Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1 or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for a while for my story and I'm not making any money for it. This is all for fun so please don't sue.

AN/ In the first series of Stargate there many times when the dialogue refers to events that have happened outside of the episodes which we get to see. One of them is the events of P3X595. During the episode 'Emancipation' O'Neill refers to a time when Carter was pleased to see the team after drinking something that made her take off… we never find out what it was but by Carters reaction we know that it was embarrassing. All the cultural references come from internet research and are loosely based on Aboriginal Australian Dreamtime Mythologies. If they are incorrect then please remember this is only a work of fiction, and my intention was to write only a story, not to offend anyone.

The Story so far…

The team discover a lost Aboriginal Australian tribe on P3X-595 and spend the evening with them learning of their fight with the Goa'uld who enslaved them. After drinking an unusual flowery tea offered by the locals, Sam hallucinates heavily and O'Neill evacuates the team back to Earth. Frightened by the images she sees, Sam wrecks the infirmary trying to escape but is convinced of her surroundings long enough for Doctor Frasier to subdue her. In the meantime, General orders the base on lockdown and Jack to his office to explain…

Chapter 6

Reaching General Hammond's office Jack took a deep breath to prepare before knocking sharply on the door. The General opened it; his face tight with concern, and waved his hand for Jack to enter.

"Come in Colonel. Close the door and take a seat"

Sitting as he was told he waited for Hammond to continue. The General leaned forward with his fingers laced together on top of his desk, pinning Jack with steely blue eyes, scrutinising the Colonel before him with a demeanour so controlled and direct that his gaze felt like a lead weight.

"Colonel, I don't think I need to explain to you the seriousness of this situation. Your standing orders are to perform reconnaissance and seek out technology that will defend this planet against the Goa'uld. With that in mind, please explain to me how it is exactly that you return with a member of your team intoxicated with some kind of alien drug and hallucinating in the infirmary"

The truth was Jack didn't really know how it had happened. Even though the alien flower tea was the likely suspect, his 2IC could have been exposed to any number of things while she had been on the outcrop alone and he wouldn't know a thing about it.

"Honestly Sir, I'm not sure how it happened"

Jack's confession had General Hammonds eyes open wide stunned before he narrowed them and leaned in further.

"You're not sure? Colonel, this base on lockdown until we can be certain what it was and how it got into Captain Carter's system and you're telling me you just don't know?"

Jack winced inwardly, he knew how it sounded and he felt like an ass. If one of his own officers had come to him with the same sorry story he was sure he'd react worse than Hammond.

"Not exactly Sir, but with respect I don't think there's a threat to the base"

"You can't know that Colonel!" the General began heatedly "For all we know this drug could be some kind of chemical warfare that we've never seen before!"

Jack stayed quiet for a moment. Hammond had a point, but he doubted that whatever it was Carter drank was able to affect anyone else on the base. Having no proof, he would have to wait on the results of Dr Frasier's tests, and until then he had his tail between his legs.

General Hammond exhaled a long breath and sat back in his chair.

"I think you'd better start from the beginning son"

Jack proceeded to recount the short and sweet version of the events leading up to their invitation to share a meal with the Aborae people. Everything had been fine up until that point. While he explained himself to the General, Jack wondered when he had dropped his guard. Had he gone soft with Daniels influence on him?

"These people lead a fairly simple lifestyle Sir, Daniel was keen to talk to them to find out how they'd overthrown the reigning Goa'uld who took them from Earth, so I made a threat assessment and agreed to take up their dinner invitation. After a lot of talking with their leader, Daniel found out that the local people had managed to kill the ruling Goa'uld using basic weapons in a situation similar to the uprising that happened here on Earth. Carter thinks it's likely that the Goa'uld at the time didn't have a sarcophagus to regenerate from the injuries inflicted during the fight."

"So you'd established that there was nothing of strategic importance, why didn't you return then?"

"Well Sir, by then it was almost dark and given the distance to the Stargate I thought it better to stick with the plan and stay the night. Captain Carter also requested to make some star observations to update the SGC computer so that the mission would have at least be of some benefit to the programme"

"This was after the meal? Did you notice any change in her behaviour then?"

