"Colonel Carter has been stabilized, but she's lapsed into a coma. We suspect her body is allowing this opportunity to help with the healing process." Dr. Carolyn Lam looked from SG-1 member to member, wishing she could have given them more to go with, but honestly optimistic at the prospects. "Though she's getting quite a bit of help from our end, the comatose state is understandable when you consider the wounds she endured. If the injury to her head – or Dr. Felger's, for that matter – had been any harder or lower, I don't think we'd be able to present you with such good news."

"This is good news?" Daniel asked quietly, his tone lacking any accusations.

"Yes." Dr. Lam nodded and smiled tightly. "Though it doesn't look like it right now, Colonel Carter may be able to pull through this. All we need is time."

"Time," Cameron repeated. "Well I guess we can't really argue with that, can we?"

Teal'c merely nodded in response, though he didn't look at all comforted by the news. "What of the one claiming to be Samantha Carter?"

At the mention of the infirmary's latest entrant, Carolyn's heart jumped into her throat. There were no words to adequately express the cold dread she and her colleagues felt at the prospect of having to go back to the morgue for the impending autopsy of one Jane Doe. As it stood, she no longer bore any resemblance to Samantha Carter, human or otherwise.

And her latest discovery added another twist to the already disturbing mystery.

"When Dr. Carter was first brought in, she was, for all intents and purposes, dead."

"But…?" Daniel pressed.

Lam paused, intent on explaining their findings, but unsure of its implications. "Since her arrival, we noticed that there's still a heartbeat. Faint, but strong. An EKG showed that there's no brain activity. Dr. Blane is continuing the exam right now."

"She's brain dead, but alive?" Cameron asked incredulously. "How is that possible? She was shot seven times in the chest and stomach, point blank. No one could survive that."

"To be honest," Carolyn responded with a sigh, "I don't think she did."

"She's not human is she?" Daniel asked, as usual, being the first to put the pieces together. Carolyn turned to Daniel and nodded.

"No. Her heartbeat, along with other vital organs, appears to be synthetic, though the brain activity was real. Everything we saw Dr. Carter say and do between her first physical and now appear to have been programs. This, of course, doesn't explain the very human Samantha Carter we examined upon her arrival through the Stargate two days ago." Carolyn bent down to pick up the preliminary report and a small vile. "Beneath her skin and a few 'organs' appears to be an alloy I think we're all familiar with."

"Replicators," Teal'c guessed.

Carolyn nodded gravely. "Yes. As far as we can tell, it's been contained and the cells are wholly inactive. But only time will tell. Dr. Blane is performing the autopsy as we speak, so we'll see what else he finds. Still, I've recommended we contact Heimdall for assistance. Just in case."

Dr. Richard Blane frowned as he entered the anteroom of the base morgue, cursing Carolyn and her cronies for being "awarded" this assignment by General Landry. While typical incidents at the SGC exceeded career-high expectations on a regular basis, there were times when it all just seemed to be a bit too much.

This was one of those times.

After hearing SG-1's chilling tale of their encounter with a woman who, by all medical accounts, was an alternate Samantha Carter, no one had wanted to go near the body. It had taken a ten-minute shouting match with one of the more verbose orderlies and a very interesting conversation with General Landry, Colonel Mitchell and Carolyn to convince him that he was the man for the job.

It was that and the fact that Carolyn had just come out of an intense five-hour surgery with Colonel Carter. The real one.

Sighing, Dr. Blane gathered his notes and his digital recorder. His assistant, Dr. Huang, had left for the day, and he'd stubbornly refused to put anyone else out. He didn't trust any of them anyway.

This was going to be a long afternoon.

Pushing open the door to the morgue, his head buried in his folder, he began, "This is Dr. Richard Blane, examining Subject 5A479-0347, otherwise known as Jane Doe."

A movement at the corner of his eye stopped Dr. Blane dead in his tracks.

"Really, I prefer Sam," a familiar voice intoned before he felt a pressure on either side of his head that increased at his temples. Briefly, he heard the swift cracking of bone and cartilage before he knew no more.

Slowly she allowed the body to fall to the floor at her feet. Unable to deny the slight repulsion she felt at her actions, she stepped over the now useless man. After all, she rationalized, she had been borne of a copy of a human. Pathetic and meaningless human emotions couldn't help but remain in some capacity. That wasn't her problem now. Her initial programming had been clear prior to her interruption.

This would be her last chance to finish her creator's plan once and for all before the last strike. She would not fail.

"Mom? Mom? Mo-om…"

Sam frowned as a small voice continued to whisper incessantly into her ear. A resounding tap, tap, tap to her forehead was almost enough to make her swear. Vaguely, she remembered falling asleep on Jack's shoulder against the couch on the floor, which certainly explained the annoying twinge in her neck and back.

"Mom?!"

"Ah! Hey!" Sam caught the little finger in mid-poke as her eyes flew open. "Andrew?"

"Mmhmm?" The small boy nodded vigorously. "Good morning, Mom!"

"Hey… What are you doing up at - " she quickly glanced at the wall clock " – 0600?"

"Early riser," he whispered with a grin. "Gotta catch the worms!"

Sam chuckled slightly at the thought. "Worms?"

"Yep," Andrew said as he stood up with a resolute nod, "right after breakfast."

Sam took this moment to take in her surroundings. The sun was just rising, casting a gentle glow over the living room, and Jack was nowhere to be seen. "Ah. Where's your, uh…"

"Dad?"

Sam swallowed and grinned nervously. "Yeah."

"He's in the kitchen with Jake and Gracie. They made pancakes!"

"Mmm." Sam couldn't help but smile again, every muscle taut with exhaustion and nervous energy. "Sounds great." She had to admit, the kid was pretty cute.

"Uh huh," Andrew agreed with another nod before eagerly grabbing Sam's hand and yanking on it. Sam unconsciously shot Andrew a Look for his energy, but he merely giggled in response. And, despite the bizarre circumstances, she couldn't help but giggle as well. She'd never entertained the thought of living life this way. She'd always searched for solace and contentment in what she had. Sam knew that life was what you made it, for better or for worse. And she knew that she'd definitely lived a full life.

It wasn't until now, when she entertained the idea that it really was possible to "have it all," that she realized all she'd been missing out on.

Smiling ruefully, Sam rubbed a hand through the young boy's tousled hair, committing every detail of every thing to memory. She knew it was only a matter of time before they'd return to the reality they'd always known, but she'd decided she wouldn't be able to leave peacefully without remembering how life could've been.

The moment was over as quickly as it came. "OK, I'm up," Sam assured with a grunt as she stood up and stretched her legs. "I'm up."

"Good!" Andrew replied loudly as he grabbed Sam's hand once more. "I'm starving and Charlie's a pig. Let's go!"