"So, you guys are freaking out because you have a… feeling?" Cameron asked skeptically. "What is it? Like a tingling? A warm sensation down your arms?"

"There is, indeed, no warmth involved," Teal'c answered needlessly as he led the way to Sam's lab.

"I just think we shouldn't go barging into yet ANOTHER one of her private places without, you know, knocking," Cameron argued sensibly.

"So, what do you make of your encounter with Sam back there?" Daniel countered. "You think that's normal?"

"For the SGC?" Cameron asked with a slight grin. "Absolutely."

Daniel rolled his eyes in exasperation. Sometimes, like Jack and Teal'c, Cameron was like talking to a brick wall.

"I do not like it," Teal'c said lowly. "And it has already been stated that the Samantha Carter from the quantum mirror is still in her room. She has not stirred from her slumber in over ten hours."

"Sam couldn't sleep for ten hours if she tried," Daniel muttered.

"Not ours, right?" Cameron asked.

Daniel nodded and sighed. "Right… Not ours."

"O'Neill did not trust her, and I still do not," Teal'c reminded the guys. "If he were conscious, he would have already interrogated her… again."

"Landry's trying that, isn't he?" Cameron asked. "I mean… Landry was suggested by General O'Neill for the position… He'll do the right thing."

"What is the right thing?" Daniel asked as the three reached her lab. "Since I've worked here, the line's kinda faded."

Teal'c was first to enter the lab, his body tense with apprehension. Something was definitely not right about this room.

A groan from the nearest corner brought Teal'c's weapon into the air.

"Who is there? Colonel Carter?"

A gurgle was the only reply.

"Teal'c?" Daniel asked as Teal'c approached the figure, turning him over for examination.

"It is Dr. Felger," Teal'c responded quietly. "He is injured, but his heartbeat is stable."

"Colonel…" the doctor gasped. "Car…" With a slight tilt of his head, Felger indicated what he was trying to say, the fear in his eyes evident. Cameron was already ahead of Daniel and Teal'c however. He had been drawn to the second body without even thinking about it. There, across the lab was Carter, lying at an incredibly awkward angle, and looking anything but stable.

He had never seen the two men move faster, even in battle, and it reminded him yet again that these three were like family.

Teal'c reached her before Daniel, and knelt down to Cameron's level, his eyes filled with worry. Cameron's hand was on the phone, but he just didn't know what to say. It may have been a split second's hesitation, but it felt like an eternity. Nothing could prepare him for this. He'd seen those fatally wounded in battle before, but this, in Sam's own lab, was downright heinous.

So much blood…

"Sam?" Daniel whispered, his voice low as he checked for a pulse that was barely there. Daniel looked up into Teal'c's eyes for reassurance first, before silently questioning Cameron. Cameron was speechless, but Teal'c was already responding – without words.

In one swift motion, both Teal'c and Carter were off the floor and headed for the door.

"Daniel Jackson, please follow me," Teal'c whispered. "Colonel Mitchell, please stay with Dr. Felger."

Finally finding his voice, Cameron quickly grabbed the phone, dialing digits he knew by heart. "This is Colonel Mitchell from Colonel Carter's laboratory. We've got a medical emergency headed your way, and one in need of assistance here…"


The SGC was a flurry of activity, she noted as she weaved in and out of the crowds near the elevator. Medical staff were being paged to Samantha's lab, and military staff were being extensively questioned. They would all be deceived by the amount of blood. They would all think that the wounds were fatal.

And perhaps, on a weaker person, they would've been. Even Dr. Felger, she regretfully admited, would pull through in the end.

She'd caved in the end, opting to send her Samantha to the same subspace fantasy life where O'Neill now resided, and she briefly considered sending Daniel and Teal'c there just for fun. She had neither a legitimate, nor a logical reason behind backing out of her original plan. Yet she couldn't fully neglect the relief that burrowed itself deep within.

Did she think she could eliminate her original, if she stood in the way of her plans? Without a doubt.

So what was stopping her now?

To say she'd been surprised to find that she could walk throughout the SGC undetected for such a long period of time was a bit of an understatement. A pleasant surprise indeed. And weapons were unnecessary for her and against her. She could choose if and when she wanted to take corporeal form. As it was, "Dr. Carter" was still sleeping soundly in her guarded quarters, and she would continue to sleep soundly until General Landry found the time to interrogate her again.

Naturally, she'd known that the crystal would either be in Samantha's or Daniel's lab. However, it was intuition that led her to figure out the crystal's true purpose. As she clutched the warm crystal in her hand, she felt it begin to diminish in size. It's power was seeping through her veins, warming her mind. She'd been drawn to it from the moment Samantha had come through the Stargate with it.

