"So, who wants to take first watch?" Jack asked. The group was sitting in camp on Px-2448. Nobody answered him. He sighed and stood up.
"Fine. I will." Jack said. Sam smiled. 'Works every time.' She though to herself. Jack walked to the outside of their camp and the other three went to sleep. Sam woke up sometime later. She sat up, looking around. She glanced at her watch and frowned. Jack was supposed to have switched places with her by now. She got up and walked over to where Jack should have been standing watch. He wasn't there. She stood still, listening for anything out of place. Suddenly the sound of ragged breathing became clear. The ground was fairly well lit, thanks to the planet's two moons. Sam followed the sound into a grove of trees a short distance off. She drew a breath of horror when she stepped into the grove. Jack sat leaning against one of the trees, blood flowing out of a gash on the side of his head. Sam called for Daniel and Teal'c on the radio as she rushed over to Jack.
"What… who…" Jack muttered before passing out. The group rushed him back to the SGC.
"What happened?" Hammond demanded when he saw Jack. Sam quickly told him they didn't know before following the gurney to the imfimary. The group waited impatiently for Janet to tell the how bad it was. It wasn't every long before she came out, looking grim.
"He got hit on the head pretty hard." Janet told them. "It might be as slight as a concussion, or as severe as temporary amnesia."
"Amnesia!" Daniel asked, shocked. She nodded. Nobody else said anything.
"Can we see him?" Sam asked. Janet frowned.
"You can, but I've put him under sedation for now. I'll call you when he wakes up if you'd like." She told Sam.
"Thanks." She said, nodding.
"I want you three in the debriefing room in five minutes to tell me what happened." Hammond said. Sam and Daniel nodded. Five minutes later Daniel, Sam, Teal'c, Hammond, and Janet were sitting around the table.
"Colonel O'Niell is still unconscious right now. I couldn't find anything to indicate a brain injury, so he should be alright." Janet told the group. Sam released an inward sigh of relief.
"I'd still like to know" Hammond was interrupted by a nurse that suddenly rushed into the room.
"Colonel O'Niell is awake ma'am." The nurse said to Janet.
"Thank you." Janet said to the nurse as she stood up to leave. The rest followed suit.
"So Colonel, how are you feeling?" Janet asked Jack when the group arrived at the infirmary.
"Why do you people keep calling me that?" Jack asked in an annoyed tone.
"What do you mean, sir?" Sam asked. She could feel her heart sinking.
"And sir. What is up with that?" Jack continued.
"I thought you said he'd be ok!" Daniel said to Janet.
"I don't know why this happened." Janet said with frustration. "Do you know who you are or where you're at?" she asked Jack. He thought for a minute, then he slowly shook his head.
"I'm assuming that it's someplace important." He said.
"Yeah, you could say that." Daniel muttered.
"Do you recognize anyone in this room?" Janet asked. Jack's eyes landed on Sam.
"I recognize you, but I couldn't tell you your name." He said to her.
"I have to run some more tests. I suggest for now you all let the colonel get some rest." Janet said.
"I take it I'm 'the colonel'." Jack said.
"Yes. Your full name is Jack O'Niell." Daniel said.
"And you are?" Jack asked.
"Daniel. And that's Sam and Teal'c." Daniel told him.
"Ok, now that you've made introductions, shoo!" Janet said. The other three reluctantly left the infirmary. With the head of SG-1 down, the general gave them some down time. The three of them spent most of the day trying to convince Janet to let them visit Jack. Finally she gave in and let them in one at a time. Sam was first.
"Hi sir. How are you doing?" she asked him.
"You know, I might have been 'sir' before, but for now, please call me Jack." He told her. She nodded.
"So, have you remembered anything?" she asked.
"If I told you that I did, do you think the doc would let me leave here?" Jack asked.
"I'll take that as a no." Sam said with a smile. They sat in silence for a while.
"So, was there ever anything… between us?" he asked hesitantly.
"No," Sam said quickly. "Why do you ask?"
"Its just that whenever I look at you, I know the memories are right there, I just can't quite reach them." He told her. Sam was saved from responding by the appearance of Janet.
"Can I talk to you for a minute Sam?" Janet asked. Sam nodded and moved out of earshot of Jack.
