Extraterrestrial warlord parasites hell bend on domination was so much easier for Sam to accept then the truth about her own life. Janet had taken blood and cheek swabs of her and Helen and she'd ran the DNA tests with Will watching over her shoulder despite Helen's assurance he didn't need too. The test came back with a ninety nine point nine nine percent positive result. Helen Magnus was her biological mother. Until Janet showed her the test results Sam could pretend it was all stories and lies but she couldn't argue with the science. What Thomas showed them was true. The Ancients had stolen her from Helen; they'd stolen her life, given her one that benefited them. They'd taken her from one mother and fate had taken the other. How was that fair? She'd been ripped from Helen's arms only to have Debra Carter ripped from hers. She had to grow up without either of her mothers, why? So she'd follow her Dad into the Air Force and become what? Why did the Ancients need her just where she was so badly? It couldn't be about the goa'uld they could care less about the snakes. What on coming storm had they been talking about in Thomas' memory?

The computer Sam was working on in Helen's office beeped softly at her. She tapped at the keys to reconfigure the next bit of code. She needed a more detailed look at the energy of the EM field. Sam loved her parents. Jacob and Debra Carter would always be her mom and dad. Still, she couldn't help but wonder. Helen had told her about the Sanctuary, about Abnormals, and then Janet came in with the results. She could tell Helen had more to tell her but she seemed to have the same reaction as Sam had. The scientific evidence made it real. She excused herself with apologies and retreated somewhere in the gothic cathedral she called home. Sam couldn't imagine how Helen was feeling. Just a few short days ago she'd lost the daughter she'd raised and now she finds out about the daughter she hadn't. The pain must be almost unbearable and Sam had no idea what to do, how to help, what to say. The only thing she could do was just what Thomas had brought her here to do. Save Ashley if she could.

Helen had stood at the edge of the parapet until she was unable to physically cry any longer. She stood there reliving each memory that had been stolen from her, every moment, every second she had with Samantha. Then she began thinking of what could have been and she had to step away from the edge because the sense of loss and grief was just to overpowering. What would it have been like to have Samantha, Ashley, and Henry running around together as children? To walk down the hall after a long day to hear Samantha's laughter the way she had so many times with Ashley? How many more appliances and bits of electronics would she have lost to Henry and Samantha's curiosity? She would never know. It had all been taken from her without her even knowing it. The gall of these people! Samantha said that these Ancients were once humans who discovered a way to transcend this plane of existence. Enlightened her arse! If she ever got her hands on one, being a higher life form wouldn't save them from her ire.

Unable to sleep, when Helen finally left the tower roof, she headed for the library to see if she could find anything in her books about these arrogant Ancients who'd made the mistake of messing with her life. As she made her way there she noticed the light was on in her study. Her old friend would have never gone to bed with the lights still on. Stepping inside she was more than a little surprised to find Sam working at her computers. "Samantha?"

Sam looked up and over and blushed a little. "Sorry." She whispered. "I hope you don't mind."

Helen looked around to see why Sam was whispering and smiled. Janet was asleep on the sofa near the fireplace. "What are you doing up?" She asked as she walked over to put a throw over Janet before walking over to Sam. "Weren't you given a guest room?"

"Yes, the Big Guy set us up." Sam answered. "But I wanted to get started. These kinds of things are usually time sensitive and it's already been a couple of days."

"Usually?" Helen asked. While she'd been able to freely discuss the Sanctuary with Sam, Sam was bound by military secrecy. Thomas had filled her in enough for her to know Sam's and Janet's work was extraterrestrial in nature, and that Sam was brilliant and gifted in her chosen fields. Helen had felt pride knowing her daughter was accomplished scientist and engineer.

"Something similar has happened before." Sam answered. "And it was fixable."

Helen pulled her desk chair over so she could sit beside Sam. "So you don't think my grief is making me see things that aren't there? I'm not a fool, Samantha. I know there's no way someone could survive in an EM field. You really don't have to…"

"She wouldn't be in the EM field." Sam said, cutting Helen off. "She'd be in the computer system. The EM field wouldn't have the ability to hold a consciousness. The EM field would have been the conduit used to get into the system. You're system is massive, really impressive," There was a light in Sam's eyes, that spark she always got when working on a problem like this or when she got to work with new tech. "I'm using the anomaly in the field to locate where Ashley could have been downloaded."