"No Sir, Carter was fine. On my order none of us had eaten a great deal and up until then we had drank only the water from out canteens. There was no change in her behaviour up to that point"

"On the telephone from the infirmary you said that Doctor Frasier suspects some kind of tea was responsible, I take it that was sometime later?"

"Yes Sir. Daniel heard about some ruin that he thought would hold intelligence on the Goa'uld and their use of the Stargate so I left Carter and Teal'c at the village while we went to check it out"

General Hammond sat up straight and leaned towards Jack, narrowing his eyes, burning his gaze onto Jack.

"You split the team? Why?"

"Captain Carter needed to complete her observations early the following morning so I ordered her to rest. According to Teal'c, it was while we were away from the village that they were offered the tea. When we got back the same stuff was given to Daniel and me, only he spilled his all over his shirt and frankly sir, I've never been a fan of tea"

The General studied Jack carefully, unsure that investigating ruins was a sufficient reason for dividing forces even if the local population appeared harmless. On Earth it wasn't such a problem, but SG-1 wasn't an Earth bound field team, they were the planet's first interplanetary exploration and reconnaissance unit and as such back up teams are limited and several hundred light years away.

"Was the Captain showing any signs of behaviour out of character when you returned to the village?"

"No Sir, she was a little jovial but nothing out of character, definitely no hallucinations. Teal'c even said she was fine when she went back to the telescope in the early morning"

General Hammond pursed his lips and frowned towards his desk for a moment puzzling through the information Jack had given.

"You're saying Teal'c drank the same tea that Captain Carter did?"

"Yes Sir"

"Then why isn't he affected?"

"I asked the same thing, Sir. Doctor Frasier had taken blood samples from everyone in my team so maybe that will tell us something."

"Have Doctor Jackson's shirt analysed also. Until we have some definitive answers our position is still the same; the base remains sealed and gate travel suspended."

Jack nodded sharply; so far things had gone well. He had explained all he knew to Hammond and managed to skirt around telling the General how he had found the Captain, grateful for the fact that only he and Carter knew about those circumstances. He had heard the chit chat among the men on base, the jokes they made about wanting to 'accidentally' walk into the shared locker room at the right moment. The perpetrators of the talk had enough sense to shut up once they realised he was in earshot but it didn't stop them when he wasn't around. Carter didn't need any more fuel adding to that particular fire.

There was, however, the slight issue of the other scientist on his team.

"You should be aware Sir; Daniel has expressed an interest in returning to the planet"

"I assume you told him no" Hammond stated flatly.

Jack nodded.

"I told him your orders, but this is Daniel we're talking about, Sir."

General Hammond eyes dropped as he tightened his lips and shook his head almost imperceptivity. If it wasn't for Daniel Jackson's skill as an Archaeologist and linguist he would have had him removed from the programme for being such a pain in the ass. Civilians never did quite understand the words 'chain of command'.

"Right now my primary concern is keeping this situation confined to the base and for the welfare of my officer in the infirmary. I won't put anyone else at risk until we know what we're dealing with. We'll debrief the moment Doctor Frasier has some answers. In the meantime Colonel, I want a full report reviewing First Contact procedure including recommendations to protect future SG teams from situations like the one we currently find ourselves in. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Sir, perfectly clear" Jack stood to attention sensing the impending dismissal following the verbal knuckle wrapping he'd received.

"Dismissed"

General Hammond watched Jack leave his office and sighed. Turning in his large leather chair he frowned tight lipped at the red phone on his desk considering his next report to the President. The Stargate programme was in its infancy and he wondered how many times he would find himself in the position of punishing his officers over the handling of situations that they had never been trained for. It was clear that mistakes would be made in their explorations off world, perhaps some would cost lives, the best they could do was to learn from them in the hope that they would be better prepared for the next time.

All things considered he had let his 2IC off pretty lightly, but the General knew how to punish a man like Jack O'Neill with maximum effect: paperwork.

In the long time it would take the Colonel to write his report General Hammond knew he would review each and every one of his command decisions carefully and come up with the guidelines they needed so badly, especially with new SG teams in formation.

