A/N: Sorry that this took so long to write. My son has the chicken pox and hasn't given me much time to be writing. I've decided that I will do the Lantash/Jolinar piece, but I won't post any of it until I'm done with this story.

When General Hammond opened his office door, he was surprised by the people standing outside. "Hello, George. Selmak and I need to talk with you," Jacob told him, getting straight down to business.

"Of course, please come in," he replied. Sitting down in his chair, he mentally prepared himself for a bombshell. "What can I help you with?" he asked.

Jacob looked uncomfortable, so Selmak spoke instead. "You are aware of Samantha's last battle with cancer when she was seventeen. We wish to disclose to her the circumstances that prevented Jacob from being with her," she informed him.

General Hammond had to force himself not to shudder at the dual-tone voice coming from Samantha Carter's mouth; the last time he had heard it was when she had been host to Jolinar, and those were not pleasant memories for him. Forcing himself to focus on the current topic, he gave the two a confused look. "I thought that hosts were aware of all of the previous host's memories. Shouldn't she already know that?" he asked.

"I am keeping most of Jacob's memories from her. It can be done, but it is very difficult. Jacob is concerned that she will be disciplined by your Air Force for having classified information," Selmak explained.

General Hammond nodded his understanding. "I don't think there is a regulation that covers this, Jake," he admitted quietly. "What does Major Carter think of this?" he asked, painfully aware that the situation would be creating a strain on her, and that she hadn't spoken yet.

'Tell him that frankly, I don't give a shit what my father was doing. He can rot in hell for all I care,' Sam replied. She had forgiven his part in her mother's death long ago, but this was a completely different situation. She had buried the memories years ago, essentially putting herself in denial, but always remembered them when she was dealing with the disease in any way.

Selmak paused for a moment, contemplating what to say. "Her exact thoughts on the subject are too inappropriate to be repeated. Essentially, she wishes to have nothing to do with her father, and does not care to have that knowledge," Selmak replied.
Jacob visibly winced, knowing that what Sam had told Selmak would have been a great deal more hurtful than what was actually said. General Hammond realized this as well. "I could be completely off here, but is this going to be some sort of Tok'ra/daughter/father therapy and bonding session if you tell her?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"With any luck, something like that," Jacob replied with a wry smile.

General Hammond sighed. It was obvious that the two stubborn Carters needed something to help them see eye-to-eye, and hoped that Selmak would be able to do it. "Jake, I really don't know what to make of this. I don't think there should be a problem, but I'll make a few calls and get back to you on it," he told his long-time friend.

Jacob nodded. "That's all I'm asking for, George. Thanks," he told him, getting up from his chair. General Hammond shook his head in frustration when Jacob and Selmak walked out of the room. Would there ever be a slow day at the SGC?

As soon as they were in the hallway, Selmak leaned heavily against the wall. "Selmak, what's wrong?" Jacob asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She sighed. "It is getting more difficult to do this, Jacob. I do not think that I can keep her from seeing your memories for much longer," she confessed. "Nor can I stop myself from seeing hers. I am not accustomed to keeping this much private; a thought here and a memory there is simple, but I have never attempted anything of this magnitude," she added.

"I don't mind if she sees it. If the Air Force has a problem with her knowing, I'll take the fall. She didn't decide to do this, I did," he explained. There was no way that he was going to let Sam get into trouble because of some bureaucratic bullshit.

Selmak smiled sadly, shaking her head. "It's not just that memory, Jacob. If I can't keep this up, she will know everything about you: happy times, indiscretions, classified, worst moments… absolutely everything," she explained. "She has already witnessed her own birth, and it disturbed her to see her mother in such a way. Do I need to be more explicit?"

Jacob blanched, for the first time realizing the entirety of the situation. "I get it, Selmak. Is there anything that can make this easier on you?" he asked, concerned for the closest friend he had ever had.

"I must rest, and allow Samantha to take control whenever possible. It's not a solution, Jacob. She is referring to it as a stop-gap measure, and doubts that it will work," Selmak replied.

Her head nodded, and Sam spoke. "She can't do this much longer, Dad. It's becoming too much of a strain on her," his daughter told him. "It's like she's trying to patch a Mothership with duct tape: it's not going to work for long." She grimaced, starting to feel the effects of Selmak's exhaustion. 'You realize you could kill us both if you try to keep this up, right?' she told Selmak honestly, beginning to realize the implications of the Tok'ra's actions.

"So what are we going to do about this?" Jacob asked, taking his hand off of her shoulder. He knew that there was only one solution to the problem, but didn't want to be the one to voice it.

Sam sighed. She was still angry about her father's actions when she was ill, both in the past and at the present, but was morally unable to allow herself to hurt Selmak. Other than going along with her father's poorly-planned idea, Selmak had been a very nice person. "We'll know everything about each other once Selmak's back in you," she warned. "Good, bad, and otherwise."

"I know. I'm okay with it if you are," Jacob replied gently.

There was nothing 'okay' about her father knowing all of her deepest secrets and feelings, in Sam's opinion, but there was no other option. 'Stop blocking yourself from seeing my memories,' she told Selmak. 'Dad wanted to wait until General Hammond looked into some technicalities to let me see some things, but this should take some of the pressure off,' she added.