"Remarkable." Helen said as she stared at Sam with awe and a warm smile.

"I know right." Sam replied with a mirrored smile.

It took several moments for Helen to rein in what she was feeling. Clearly Sam had inherited her intelligence and her passion for knowledge. "Still," She said in a gentle tone. "You've had quiet the day. You need rest." She had a feeling that wouldn't be enough to persuade Sam so she added, "Besides, it's rather indecorous to let Doctor Fraiser sleep on the sofa when there is a comfortable bed in your room."

There was something in Helen's tone, in her eyes, that made Sam's eyes widen a little. They were normally really good at hiding their connection around people they weren't familiar with; it was second nature to them even though they no longer needed to hide for the sake of their careers.

The look on Sam's face made her chuckle. Helen was no stranger to the type of relationship her daughter had with her good doctor. Virginia, Helena, Eleanor, Katharine were all very fond memories for her. "It's quiet alright Samantha. You will find no judgment from me, nor from anyone in my home. If it makes you feel better I don't think anyone else knows for sure. Suspects perhaps, your lovely little doctor is very protective of you."

Sam relaxed. There was so much for them to find out about each other. She liked that this particular thing was out of the way. "I wouldn't let her hear you call her little."

Helen chuckled again. "I'll keep that in mind."

The moment of levity allowed Sam to relax a little. She bit her lip as she watched Helen, wondering if she'd be open to answering a few more of her questions while she waited for her new code to kick in.

The way Sam bit her lip was painful for Helen to see. Ashley had the same habit. "Go ahead." She said gently. "Ask me."

Sam looked startled. "How…"

"Ashley makes the same face when she wants to ask me something she isn't sure about." Helen replied. "It normally involves asking for me something she knows I'll say no to."

Sam bit back the urge to apologize for the pain she saw in Helen's eyes. Now she hesitated about asking. Helen gave her a look, a slight quirk of the eyebrow, so she went ahead and said, "I was just wondering, well, it's just…"

"You don't look old enough to be Sam's mother." A sleepy voice said from across the room.

A matching pair of blue eyes looked over to see Janet sitting up on the sofa watching them. It was Helen who spoke first, "Oh I assure you I was more than old enough. At the time of Samantha's birth I was one hundred and eighteen years old."

Apparently Sam and Janet could still be shocked because what they just heard had them both gaping at Helen. "But that would mean you were born in 1850?"

"August 27th, 1850." Helen confirmed. "To be precise."

As she and Sam joined Janet near the fire Helen began telling them about the source blood, sanguine vampiris, the serum she'd made, her longevity, and the Five. Janet had listened with great interest when Helen talked about attending medical school when she did, and about creating the serum. It was a lot to take in, and a little hard to believe, but no harder than anything else they'd learned in the last few hours. Sam kind of liked finally knowing were her love of science came from, and she found she was a bit in awe of her mother.

They talked for hours. Sam and Janet agreed that Daniel would love knowing about the vampires. He'd always wondered about the power vacuum left behind by the goa'uld. Sam had a nerd moment when Helen told her about Nikola, and Janet who loved Sherlock had her moment when Helen spoke of James Watson. When Helen told them about John, Sam told her about Jonas Hanson. When Helen spoke of finally bringing Ashley's frozen embryo to term Janet wondered if the weight of Helen's loneliness had been made worse by a subconscious sense of grief over losing Sam. There were times when Janet felt a physical ache when she thought of her life before Cassandra, because it had been a life without the girl. Surly somewhere deep inside Helen a part of her soul missed Sam.

Before they knew it the Big Guy walking into the room to get it ready for the day. He always cleaned and started a fire before Helen started her day. He grunted disapprovingly at them. "You all need sleep. Bad habits must be genetic."

"She doesn't sleep right either?" Janet asked.

"No." The Big Guy replied. "Up all hours, works nonstop, always telling me she'll sleep when she's finished, never really gets to be finished. Have to force her."

"Sounds like Sam." Janet huffed with a bit of amusement.