"I can't find anything wrong. His blood tests are normal, and the cat scans are clean. I have no idea what to do next. Has he remembered anything yet?" Janet asked. Sam shook her head. Janet sighed. "For now, I guess it would be best if you all continued to visit him, and try to surround him with familiar things, and see if he recognizes anything." She said. Sam nodded and went to tell Daniel it was his turn. The infirmary was silent when Daniel walked in.
"Hey Jack. How are you doing?" Daniel asked, sitting down on a stool next to Jack's bed.
"Peachy. Just peachy." Jack said in an irritated voice.
"Well, you might not remember anything, but you still sound the same." Daniel told him.
"Daniel, right? I can't remember much, but I'm sure the old Jack wouldn't be able to stand being here much more than I can." Jack told him. Daniel nodded in agreement.
"I'll see if I can Janet to let you leave." Daniel told him.
"Janet?" Jack asked, momentarily confused. "Oh, you mean the doc." The two sat in silence for a while.
"So do you know what kind of music I like?" Jack asked.
"I've never seen you listening to music before." Daniel told him.
"Daniel, its nine o'clock. What are you still doing here?" Janet asked as she walked up to the two of them.
"Just keeping Jack company. You know, it's not doing Jack any good to be lying around here, and I do have an extra room at my house." Daniel said. Janet sighed.
"I knew one of you would crack under Jack's persistence. All right, you can take him home." She relented.
"Thanks." Daniel said. On the way out, they met Sam.
"She finally let you out, huh?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, and it's a good thing too, because I think I would have gone crazy if I had to spend anymore time in there by myself." Jack said.
"Why don't we go to O'Malley's for dinner?" Sam suggested.
"O'Malley's?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. It's a great bar over by your house." Daniel explained to Jack.
"Why don't I go get Teal'c and meet you two there?" Sam said. Daniel nodded. Fifteen minutes later the four of them were sitting around a table at O'Malley's.
"This place is great!" Jack said, looking around.
"Yeah, and the foods not too bad either." Sam added.
"Imagine seeing you guys here." The group looked up at the familiar voice of Janet. Daniel scooted over and Janet sat down between him and Sam.
"Hi doc." Jack said. A waiter came up and asked for orders.
"Hamburger with O'Malley sticks." Jack said automatically. The rest of the group stared at him.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You just ordered food without even looking at the menu." Sam said.
"Well, I just said the first thing that popped into my head." Jack said.
"At least some of the memories are still there." Janet said. "Even if you don't remember most things."
"Are you guys going to order or continue to talk about things I probably don't want to know about?" the waiter interrupted. The rest quickly ordered, shooed the waiter off, and turned back to Jack.
"Have you remembered anything else lately?" Janet asked.
"No, I haven't" Jack said.
"Maybe we should go back to the planet." Daniel suggested.
"What planet?" Jack asked.
"Did anybody bother to explain the SGC to him?" Janet asked. Nobody answered.
"You mean the stargate and such?" Jack spoke up. The group stared at him once again.
"How do you have knowledge of the stargate, O'Niell?" Teal'c asked. Jack thought for a minute.
"I'm not sure," He said slowly, "But I remember the stargate and going through it."
"I think it would be a good idea to go back." Janet said. Daniel and Sam nodded in agreement.
The following morning SG-1 plus Janet stood in front of the gate waiting for it to be dialed up. They had suggested to Hammond the idea of going back and he readily agreed. The planet looked the same as it had when they first went through. About a mile off, the grove of trees where Sam had found Jack rose above the hills. That's where the group headed. The walk to the grove took most of the day. It was quiet when they arrived.
"So…. Now what?" Jack asked causally.
"Do you remember any of this sir?" Sam asked.
"Nope." He said simply. "And didn't I tell you to call me Jack?"
"It's getting late. Why don't we camp out for the night while I run some tests?" Janet suggested.
"That's a good idea. We'll go set up camp." Sam said. Daniel stayed with Janet to help and Jack and Teal'c followed Sam.
"Sir, could you give me a hand?" Sam asked, motioning toward a tent. The two of them put up while Teal'c put up another. When they were finished, Jack sat down on a log, sighing.
"What is it sir?" Sam asked, sitting down beside him.
"I was hoping once I got here, I would start remembering things." He told her.
"I take it you haven't." Sam replied. Jack shook his head. He looked around him, then at Sam.
"I keep thinking somehow we're connected. That I belong with you, side by side." He confessed. Sam remained silent, partly shocked at what Jack said.
