When Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter regained consciousness, it was extremely sudden. The last thing she remembered was watching the earth rush up to meet the jumper, and then…nothing. Opening her eyes, Sam realized that she had to be in a field unit of some kind, likely a hospital. She was lying in a cot, with an IV in her right arm. General O'Neill was in the cot next to her, and she could see Daniel and Teal'c in cots across the tent. They'd all been dressed in white pajamas, and all sported bandages. Looking at her own arms, Sam noted that she, too, had been patched up. Her eyes followed the IV, and widened in shock. What kind of hospital used glass IV bottles anymore?
Then she noticed the woman in a lab coat sitting at a desk near the door, concentrating on paperwork. Some sixth sense must have told the woman she was being watched, for she turned around and met Sam's blue-eyed gaze with her own brown-eyed one. Quick as lightning, she was out of the chair and out the door.
Sam was in the process of sitting up when the door opened and admitted a different woman, also in a lab coat, and a tall man who was in the process of pulling on his lab coat. This woman had shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes, while the man had longer brown hair, a mustache, and kind brown eyes.
"Howdy ma'am, we haven't been properly introduced" he greeted her, smiling. "I'm Doctor Hunnicutt. I took care of you when you arrived."
"Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, United States Air Force. Thank you," Sam responded, slightly bewildered. Even so, she didn't miss the look that passed between Doctor Hunnicutt and the other woman. That could wait, though. "I don't mean to be rude, but could you tell me where I am?"
"You're at the Four-Oh-Seven-Seventh MASH, ma'am," the woman responded. "I'm Major Houlihan, the head nurse."
The explanation made no sense to Sam, but she nodded just the same. The confusion must have shown in her face, however, because Major Houlihan clarified: "We're just below the thirty-eighth parallel, ma'am."
Something about that statement set off alarms in Sam's head, but the drugs were playing havoc with her memory. She settled for changing the subject. "Are my friends okay?" she asked as she sat up.
Doctor Hunnicutt looked up from taking her pulse and nodded. "All four of you are going to be fine. I have a couple of questions—"
A groan from the cot beside Sam cut him off. With the IV in her arm, Sam couldn't get out of the bed, so she settled for calling out. "Sir?"