasonable, my darling. And you're a fine one to talk about acting like an adult." Her smile had faded and she was now returning Daniel's glare with one of her own.

Dr. Lam was looking around as if she couldn't believe no one was worried about her situation. "I hope that you're correct Dr. Jackson. But it is, in fact, my life. And I'm terrified." Vala gave the doctor an odd look and then whispered something in her ear. What ever she said made the doctor smile, just for a second, before her face returned to it's usual serious and unemotional expression.

Landry spoke 'Carolyn, please move away from your patient. No one's going to hurt anyone."

Carolyn stayed in front of Vala. "I was told, in fact, that she was not my patient, that she was a criminal and our prisoner. In so many words I was told to shut up and do the tests."

Landry looked sharply at Cam who protested. "That's not exactly what I said, Sir. I was told that she was a dangerous criminal and that the results of the tests were high priority. That I was to guard her and not let her out of my sight. Jackson said she was a very slippery customer."

Dr. Lam looked even angrier as she continued. "So I had to do an obstetrical examination and ultrasound without being allowed to pull the curtain around the bed. I had to take a very intimate gynecological history with no privacy for my patient or rather my non-patient. And then my pregnant non-patient is taken off to an interrogation room!"

Sam and Jack turned to each other, saying at the same time "Pregnant?"

There was complete silence when she finished. All eyes looked towards Cam. "I was told to not let her out of my sight. There was no way I could do that through a curtain. What kind of exam did you guys think she'd have to do to see if Vala was having a baby?"

Vala pushed Dr. Lam forward and to the side away from her body. "It's okay Caro. I appreciate your help but this needs to stop."

"You don't understand Vala. They're sending men from the IOC and I don't think they'll solicit my medical opinion. I can't promise they won't decide they need to determine if Jackson's the father. I'm frightened about the tests they'll do and what could happen to the baby."

Vala continued to push Dr. Lam away and soon the fact that Vala was holding her finger against Dr. Lam's back was obvious. Dr. Lam attempted to look shocked. "Oh, my goodness! I was sure that she had some sort of gun." No one laughed except Vala.

"Well you were right darling. I wasn't going to kill her. I'm not sure why you were so confident about that, you were taking a chance with her life. Now her father there, he obviously knows how bad a liar Caro is and knew all along that there was no weapon."

She smiled broadly and backed up a few steps. "As much fun as it's been boys, I think it's time for me to leave. Medical experimentation on the alien and the alien baby just don't have the appeal that you might expect. I'm going to have to insist that you finish dialing the gate."

"But, we now know you don't have a weapon, why would we do that?"

Teal'c stepped in front of Vala and lowered his staff weapon to a firing position. "But I do, Colonel Mitchell."

Everyone in the room except Vala, Caro and the guards said together. "Teal'c?"

Vala stayed behind him but didn't look happy. They could hear her speaking to him in a foreign language and she sounded angry. She appeared to have lost the argument.

"Listen boys. Keep the tablet, the treasure it talks about is on Earth so it's of no use to me. Consider it an apology for my attempt to fool you. And Daniel, don't worry. The baby isn't yours. I was pregnant before we met; I just thought that you'd be an easy mark. There's not going to be any alien/human hybrid for your scientists to dissect."

Jack turned to Sam, "Alien/human hybrid? Dissect?"

Turning to Teal'c, Vala said. "Well, if you insist on getting involved let's get that gate open."

Teal'c looked at Landry and then saw O'Neill. "Generals, once I am sure that she is safe I will return and put myself in your custody. I would like to request a favor from you both. If you trust me and value me as a friend and comrade please open the gate."

Landry looked at Jack and said "The man was under your command and you're Homeland Security. It's your call."

Jack looked at Teal'c and they exchanged nods. "Finish the dialing sequence Walter. They're leaving."

Caro walked back to Vala and the women embraced. Vala said. "Thank you for all your help, and this" She touched what looked like apiece of cardboard stuck in her waist band. Caro kissed her cheek and said something to Vala that the rest of the room couldn't hear.

Having realized that he was the man in charge Vala looked at Jack with narrowed eyes. "You do know that I've never met this Jaffa before. I'm not sure why he's helping me. But men, once they reach a certain age, attempting to recapture their lost youth are vulnerable to being manipulated by my kind of woman. Just ask Daniel."

The wormhole formed and Vala and Teal'c backed up the ramp. As they reached the gate Vala raised her foot and kicked Teal'c in the back. He fell forward and she finished with a sweep of her leg against his knees. Teal'c fell onto the ramp and Vala waved good bye as she backed through the Gate.

"Goodbye everyone. Don't punish the Shol'va; he's not guilty of betraying you. And you Daniel" She began to speak in what everyone assumed was Goa'uld. Her voice was low but forceful. As she finished she held her hand up and raised three fingers one at a time. Blowing a kiss at Daniel she was gone.

The room was completely quiet. Teal'c got up and handing his weapon to Mitchell he walked out of the door saying "I will confine myself to my quarters."

There was complete silence until Jack spoke. "What the hell is going on here? Daniel?"

Daniel looked at Jack. "Jack?"

"Daniel?"

"It's complicated Jack."

"I just bet it is."

Jack walked up to Dr. Lam. "Are you okay Dr. Lam? You seemed pretty upset there. Did she hurt you? It sure seemed like you were helping her get away there, Doc."

Mitchell spoke "It must have been some sort of Stockholm Syndrome."

Dr. Lam's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me? You people think I was the victim here?" She looked Jack in the eyes. "Of course, I was terrified of the dangerous 90 pound pregnant woman who was so tired I was afraid she'd collapse. Which she well might have, since she wasn't given anything to eat or drink since she came through the gate."

Mitchell protested. "Hey, I wasn't in charge of the bread and water. I was just told to watch her. Jackson said that she was some sort of super criminal."

Jack noticed that Daniel looked shocked when he heard Dr. Lam mention food. And then guilty when Mitchell said his name.

Everyone turned to Jack. Nodding at Landry to confirm that he should take control of the situation Jack started giving orders.

"You men, stand down. Hank, why don't you take Dr. Lam to your office and debrief her. We'll leave Teal'c in his quarters for now. Daniel, Mitchell, Sam, you guys are with me. In the briefing room." When no one except Dr. Lam and Landry moved he yelled "I mean now, guys! Move it."