"Even though you tell me that there was never anything between us, I just can't shake the feeling that we belong together." Jack continued.
"I never said we didn't belong together." She said to herself.
"What was that?" Jack asked, not having heard her. She shook her head. They sat in silence for a moment. Soon Daniel and Janet came back.
"We've got all the stuff set up." Daniel informed them.
"Guess there's nothing to do but wait." Jack said. The group nodded.
"I will take the first watch." Teal'c informed them. He stood near the tents and the rest of the group went to sleep.
Sam walked through the grove of trees, illuminated by the two full moons. Jack stood at one end, smiling. He gestured for her to come, and walked off to the right. The ground opened up in front of him to reveal a staircase. Even as Jack stepped onto the stairs, the ground began to close again. Sam started to run.
"Jack! Wait!" she shouted, running toward the staircase, but it was too late. The stairs where gone. Sam woke breathing hard. She sat up and tried to relax. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she sat and listened to the quiet night around her. She shook her head, trying to clear out the rest of the dream. Carefully so as not to wake Janet, she climbed out of her sleeping bag and slipped out of the tent. She shivered at the sight of the grove, and walked around to the other side of the tents to where she couldn't see the trees. She was going to sit on the log Jack had been sitting on earlier, but she hesitated when she saw Jack sitting on it. He was looking the opposite direction. She decided to join him.
"Can't sleep?" Jack asked when she sat down. She nodded her head.
"Have you remembered anything else yet?" Sam asked him. He shook his head. They sat together for a while, enjoying the night air. Soon Sam stood up to return to her tent. Jack stood up as well.
"Sam, before you," he stopped short when they heard a noise coming from the grove. They glanced at each other and headed for the grove. Teal'c was already on the edge, looking into the trees. The three of them stood at the edge of the trees, waiting to see if anything moved. After standing in silence for a while, Teal'c started into the grove. Jack followed him silently. Sam hesitated, but followed as well. The grove seemed just as empty as it had before. The group wandered further into the grove. They heard the noise again. They looked around, trying to find the source. Suddenly a small glowing bug appeared in front of them.
"What is that?" Jack exclaimed, taking a step back. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished.
"What's all the noise?" Janet asked, coming up behind them, Daniel following.
"There's something else here." Sam said quickly. Jack cautiously walked toward the direction the bug had gone. He had only taken two or three steps when more appeared in front of him.
"Sir, be careful. Remember what happened on the research base?" Sam cautioned.
"Actually, I don't. Remember?" Jack commented.
"Well, let's just say the bugs weren't so friendly." Daniel informed him. Jack looked at him and took a few steps backwards.
"Don't worry, they won't hurt you." A soft voice said from the trees. A small child stepped out. "They just want to undo what they've done."
"Just what did they do?" Sam asked cautiously. The rest of the group remained silent, staring at the child.
"They really didn't mean to, but they took most of his memory." The child explained.
"Before you do anything to me, I want to know who you are and what happened." Jack demanded.
"They're really sorry. When you came here for the first time, they were scared. They hadn't had outside contact for a long time. One of them tried to talk to you, but you collapsed and hit your head on a rock, which is why you had a cut on your head. They ran away after you fell and didn't realize that they had most of your memory until it was too late." The child explained. The group remained silent for a moment.
"How do I get my memory back?" Jack asked.
"Follow me. We have to go to their home." The child said.
"Who exactly are they? And who exactly are you?" Daniel asked.
"My people call them wisps. I'm not sure what they are. I am Tara. When my family found out I could understand the wisps, they sent me to live with them until I'm grown." The child explained.
"You mean there's more of you?" Daniel asked.
"Yes. A few days journey toward the sun. But if you go after them, you won't find them. They're very good at hiding." Tara told him. She turned to Jack. "Are you coming or not?"
"Yes." He said.
"Wait. Somebody else should go with him, to make sure he makes it back." Janet said.
"If you must, but only one can come." Tara told Janet.
"I'll go." Sam volunteered.
"All right. We must go now." Tara said, turning and walking out of the grove. Sam and Jack hesitated before following. Tara led them to the south, away from the stargate. They had been walking for fifteen minutes when Tara stopped.
"We are here." She said. Jack was about to ask where here was when he noticed a group of wisps coming toward them. The wisps formed a circle around Sam, Jack, and Tara.