Helen and Sam looked at each other and wondered just how much did they have in common. It would be interesting to find out that was for sure. "My dear friend is right this time. You both should get some sleep."

Biggie grunted. "You too."

Helen agreed and they all said their goodnights. As much as Janet wanted to ask how Sam was feeling she knew Sam needed time to work it out before she could even start to express herself, so they climbed into the large bed to get a few hours of sleep. It was only a few hours worth but that was all they needed for now. Sam was right back where Helen had found her the night before when the rest of the house began to stir back to life.

The Big Guy grumbled as he set Sam's coffee within reach. "Just like your mother." He said, meaning Sam's work habits. He snorted a little. "Almost. Magnus doesn't drink coffee."

It made Sam stiffen a little. It was going to take time for her to get use to that, to someone speaking of her mother and not meaning Debra. Janet was standing behind her, looking at the readouts on the screen, and when she noticed Sam tense she put her hands on her shoulders. Sam relaxed instantly.

When Will walked into the room he looked around for Helen. Not seeing her he decided to use the moment to talk to Sam. There was no denying she was Helen's daughter, and he didn't understand how that was possible, and he didn't want her hurting Helen. Will asked what they were doing and after Sam explained he said, "Look, I know you think you're helping but feeding into her delusion…"

"Its not a delusion." Sam said as she looked at him. "It is possible to store a human consciousness in a large enough computer system."

"I'm pretty sure it's not." Will argued as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I may not be the genius you seem to be but I am a doctor, I know that…"

"No disrespect Doctor Zimmerman but compared to what we've learned over the years, what you know could fit into a thimble." Janet said gently and yet clearly in a defensive way since it appeared Will was going at Sam.

Sam reached up to put her hand on Janet's as she said, "I'm certain it's possible."

"How can you be so sure?" Will asked, not willing to concede. He was protecting Magnus.

There was a long pause before Sam finally answered, "Because it happened to me."

"Sure, right, your mind was trapped in an EM field." Will snipped. "There is a lot going on right now. Magnus is dealing with a lot. She's hurting, grieving, and you giving her false hope on top of her having to deal with who you are isn't helping her."

Sam had stood up because she wanted to be on her feet to stand her ground. She took several steps closer to the man as she said, "I'm not trying to hurt her. I'm trying to help."

"Then stop." Will said. "She needs to let go, to move on and heal. You're just going to make it worse."

Sam glared at the man. "I know you're trying to protect her, but in doing so you're the one who's going to end up hurting her. You're awfully skeptical for someone who lives with and chases down fantastical creatures."

"Someone has to be the voice of reason." Will replied.

"What's going on in here?" Helen asked as she walked in to find Sam and Will glaring at each other.

Before either of them could answer Janet called out. "Sam." She looked up with a smug smirk. "Come look at this."

Sam lingered for a moment to glare at Will just a tad more before walking over to the computer.

"Here." Janet pointed out. "Do you see it?"

Sam watched the squiggling line for several moments before she did catch what Janet had seen. "Is that?"

"A brain wave." Janet said with a nod.

That brought Helen over. "Are you sure?"

Janet nodded. "It looks very similar to brain waves I've seen in the past in simulator situations. Would you happen to have a resent EEG for Ashley?"

"Yes, of course." Helen replied before darting off to get a tablet. When she returned she handed the device, which displayed Ashley's last EEG, to Janet.

Sam and Janet talked in hushed whispers for several long moments before they finally agreed on what they were seeing. It was Sam who looked up and said, "Ashley's in the computer. Well, her consciousness is at least, it's dormant, like she's asleep, but it's there."

"Dear god." Helen breathed.

Sam looked over at Will. "You don't know me, and I understand you're just looking out for someone you care about, but I would never cause anyone unnecessary pain. If I didn't think there was something, anything, I could do I would have said so." She looked over at Helen as she said, "Finding Ashley's consciousness was one thing. Now we face the real problem."

Helen nodded her understanding. "Her body."

"Yes." Sam said softly.

"Leave that to me." Thomas said making everyone jump.

Will looked at Helen and teased, "You really need to stop dating men who can just appear like that. It's really unnerving."