'Thank you' Selmak replied gratefully, releasing the block that keeping Sam's memories from her. While there was still some strain from keeping Jacob's memories away from Sam, there was immediate relief.

Sam sighed softly in relief. At Jacob's worried look, she smiled. "I've told her to access my memories. It took off some of the strain," she explained.

"Thank you for doing this," Jacob told her. The idea of her knowing everything about him was uncomfortable, but it was a necessary evil for all involved.

Sam's eyes narrowed. "Just remember one thing: I'm doing this for Selmak, not for you. I'm still pissed," she told him bluntly, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

'Samantha, be nice. There is no reason to be rude to Jacob. He could have died when I left him; he risked his life to save you. He deserves better than the way you are treating him,' Selmak scolded. She understood now, after seeing what Sam had gone through during her last bout of cancer, why she was so angry with Jacob, but she had a unique perspective of the situation. She knew that there had been no way for Jacob to be with his daughter, but Sam didn't.

"That's fine. You have every right to be pissed off at me, and I won't deny that. But I couldn't let you die. Not like that," he told her. He had known that she didn't want to be a host again, but ignored that fact so that she would live.

They were silent for a moment, both unsure of what, if anything, to say. It was Sam who broke the silence. "Let me know when General Hammond makes a decision," she told him, abruptly turning on her heel and walking away.

Unsure of where to go, she headed to the infirmary to check in with Janet. After a brief check-up, and a promise to return if anything felt the least bit wrong, she headed to her lab. It was the one place in the SGC where she felt her calmest: her 'doohickeys', as Jack called them, were far easier to deal with than people. There was always a reason that they did what they did, never influenced by 'feelings'. They did what they were programmed to do, and the puzzle was figuring out what exactly that was.

When she entered she noticed the dust that covered almost everything. The coffee pot was the only exception, and it had obviously been used: there was an almost-full pot, but she had no way of knowing how old it was. 'Jacob and Colonel O'Neill spoke in here. They were called to the infirmary before he could drink much of it,' Selmak informed her.

Silently thanking her for the information, Sam dumped it out and cleaned the coffee maker. Grabbing a clean cloth, she began cleaning the accumulated dust. She had almost finished when a hand on her shoulder startled her, Jumping, she turned around and noticed Jack standing behind her. "Oh! You really shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" she told him.

He smiled and replied, "Yeah, wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of your right hook." At her confused look, he shook his head. "Never mind. Heard you got the all clear from the doc," he said conversationally.

"Yeah. Aside from Selmak in here, I'm back to my old self again," she told him, putting the rag down. "How did you know where to find me?" she asked, leaning against a table.

"Like you said, you're pretty much back to your old self again. Where else would you be? It's a miracle that you and Daniel haven't starved to death fiddling around with doohickeys and rocks. The Air Force even gave the two of you coffee makers," he pointed out.

She laughed lightly. "Yeah, not exactly standard lab equipment, is it?" Some of her equipment cost thousands of dollars, making the military very worried about the effects of a simple spill. Some facilities had a liquid-free zone in all labs; the fact that hers had a coffee machine was a testament to just how effective they thought she was when caffeinated. She noticed that he was shifting on his feet, looking anywhere but at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. She briefly entertained the idea that it was just his knees, but thought better of it. He was definitely awkward about something.

"Nothing, Carter. Just… can we talk when we're alone?" he asked.

She looked around to see who else was there. "We are alone," she pointed out, then froze. "Oh, you mean Selmak! Of course we can, but I don't know exactly when that will be," she pointed out. She realized that she didn't know what to call him: Jack, or sir. Technically, she should be calling him sir because they were on-base, but it felt so right, so normal, to call him Jack. But then again, he was calling her Carter, even though she could clearly remember him calling her Sam. "Is this about, y'know, us?" she asked, feeling awkward.

"Yeah, it is. Like I said, we need to talk," he replied. It was apparent from the look on his face that he felt as awkward as she did. For a minute neither of them said anything, each looking around uncomfortably.

The silence was broken by footsteps in the hallway. They turned and saw Martouf stepping inside the lab. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asked, noting the tension between the two.

"Nope, not at all," Jack replied, thankful that someone had broken the silence.

Martouf nodded and looked at Sam. "Jacob requested that I find you. He wanted me to tell you that General Hammond has given his assent, and to ask where he should meet you," he relayed. Neither he nor Lantash knew what the message meant, just that Jacob had emphasised its importance.

Sam sighed and closed her eyes. She had no desire to have her father's memories in her head, but knew that the alternative was worse. The strain on Selmak would have one of two outcomes: worst case scenario, it could kill the symbiote; best case scenario, she would be blended with Selmak for the rest of their foreseeable future. It was a constant strain on Selmak to hold this much back from her host, and she would not be able to regain enough strength to leave Sam if it continued.

'We should go somewhere private and comfortable. I do not believe that you would wish to do this in public,' Selmak suggested in a light voice.

She nodded. "Tell Dad to meet me in my quarters. He knows where they are," she told Martouf.

Martouf turned and left, still confused. From the look on Jack's face, Martouf wasn't the only confused one. "What did the General agree to?" he asked.

She sighed again. "Something about my dad's memories and classified information, but I'm not completely sure. I think it's going to turn into some kind of counselling session for Dad and I, with Selmak refereeing," she replied, discomfort at the idea plainly written on her face. "Well, I guess I should get going."