"They tell me that it won't hurt, but you may fall down like you did before." Tara told Jack.
"Wait." Jack said quickly. He turned to Sam. "Before I get my memory back there's one thing I want to do." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. "Ok. Now I'm ready." He told the wisps. There was a flash of light, then the wisps and Tara were gone. Jack was lying on the ground. Sam leaned down and helped Jack up.
"How do you feel sir?" Sam asked cautiously.
"Like somebody just sat on my head, but I think all my memory is back." Jack said. Sam nodded. The two spent the fifteen minutes back in silence.
"What happened?" Daniel asked, running up to them as soon as he noticed them coming back. "Do you have your memory back?"
"Yup." Jack said absently. "Let's head back to the base." Daniel and Janet glanced at each other, wondering why Jack was so quiet.
"What happened?" Hammond asked as soon as they had stepped through the gate.
"It was a success, sir. I've got my memory back." Jack said simply. Hammond nodded.
"I suggest after you go the infirmary for a check-up after the debrief, you all take a few days off." He told SG-1. Jack nodded and headed out of the gate room. The rest of SG-1 followed him silently.
"Are you sure you're ok, Colonel? You're being rather quiet for you." Janet asked once they were in the infirmary.
"I feel fine." Jack said.
"All right. If you're sure, you can go." Janet told Jack.
"Thanks." Jack said, standing up to leave.
"Do you want to go to O'Malley's to celebrate?" Daniel asked.
"You go ahead Daniel. I think I'll go home." Jack told him.
"Yeah, me too." Sam added.
"Spoilsports." Daniel muttered.
"That might be true, but you didn't have your memory taken away and then shoved back in. I'm going home." Jack told Daniel before he turned and left the infirmary.
"Is it just me or is Jack seem a little off?" Daniel asked Sam. She shrugged.
"I don't know." She told him before following Jack. She met up with him as he was stepping onto the elevator.
"How are you sir?" Sam asked as the doors to the elevator closed.
"Fine." He said simply. They rode to the surface in an uncomfortable silence.
"See you later Carter." He said as he stepped off the elevator when they reached the top.
"Night sir." She called after him as he walked away. She sighed, watching his retreating form.
The next morning Sam had already gotten up and dressed before she remembered she had the day off. She looked around her house, looking for something to do. She decided to go out to watch a movie, but before she could leave her phone rang.
"Good morning, Carter." Jack's voice greeted her.
"Good morning sir." She said hesitantly, not having expected Jack to be calling her.
"I just wanted to say sorry for acting so self absorbed yesterday." He said.
"You went through a lot. You had most rights to be a little self absorbed." She told him in surprise. They both were silent for a minute.
"Do you want to come over and watch TV?" Jack asked. Sam froze. 'Is he really asking that?" she thought. 'We already crossed one line with that kiss.'
"Daniel's going to be there too." Jack added hastily when Sam didn't respond. She relaxed.
"Sure sir. I'll be right over." She said. When Sam arrived, Daniel's car was already in the driveway and him and Jack were out bar-b-queuing.
"I'm glad you could come." Jack said when Sam walked over to them.
"It's not like I had much else to do. You know I usually spend Saturdays on the base." Sam told Jack.
"What is the date today?" Daniel asked quickly.
"It's the 23rd. Why?" Jack said him.
"Zut! I have a meeting at the Colorado Springs Museum. Sorry." He said, starting for his car.
"Ok." Sam said weakly.
"Bye Daniel." Jack called after him. Sam and Jack remained silent while Jack finished cooking.
"Food's done. Do you want to go in and I'll carry the food." Jack told Sam after a few minutes. She nodded and walked in the door. When she opened the door to Jack's dining room, she gasped in surprise. There were candles lit all over the room and music was playing.
"Surprise." Jack whispered in her ear. She jumped, not realizing Jack had been standing behind her.
"You and Daniel had this all planned out, didn't you?" she asked, turning around. Jack smiled meekly.
"Sir, I don't know if" Jack put his finger on her lips to silence her.
"I love you Sam. If you don't feel the same, or you aren't willing to have a relationship with me, please tell me so I can stop making a fool out of myself." Jack told Sam. She hesitated, knowing this was a big step that they would never be able to come back from.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sam asked. Jack nodded.
"You aren't wasting your time." She told him, leaning in and kissing him.