They foolishly intended to use it as a power source for the Stargate, she thought with a wry grin, when something of this magnitude truly belonged on Dakara. It was a power source, yes, but not for mere gate travel. This was a source of power Oma had specifically hidden for the SGC to find.

Timing, she found, could be a bitch.

It was such a pity that the most tangible power source for the protection of all humankind would be used in her plan to destroy Earth once and for all. No longer a comfortable warmth, but instead an overwhelming, searing heat that nearly pierced her hand, she began to feel the power source charge.

Yes, this source would be used well. And if nothing else, it would bring down Earth's only line of defense against the Ori. The Ori were coming. And they would be pleased to know that their power source was being put to good use. Like vultures, they would undoubtedly gather around the dead of Earth, preparing a theological feast on their souls. How pathetic.

Once again, she was absolutely heartbroken that she would have to eliminate them from this plane of existence as well. Pesky and fanatical, the Ori, Ancient rejects of the lecturing persuasion, had their sights on Earth. Given their current path, it was only a matter of time before the SGC was introduced to them.

But by then, of course, it would be too late. Whatever Oma had planned, it was much, much too late.


She was going crazy, she decided.

This is what it felt like to go crazy.

Forget the Prometheus, light years away from home and her family.

She WAS home, and she was hallucinating like the crazy woman she had become.

This fantasy world was not reality, and she refused to believe it. They were lies. All lies. They were well-crafted and enticing lies, of course, but they were still definitely lies, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not wake up from this dream.

She was not married to Jack. They did not have four children. Daniel and Teal'c weren't married to Sarah Gardner and Istha, either, and they also did not have children of their own.

The kids were all extremely close, as they had mostly known each other all of their lives. Life was not simply built around the SGC and saving the planet. It was also surrounded by pick-up basketball games, band practices, school plays, summer vacations and barbecues.

She could talk "girl talk" with Sarah and Ishta, and still have a great relationship with Daniel and Teal'c. She could carpool the kids to movies and the mall, and she could tutor Gregory when he struggled in math and Fiona when she struggled in science.

She couldn't believe it, because if she believed it, it meant that it was possible to be this ecstatically happy for seemingly no otherworldly, phenomenal reason.

It meant that she, Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel had been denied a life of fulfillment because of their fight with the Goa'uld. It meant that their ship of joy and happiness had already sailed. It meant that the path they had forged was, perhaps, the wrong one.

She couldn't believe that.

She refused to believe that.

"Whatcha thinkin'?"

His voice was painfully familiar, too familiar. The others sounded familiar, but there was something off about them. As much as she would love for her Daniel and Teal'c to be that happy, she knew it wasn't to be. Jack, however… He seemed extremely real. He seemed legitimate.

"What?" she asked quietly as she turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting off all night, Carter," Jack responded, before frowning to himself in thought. He hadn't called her Carter in several years.

Sam frowned as well.

"Carter…"

"Old habits," Jack supplied with a sheepish grin.

"Yeah." She sniffed unknowingly and her frown deepened.

"So, what's wrong?"

"Wrong?" Sam asked incredulously. "Nothing's wrong, Jack. I just found out that I'm going crazy. I'm having this beautiful fantasy life in this dream, and I can't wake up. It's like I'm not even sleeping. Everything's so damn real, but it's… not."

"You feel that way, too?" Jack asked with a grin. That certainly explained a lot.

"Yeah," Sam answered emphatically. "It's pretty frustrating, actually. Something tells me that this is wrong, but it feels so right. I LOVE watching Teal'c and Daniel with all of the kids. I love watching you gently tease Sarah about British culture. I even find myself loving and pitying Ishta, despite what she's done lately."

"You saw that?"

Sam simply nodded, her face tense. "I feel bad. According to Teal'c, Sha'ronak does some crazy things to a Jaffa woman's body. She doesn't even know what she's doing, but she really is hurting Teal'c. I can see it in his eyes, and I can't stand it." She turned to him once more and sighed. "And how do I know that? Sha'ronak being the Jaffa equivalent to menopause… How? It all seems real. All of it, right down to the awesome kids I thought I'd never have, the perfect house I've always dreamed of living in, and the dog."

"Even the dog?" Jack quipped.

"Even the dog," Sam assured with a watery smile, before sobering slightly. "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Sam," Jack said, quietly. "Just yesterday, you seemed to be completely sure of what was going on around you. Now that you're questioning this whole fantasy thing, it gives me some room to do the same."

