Title: Leave

Author: PapayaK

Category: Romance, Hurt-Comfort, Angst

Spoilers: Solitudes, Emancipation, Divide and Conquer

Summary: What if they just didn't know anything about any regulations? My attempt at Jack/Sam ship

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just having fun.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jack woke up with a start and immediately rose and pivoted onto his knees reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. He instantly regretted moving as his head threatened to fall off his body and explode, and not necessarily in that order.

He took a deep breath to control the throbbing and scanned his surroundings. He had been lying on the floor in the main room of a small, modestly furnished cottage, dressed in a plain brown tunic and pants. The most important information he gained was that he was not alone.

He reached over and shook the shoulder of a similarly dressed woman lying near him. "Carter?" He asked uncertainly.

He had the strangest feeling… Like he should be somewhere else, only he couldn't think where. This was the only place he had ever known, wasn't it? This was… home.

Carter groaned and turned her head to look at him. "Colonel?"

"Jack" he corrected, frowning.

"Right" She too, spoke uncertainly.

He nodded and pressed the heel of one hand into his left eye socket.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Other than a monster of a headache and scrambled brains – can't think straight." He admitted. He felt too confused at the moment to be anything but honest. "You?"

"Same." She raised herself on her elbows to look around; "Well!" she exclaimed when her eyes fell on a small child with blond curls, little more than an infant, sleeping peacefully on the floor between them. "Who's this?" she asked, resting her hand gently on the girl's back. She seemed to be perfectly healthy, just asleep.

"You're Carter."

She nodded.

"I'm Jack. Then this is… Sam."

"You sure?" she asked doubtfully, "What makes you think so?"

"That's what we would've named her. Sam is my other favorite name." His eyes twinkled at her, "Besides Carter."

She smiled softly. "Okay, but I'm still not sure you're right about that."

"Then who is she, genius?"

"We'll go with Sam until we have another idea." Something made her not want to protest, to just accept the situation.

"Mm hmm. Told ya." He said as he got up from the floor and swayed for a minute, "Whoa. Don't get up on my account," he waved a hand at her as he stumbled toward the door.

"Jack – Where are we?"

He paused, looked around frowning, "Home? Think this must be home." He still had the nagging feeling he belonged somewhere else, but he knew nowhere else. Plus he was absolutely certain that he and Carter belonged together. The baby was only natural…

Carter, her hand still on Sam, looked around nodding uncertainly, "That seems to fit." She said doubtfully. She had the same feeling of uncertain belonging.

Jack turned away again, taking a weapon from the pack on the floor by the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Gotta find Daniel and Teal'c," he answered without thinking.

She nodded. That sounded right. "Do you even remember what they look like?"

He considered, "No, but I'll know 'em when I see 'em. You stay here with Sam. I'll be back in a minute."

When he returned, Carter was playing peek-a-boo with Sam who was giggling for all she was worth. He paused at the door and wished he could smile at the pair. Carter noticed him. "What did you find?"

"It's not good. I found five dead."

"Daniel or Teal'c?" She asked, concerned.

"No sign of them. And other than those five, the village is deserted." He walked over and picked up Sam who was starting to investigate the cold fireplace. "Not a place to play, little girl!" He carried her back near Carter, "I don't know what happened here, but whatever it was," he gestured at his head, "I'm guessing we were caught in it."

"Then why aren't we dead?"

"Everyone else was outside. Maybe we were protected enough in here?"

"Whatever it was I'd guess we knew all about it, but somehow it screwed with our heads."

"You'll figure it out. Something tells me you're the brains of this outfit." He gently disentangled Sam's fingers from the sunglasses around his neck, and handed her back to Carter. "Keep her inside for a while. I'm going to go lay our friends to rest."

She nodded gravely at him as he left, then spoke to Sam, "Well, sweetheart, let's see if we can find something yummy for you, shall we?"

oO0Oo

Frasier entered the General's office. In her arms she carried the familiar medical files.

"Anything to report, Doctor?" the General asked.

"Daniel and Teal'c seem to be recovering. They have headaches, some pretty big holes in their memories, and some confusion. Daniel told me he can only remember nine and a half languages. But pieces of a few more are coming back to him." She smiled ruefully, "The strangest thing was that they both believed this to be home."

"Earth?" the General asked, puzzled.

She shook her head, "No – I mean here, the SGC. I didn't think anything of it from Teal'c, but Daniel said the same thing. Even argued with me when I told him he had an apartment. Now that I've explained things, the memories are returning. I expect they'll be fine by morning."

"What could possible explain that? I can see forgetting things – But why believe this to be home?" The General frowned.

Frasier spoke slowly, "This isn't really my area, Sir, but it makes sense that the Goa'uld would design such mind altering effects to control their newly relocated slaves." She shook her head and continued her report, "Unfortunately Jelu, the man from the planet who was affected by the energy wave, fared much worse. He may not recover fully. Currently he's in a coma."

The General studied her, "What does this mean for Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, and the other natives?"

"I don't know, Sir. And sending a probe back won't help. This form of energy is undetectable by our instruments. We can only measure the effects." Her lips were set in a thin line, "Sam could probably figure out a way, but…"

"Do we even know if they're alive, Doctor?"

"No, Sir. If they were far enough away… if they were under cover… the energy wave definitely has less of an effect on Earth humans than the natives of this planet, so there's hope… If they're" she swallowed, "alive," she said the word firmly, "they will probably be confused at the very least."

"Send Dr. Jackson and Teal'c to my office as soon as they're able."

"Yes, Sir."

The General sat down behind his desk with a deep sigh as Dr. Frasier returned to her patients.