Shaking off his musings he picked up the hand set and hit the speed dial to the Whitehouse.

x-X-x

Standing at the doorway of the infirmary Jack paused a moment. It was the morning after he had left Captain Carter in Doctor Frasier's care and the drug in her system seemed to have worn off. She was sat up in bed talking quietly with the Doctor, her face calm though pale and make-up free. When her eyes found him at the doorway, her back stiffened noticeably and she looked sheepish. On Sam's reaction Janet turned and saw the reason, placing a reassuring hand on the young Captain's shoulder she excused herself and left them to talk.

"Colonel O'Neill, Sir"

"Captain." He acknowledged her crisply.

He took a few steps towards the bed keeping his face taut and impassive so as not to give away any of his concern. He wanted her to sweat a bit and think about her decisions carefully, just as Hammond had with him. Clearly embarrassed by the whole incident he could see it was an effort for her to hold his gaze, the opposite to the self assured Captain that had challenged him in the briefing room when they met.

After a few moments he softened a little, remembering the fear in her eyes the last time he'd seen her; she had learned her lesson the hard way.

"How are you feeling?"

"Doctor Frasier has the test results back and the drug has broken down so I won't hallucinate any more. I'm back in control again Sir" Sam answered efficiently.

"That wasn't what I asked, Captain" Jack replied taking another step closer to her and relaxing a little, hoping that she would follow suit and be honest with him.

Sam's eyes widened as she took in his words. Why wasn't he chewing her out already? The only time she had seen this reaction was right before an airman was transferred. That had to be it; he had come to tell her she was off the team.

"Sir, I'd like to apologise for my actions on the planet. I should have known not to drink anything that I didn't recognise. I'd like the opportunity to make amends for my actions, but I…" She paused and took a deep breath, the next few words were the hardest "I understand if you want me to leave the team"

Jack's eyebrows arched and he leaned forward not quite believing his ears.

"Excuse me? You're giving up that easily? Just last month you were threatening to arm wrestle me to keep your place"

In truth was he was just pleased that she was ok and he hadn't been responsible for bringing anything harmful back through the gate. After spending hours writing the report Hammond ordered he had reflected on his decisions and realised they all had lessons to learn. They had all been too trusting, including Teal'c. It was pure dumb luck that more of SG-1 weren't sitting where Carter was.

"Sir, I'm not giving up!" Sam panicked "I just thought, well, after what happened, you'd have put in the papers for my transfer already"

Jack caught his lips as they started to curve; clearing his throat to bring his thoughts back into check he stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Yes, you do seem to have the same knack for finding trouble as Daniel. I'll have to watch that"

Sam picked at the edge of the bed sheets her face starting to colour, mortified at the memory of getting lost in the forest clearing and taking off her uniform. She hadn't been so out of control in her entire life. In a way she would have preferred it if the Colonel yelled at her.

"I'm sorry Sir. I put everyone at risk. I got the team, you, and the entire base into trouble. Not to mention the mess I made of the infirmary..."

"Carter, that's enough!" He said firmly, interrupting her self admonishment. Clearly he wouldn't need to kick her ass too often when she excelled at doing it for him. Seeing her startled look he continued more softly.

"You're not the only one who screwed up here. We're all new at this and from time to time the sh-...things... are going to hit the fan. You can't keep blaming yourself. Just blame yourself once and move on"

She nodded tight lipped, relieved that she had managed to keep her place on SG-1after all that had happened.

"Still, it won't happen again, Sir. I promise"

"I know. You're not going out of my sight for the next few missions. You're my 2IC now; we need to have an understanding of each other."

Jack wagged his finger back and forth between them but held his voice steady, partly chiding her and partly acknowledging that he hadn't exactly made the usual effort to bond. He'd let his usual dislike of scientists put a distance between them, a distance that lead to the present fiasco.

"Yes Sir." Sam replied flatly a little crestfallen. Her efforts to gain his trust had been undone through one stupid mistake, now she was back to the start again.