"You didn't really suffer a horrible head injury five years ago, did you?" Sam whispered. Jack shook his head slowly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"No… Now that I really think about it… I don't think I did."


"Well, thanks again Jack, Sam," Daniel yawned, pushing a half-awake Gregory out the door. "As always, it's been fun."

"Indeed," Teal'c concurred as he lifted Gia into his arms. She certainly wasn't going to be moving on her own. Without another word, he and his daughter were headed for the door as well. Ishta was already waiting in the driveway, looking none too happy to be sharing any kind of space with him for any length of time.

Motioning to Sarah, who was at the car with the others, and sending a concerned glance Teal'c's way, Daniel continued, "Well, I'll see you guys on Monday." As Teal'c walked passed Daniel, he paused and waited until he was sure Teal'c was out of earshot. Once he was in the car, Daniel turned back to Sam and Jack. "Is everything OK with Teal'c and Ishta? I, uh, couldn't help but notice that they were both a little - "

"Peeved?" Jack supplied.

Daniel merely nodded. "Yeah. What's that about?" Jack winced at the thought of having to explain the whole soap opera-like ordeal to Daniel, and opted for silence, while Sam simply shot him a look that said, I'll tell you later. Nodding, Daniel let it go. "Alright then. I'll let you guys get to bed. You sure you don't need help cleaning up?"

"We'll be fine Daniel, really," Sam assured.

"Exactly. Besides, that's what we have teenagers for, right?" Jack quipped.

Daniel nodded dubiously and smiled. "You got me there. You guys have a good rest of the weekend."

"You too, Daniel," Sam said with a wave. "Talk to you later."

As soon as Daniel and Sarah's car was out of sight, Jack closed the door and turned back to Sam. He'd half-expected her to launch into one of her theories as to what they were doing there and, more importantly, why. Instead, she remained uncharacteristically silent.

"I've got nothing, Jack," Sam admitted after a moment with a sigh. "Though I wish that wasn't the case."

Jack groaned. "Yeah, me too." Moving passed Sam, he sat down on the couch and laid his head back. For all of the confusion that the past two days had brought him, he'd been strangely at peace. A nagging thought had always gone through his head that something was off, but now that he realized that he wasn't alone, he wondered if it would make a difference.

They were living the lives of complete, happy and whole people. And they still had Daniel and Teal'c. And they were still working at the SGC, albeit in different capacities. Their relationships hadn't been bound to being on the same team of course. No, Daniel and Jack were on SG-1 and Teal'c and Sam were on SG-3. But they'd all come forward into this little alternate universe together – even if Daniel and Teal'c didn't realize it themselves – and to Jack, that was all that mattered.

In his mind, considering he'd been to Hell and back again, it didn't matter where he was, as long as he had those three with him.

"Have you completely ruled out an alternate reality?" Sam asked from his side, shaking him from his thoughts.

Jack sighed again and frowned. "I don't think that 'ruled out' is the proper term, ya know? I didn't exactly do any investigating."

"But you did wonder right?" Sam pressed, slowly placing her head to her temple. "I mean…"

Jack turned to face her as she suddenly gasped and cradled her head in obvious pain. "What? What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Sam answered, "I just feel - "

"Sam!" Immediately, Jack went to catch her as she went crashing to the floor, gasping for air and holding her chest. "Carter!"

Sam couldn't answer. For the life of her, no matter how hard she told her mouth to respond, she couldn't. The vice-like grip that took hold of her chest every ten seconds was just too much. Vaguely, she could see and hear Jack as he gripped her shoulders, but it wasn't enough to make her move of her own accord.

And then there was someone else clouding her vision. Teal'c? He'd only just left a few moments ago. But, no, there he was – standing over her in the infirmary a few feet away while men and women in white coats flew around her bed. He was covered in blood.

Infirmary?

"Again!" a familiar voice shouted, and immediately the electrifying grip shot through her veins again like lightning. She wasn't sure she could take another one.

Then, as quickly as the vision appeared, it was gone, and she was back on the living room floor, gasping while Jack checked her airway. If nothing else, the vision showed her that she was dreaming. None of this was real, and it was time she let go of this fantasy once and for all.

It was then that the grip spread from her chest to her throat, and from her throat to her temples, until oxygen was no longer an option and all she could do was seize. Sure that this was the end, Sam sent one last demand to her body to obey. Without warning, she shot her hand out at Jack, grasping his shirt for dear life, and willed her voice to make itself known before she lost consciousness.

"I'll figure this out."