Jack stormed through the Stargate the moment it stabilized in the heart of Cheyenne Mountain, never breaking his stride as he forced his way through the see of soldiers and medical personal awaiting the unscheduled return of SG-1.

"Colonel O'Neill!" General George Hammond called to the back of his second in command. When Jack continued his tirade down the corridor, knocking unsuspecting airman out of his way, Hammond turned his confusion to the remainder of SG-1 that had lingered behind. Daniel Jackson sat on the end of the Gate ramp, his head held in his hands. Teal'c stood by his side at attention. Hammond couldn't help but notice the absence of the teams 4th member. "Teal'c, what the hell happened out there?"

"Sam's dead." It was Daniel who answered, his voice muffled by his knees. "The Odyessy crew is safe. They were beamed to P4X-446, when we went under attack. Sam beamed us to a planet and the ship blew up." As the scientist got to his feet, Hammond could see that he had been on the losing end of a fist fight, but more, that he had been crying. He knew the bonds SG-1 shared; he knew he would shed his own tears for Major Carter in the near future.

"Major Carter saved our lives, General Hammond. We would not have survived without her sacrifice. Her loss is a great detriment to us all." And with that the Jaffa bowed and left the room without fanfare.

"I would like to debrief when you are ready, Son" Hammond said with a reassuring hand on Daniels shoulder. "Yes, General."

Carter smelled earth, which was strange because moments ago she couldn't take a breath without the acrid smoke burning her lungs. She was lying on her side, shivering from the damp cold that surrounded her. She knew she should be assessing her situation, but her eyes refused to open. Nor could she seem to remember how to move her arms and legs.

"Where did she come from?" the voice was behind her, small, that of a child.

"I don't know, Dalia, but we shouldn't touch her." Another child. What on Earth was going on? Was she hallucinating? Dead? The sharp pain in her side debunked both theories.

"Ahh!" Carter cried out in pain. The action causing her to cough uncontrollably, her lungs craving the clean air. She heard crying fading in the distance as the children ran back to wherever they had come. The world around her became clearer with every breath. She felt the moss and leaves beneath her hands and cheek. She forced her eyes to open, but everything was out of focus. Something undetectable pinned her to the ground and she couldn't move.

Leaves rustled behind her, and Sam struggled to roll herself toward the noise. The pain in her ribs was excruciating and her chest was tight with the effort to breath. A hand on her shoulder helped roll her to her back. She blinked the stranger into focus. Human, that was good. She couldn't sense the presents of a go'a'ould, even better.

"Can you hear me?" The man sounded concerned. Of course she had just appeared in his swamp. The man kept his hand on her shoulder as she managed to nod in return. "My name is Canas. These are my children Dalia and Ravan." Canas gestured to the pair at his left. One of which was holding a large stick. That explains the one thing, Carter thought. "We will not harm you."

Good, Sam could feel herself nod in agreement. Canas' face was blurring. She could hear his voice, but it was falling farther away as the darkness swallowed her again.

"That's crap." O'Neill was out of his chair pacing the conference room. For good measure he tossed the report into the air letting the pages float around the room.

"Excuse me, Colonel." General Hammond remained seated at the head of the table. He had learned long ago to give O'Neill a wide berth. Considering the circumstances of this debriefing he was practically giving him free reign.

"It's crap, General." Jack leaned casually against the window and stared at the gate below. "Major Carter got herself blown up because I put her in a position where she had to."

"Jack, no one is saying that this is your fault." Daniel was out of his chair and crossing the room toward O'Neill. He knew Jack blamed himself. Hell, for a fleeting moment he blamed Jack as well. The moments when Jack's fist were slamming into his face, for example. But he knew how much his friend cared for Sam Carter, and he knew that Jack would have swallowed a grenade if there were a chance of saving any of their lives.

"Of course, it's my fault, Daniel!" O'Neill's fists slammed into the glass, violently shaking the window. "I gave an order. She followed it. My fault."

Teal'c had not moved from his place at the table. Outward displays of emotion were not the Jafa's style. He would mourn his friend in private and deal with his guilt in his own way. "You could not have known, O'Neill."

"Couldn't I have? Come one, T, its Carter. Give her a problem she's gonna solve it. I told her to make it work. She needed more power to operate the transporters so she sealed herself into the control room and waited for the bomb to charge the batteries. She went boom, we took a ride to the nearest Stargate!"

Teal'c remained silent. There was no way to comfort his friend in this moment. O'Neill's description of Major Carter's death was indeed accurate and although O'Neill was not to be blamed he did not yet know how to make him believe that.

"Are we done here, General? I have things to do." Jack was out the door before Hammond could respond.

The three men remained in an awkward silence with the weight of the past day pressing upon them all. This was more than losing a team member and a friend. They had all lost so many before it should be routine, but this was different. This was Sam Carter, and Carter was always different. Always more than she was supposed to be.

Thanks for reading. More to come. :)