"Good. I'll leave you to get dressed Captain, we debrief the General at 08:00"

Watching him leave the infirmary Sam's stomach filled with butterflies. Facing her CO was one thing, but General Hammond was another. She had no idea if he knew about the incident in the clearing, as she pulled on her uniform she hoped that the Colonel had chosen not to mention it, just as he hadn't a moment ago with her. Stealing herself, Sam picked up her jacket and took a long look at the SG-1 patch on the shoulder before leaving to face the music.

x-X-x

Sam waited nervously for General Hammond to join Doctor Frasier and her team in the briefing room. Sat between Janet and her CO resisting the temptation to chew on her finger nails, she rested her arms on the sides of the chair and watched her team mates opposite. Teal'c sat calm and practically unreadable next to Daniel, who was flicking through his notes avoiding eye contact with Sam. His behaviour had been odd since they had taken their seats at the table; Daniel was the person she expected to support her most yet he was distancing himself. She wracked her memory trying to think; had she done or said something to him while under the influence from the drug?

General Hammond emerged from his office and Sam's thoughts were interrupted as she hastily got to her feet alongside her CO. Holding her breath with her stomach twisted into a tight knot she fought to control her anxiety, it was the moment of truth.

"Sorry to keep you waiting people. Captain Carter; glad you could join us."

His tone was even but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. He'd clearly not expected her to be present at debrief. They took their seats as the General shifted his gaze to Janet.

"Doctor Frasier?"

"The blood test results from Mr Teal'c and Captain Carter showed traces of a chemical that has similar properties to Psilocybin; a naturally occurring hallucinogen found here on Earth. The same chemical was found in the fibres of Doctor Jackson's t-shirt so it's highly likely that it was in the tea"

"So there's no threat to the base?"

"No Sir."

The General visibly relaxed on hearing the news.

"Very good, I'll inform the President and lift the lockdown order. Do we have any idea why the people of P3X-595 would do this? What could they possibly have to gain from drugging you with hallucinogens?"

Daniel shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "Uh, General - I've been doing some research on Aboriginal Australia, and cross referencing with Shamanistic cultures and the use of Hallucinogenic compounds here on Earth hoping to shed some light on that."

Sitting forward he handed a document to the General before passing others out to his team mates. Jack rolled his eyes semi-discreetly while Sam and Janet shared a look of surprise as they took the files.

"We know that on Earth Aboriginal Australians believe strongly in Dreamtime, their religion if you will, which describes creation and various gods and goddesses; some good and some cruel. The Dreamtime contains many parts: how the universe came to be, how human beings were created and how the Creator intended for humans to function within the cosmos. It is also believed that only in extraordinary states of consciousness can one be aware of, or attuned to, the inner dreaming of the Earth."

"This is all fascinating Daniel, but how does that explain why they drugged Carter?" Jack interrupted, his tone laced with sarcasm as he became increasingly impatient with the impromptu cultural history lesson.

"I'm getting to that, Jack." Daniel retorted, shooting him a look before sitting up straight in his chair and turning to a page in his own copy of his research notes and showing it to the General.

"The Hindus and the Aztecs used naturally occurring hallucinogens to facilitate meditation, as well as believing them to cure illness, and enhance mystical powers. In the Amazon rainforest tribal shamans drink a powerful hallucinogenic brew called Ayahuasca, meaning "the vine of souls", in order to induce visions. I don't think the villagers meant any harm when they gave us the Rainflower tea – I believe they may have been trying to share some kind of religious experience with us. Maybe the use of hallucinogens is common practice to them."

Jack's eyebrows lifted in astonishment that Daniel would actually suggest that the villagers hadn't meant to harm them. What did they think would happen for crying out loud? His 2IC echoed his thoughts.

"I don't think so. I mean, what I experienced was pretty extreme, Sir. I had no idea what was going on."

Sam glanced between the Colonel and General Hammond; she was keen to express the severity of her experience but not so much so that they had her on the couch with a shrink any time soon. The General regarded her carefully for a moment, the butterflies in her stomach to starting anew while she wondered what he was thinking behind his piecing blue eyes.

Teal'c lifted his head up from the paper Daniel had given him and broke the silence.

"You believe that the Aborae people wished to deceive us?"

"I don't know." Sam shook her head and paused for a second, considering her next words carefully. "I'm just saying that I don't understand why anyone would choose to deliberately take that stuff knowing what it does"

"Have you heard of the 60's?" Jack snorted.

"My point exactly"

Daniel held out his hands emphasising his point earning himself some astonished looks from General Hammond and the rest of his team.

