Epilogue

Cam could hear voices filtering out from inside the room before he entered, and he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Sam propped up on the infirmary bed, surrounded by new friends and coworkers.

"Hey, Sam. We were just about to head out. Thought we'd drop by and see how you were doing first."

All heads in the room shot up at the unexpected arrival, and Sam smiled appreciatively.

"I'm better," she said with a brightness that assured him she wasn't just faking it.

Cam smiled back and nodded before turning his attention to John. "Oh, and Sheppard…"

John, who had politely ducked his head during the exchange, snapped it back up to look at him.

Cam smirked. "Sorry about that whole, shooting you thing earlier."

John matched his grin with narrowed eyes.

Daniel frowned. "Yeah, by the way, where's McKay?"

John shifted his attention to the archeologist, glad for the change in subject. "He's off helping with getting the city back online. Apparently some of the systems need to be shut on manually."

Eyebrows knitted together, Daniel moved on to his next question. "Speaking of which…" His eyes darted over to Vala, then back to his audience. "How did you get the city back online considering Vala left the ZPM on the ship…?"

Vala rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be ridiculous, Daniel. I hid it in the city before I left. Though, now that you mention it, I will be filing a request for a new ship."

She offered a wide, toothy grin and Daniel ducked his head while the others tried to hide their amusement.

The silence was broken when Jennifer entered the room, flipping through some pages on a clip board. All eyes turned to the doctor, waiting for her assessment.

"Well," she began in a cheery tone. "So far everything looks good. Your fever's down, the poison is clearing out…" She flipped through a few more pages and looked up at Sam. "And it looks like your rash is healing."

Sam smiled.

"So, seriously," Cam cut in, waving his hand to halt the conversation. "How did you manage to get yourself bitten by a… what was it exactly?"

"I believe it was a venomous sea serpent, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c replied.

Vala frowned. "No, I'd have to say it looked more like a giant squid."

Sheppard and the others exchanged amused looks as the bickering continued.

"Yeah, I thought your mission had to do with brainwashing aliens…" Daniel added, his brows furrowed in skepticism.

Sam laughed under her breath. "Just my luck, I guess."

Cam grinned. "Right, well, we'd love to stick around and hear the rest of the story, but, Landry's still waiting for us to report back, and you know how it is when the good general gets cranky…"

"Ah," Sam said with an affirmative nod of her head. "Well, I guess I should probably let you go then."

Cam nodded with appreciation. "Keep us posted."

"Will do."

SG-1 gave their finals farewells and began to file out of the room along with Sheppard's team when Sam called out.

"Vala!"

The woman spun around, tossing her pigtails over her shoulders in a comical fashion.

"Hold up a sec."

Vala grinned and walked back over to her bedside where Sam was beckoning Jenn over. The doctor frowned in confusion and set down her work, walking over as requested.

Sam smiled warmly at the two women. "I just wanted to say thank you. Both of you. If it weren't for your combined efforts I wouldn't be here right now."

The pair looked at their feet and exchanged shy smiles.

"Yeah, well… you would've done the same for us," Jenn said.

Vala gave her a friendly shove in the arm. "Yeah, that's what friends are for," she said in agreement.

Sam smiled, locking onto their eyes for a few moments longer to show her sincerity.

"Alright," she said after a short silence. "You better get going or Cam'll leave without you again."

"Right…" Vala drawled, bouncing on the soles of her feet and hurrying off in the direction of the gate room.

"Oh and Vala…" Sam called after her, making her slap her hand over the door frame to halt her acceleration and swing back into the room. Sam didn't bother trying to hide her amusement.

"If you run into McKay, send him down here, will you?"

Vala grinned and gave a mock salute. "Will do," she promised, and with that she was gone.

Sam smiled, resting her head back against the pillow. For the first time, she felt confident about her role in the city, (which was somewhat ironic considering that only yesterday the whole city was trying to kill her…). Yet somehow, when only ten minutes later McKay arrived in the doorway wearing a look of great concern, she knew things were going to be fine. It may not be SG-1, but she had friends here.

Author's Note: Alright, sorry if it's a little cheesy, but I'm a strong believer in happy endings. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear what you think.