Chapter Two: Putting a Foot Down
"What do you mean, I'm not your husband?" Daniel demanded, dragging Sam unceremoniously back into – and she shuddered to think it – their quarters. "What the hell is going on with you?"
"With me? Oh, that's funny," she shot back. "This is all very, very funny, and you can give up any time now. I'm not buying it."
"Buying what?"
"This! This – this sham!" she cried, gesturing to the twin dressers. "Married? Are you kidding me?" Well, he had part of it right – the SGC was much more believable than that crazy farm out in the middle of nowhere, and no, maybe impersonating Pete hadn't worked out so well, but Fifth had really missed a memo this time.
"Sam." Daniel's voice was soft, hurt. "Is this about last night? I know we went to sleep mad, and I'm sorry for that, but... I think 'sham' is a little harsh!"
A hysterical giggle bubbled up through her chest as she rubbed her eyes in irritation. "This is insane!" When the fake Daniel blinked, surprised, she pressed, "I'm not falling for it this time. You might as well quit while you're ahead, because I'm done. You hear me? I'm done. It's over."
Fully expecting the archaeologist to shimmer and morph into her newest nemesis – or some other Replicator, at least – she was more than a little surprised when he took a step back instead, his face instantly white as the military-issue sheets on the bed. "You... you don't mean that. Sam – sweetheart – I know we've had our issues, but... but I love you. Please."
The way his eyes glistened, the true pain on his face stopped her in her tracks. Okay, maybe he was a hallucination, but a good one, and everything inside her railed against hurting him even if he was all in her head.
And then he started for her, and she realized that that had been the plan all along – for his pain to gain him entrance. "No. No, no, no, stop," she protested, holding up a solid hand to stop his advance. "You listen to me, Fifth. Daniel and I are not married, and this is not real. None of this is real."
Not-Daniel blinked, his hurt expression faltering toward confusion and concern. "Sam?"
"I'm not talking to you like that any more," she pressed, perching on the edge of the bed and crossing her arms. "If you want to talk to me, Fifth, you can talk to me as yourself. But I'm not letting you suck me in again. No more visions, no more crazy scenarios. Just you and me."
Still, he just stood there, mouth hanging open, eyes blinking almost comically in shock. When he finally moved, it was to backpedal – never taking his eyes off her, he moved to the desk and fished around blindly until his fingers found the phone. "Hey, it's Daniel," he said into the receiver. "Could you send a medical team to my quarters? Sam's not... exactly... herself."