"Would you care to explain, Doctor Jackson?" The General said tersely.

"Think about it, the Aborae people probably see the use of hallucinogens in a very different way to us; to them it could be a spiritual journey"

Silence fell around the table again as everyone pondered Daniel's suggestion. Sam certainly didn't feel like her experience had been any thing like a spiritual journey at all. Granted the experience on the outcrop had been pleasant to start with but after a while it had been down right disturbing.

General Hammond turned back to Doctor Frasier.

"Doctor, have you learned any more that would explain why Teal'c wasn't affected?"

"Well Sir, that's difficult to determine with our current understanding of Jaffa physiology, but it's likely that the symbiote can regulate the body chemistry to a degree that may offer an 'immunity' of sorts to certain narcotics. The tests performed in preparation of Major Kawalsky's surgery showed evidence of resistance to most types of anaesthesia"

Sam sat forward sharply turning to Janet.

"Maybe that's it, Doctor; is it possible that the effect of the tea could be different somehow in the Aborae people?"

Janet turned the question over in her mind bouncing her head slightly from side to side. "There's a chance that the hallucinogenic properties may be muted in the local population. There are certain species on Earth that have evolved a resistance to neurotoxins found in their natural habitat that would damage other organisms that came into contact. If the Aborae were taken from Earth 30,000 years ago it's possible that their bodies have become accustomed to the presence of the chemical if the exposure is often enough. However without performing the proper tests on the people of P3X-595 it's impossible to say for certain"

"Unless we go back we might never know"

Daniel commented pointedly to the General, ignoring the dark look shot his way from Jack on the other side of the table. The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Hammond.

"Whether or not Captain Carter was drugged deliberately or not is by the by, we can only be thankful that the situation wasn't more serious. Based on the mission reports there is nothing of any strategic importance to merit a return visit to P3X-595 and at present we do not have the resources to send a team to explore the Aborae culture further."

"General Hammond, Sir…" Daniel started but Jack cut him off warningly.

"Daniel"

The General continued.

"More SG teams are being put together at the moment so if the President sees fit our situation may change, for now we are to continue exploring these worlds for reconnaissance purposes only. Further more, in light of these events from now on all SG teams are to drink only water during missions off world to reduce the likelihood of personnel becoming intoxicated on duty. SG-1, consider yourselves on stand down until your next mission; I suggest you all use the time to assess Colonel O'Neill's recommendations for off world conduct. Dismissed"

General Hammond stood, the three Air force personnel at the table followed suit, before he turned towards his office to call the President. After watching him leave, Jack exhaled the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding and turned towards Janet and the rest of his team who looked dejected after debriefing, even Teal'c.

"Well, that could have been worse. How 'bout we all celebrate over cake in the commissary"

His question was met with a stony silence and unsure looks passing between Sam and Daniel. Janet took her que to leave giving Sam a reassuring smile.

"As tempting as that is Colonel, I have patients that need my attention. Enjoy your cake though."

"Okaaay…Daniel? You coming or what?"

Daniel shuffled his notes nervous of Sam's reaction to his suggestion that the villagers hadn't meant any harm toward her, but he relented on seeing Jack's almost pleading expression.

"Uh, I'm not really in the mood for cake, but I could use a cup of coffee."

"There's a shocker." Jack said wryly, the day Daniel didn't need a cup of coffee hell would freeze over. At least he had tempted one team member, now just two more to go. "Carter? Teal'c – you coming big guy?"

"Indeed, O'Neill"

Sam looked at her team mates for a moment weighing up the temptation to hide out in her lab until the gossip died down or to face the commissary in the company of her team mates – even if Daniel seemed off with her. Either way, she was bound to be on the receiving end of all the jokes and smart remarks for a few days, and avoiding it would only make matters worse.

"Sure, why not"

"Great!"

Jack clasps his hands together in satisfaction before ushering her towards the briefing room stairs before she could change her mind.

"Yup, nothing quite like cake and a good ol' cup of coffee…" his lips curled upwards as he turned to his 2IC unable to control the urge to tease

"…or maybe herbal tea"

The end

AN - Thanks for reading :-) I'm always interested to hear your thoughts so please review and let me know.