Jack, trying to find a distraction from his mission reports, decided to pay Sam a visit. He walked cheerfully down the hall and stopped outside her door. He knocked and went inside.

It was empty. He walked over to her computer, careful not to mess anything up. She appeared to have stopped halfway through her work. The scans that she had be going over were still up on her computer and her notes had stopped in mid-sentence. Carter would never just drop her work and leave like that.

Jack's brow furrowed. He was getting worried. First, she was acting strange during lunch. Now this? He frowned and shook his head. He walked out of the lab and toward the only other place she might be.

He arrived at her quarters and hesitated. Should he knock on the door or just go in? He decided to knock on the door, but when his fist hit the door, it swung open. It was unlocked, that was unusual, especially for Carter.

His mouth dropped open. "Sam!" He ran into the room and dropped to the ground beside his inert team member. "Carter? Carter!" He touched her and she didn't move.

He ran out into the hall and shouted, "Help! I need a medical team! NOW!" An airman in the hall immediately reached for a nearby medical alert button and pushed it, setting off a loud alarm throughout the complex.

It wasn't long before Dr. Frasier rushed in with a medical team and a stretcher. Janet's face dropped when she saw who it was.

She knelt down the floor and checked to see if Sam was breathing and checked her pulse. "What happened?" she asked Jack, who was now standing in the corner of the room, trying to stay out of the way.

"I don't know. Her door was unlocked so I walked in and found her like this. I just…" He looked to be at a loss for words.

Janet nodded and looked at the medical team. "Okay, let's get her to the infirmary." They nodded and loaded Sam onto the stretcher. As soon as she was secure, they rushed out of the room, Janet right beside them and shouting orders all the way.

Jack stayed in the room, shocked by the whole ordeal. As soon as he could move, he headed down to the infirmary. He needed to see that she was alright, she had to be alright. If she wasn't….He wasn't sure what he would do.

Sam was lying very still on a hospital bed. Her face was pale and her breathing was shallow. Jack rushed over an grabbed her hand. "Carter?" No response.

Janet walked over. "What's wrong with her?" Jack asked, concern leaking into his voice.

Janet shook her head. "I didn't see it before. There were no signs. It just…" She shook her head.

"What is it? What's wrong with her?" Jack was desperate now, pleading.

"It's whatever poison they put in her cut. The tek'ma'kel? It's slowing down all her bodily functions. Heart, lungs, everything." Janet sounded desolate, as if she had totally given up.

Jack's heart froze. All he could think was "How long?" His voice sounded just like Janet's, dead.

Janet shook her head again. "There's no way to know. It seems to have sped up since the last time I tested her." She looked at Jack sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Colonel, but I don't know what to do. The only thing I could think of would be a sarcophagus, or maybe a symbiote." Jack was already shaking his head as she said her last suggestion.

"Sam already had to go through that once. She would hate us if we put her through that again, even to save her. So, I guess we need to find her a sarcophagus." Janet nodded in agreement, remembering the nightmares and twisted memories that Jolinar had left behind.

"I'll alert General Hammond then," he said, walking out of the infirmary after one last look at Sam's unconscious form. His head was bent, he knew that his time was limited and it was going to be nearly impossible to find a sarcophagus, but they had to try. Right?

Jack passed Daniel and Teal'c on their way to the infirmary. "What happened?" Daniel asked frantically.

"It's Sam," he said, pointing through the open door to where Sam could be seen on her hospital bed.

Daniel's eyes widened and Teal'c became very still. "Oh my God. What happened?!" The question had a different meaning now.

"It's the poison that Apophis put in her cut. It's slowing down her heart and major organs. It's killing her."

Daniel and even Teal'c looked shocked. They immediately ran into the infirmary, probably to ask Dr. Fraiser if what he said was true, but also to see Sam up close with their own eyes.

Jack walked quickly to General Hammond's office and banged on the door. "Come in." His voice sounded weary.

Jack opened the door and practically leapt into the office. "General, I'm assuming that you heard about Sam?"

The general nodded wearily. "Yes, I heard and I'm very sorry about it. What is it that you want?"

"Janet says that if we can get Sam to a sarcophagus, she can be saved. Permission to ask the Tok'ra if they have a sarcophagus, sir!"

The general thought about it. "If Dr. Fraiser thinks it might work, than I think we should do everything we can. We just got her back, we are not going to lose her again."

Jack nodded and raced out of the room and up to the control room to tell them to contact the Tok'ra.

Daniel and Teal'c came up shortly after they heard the alarms blaring. "What's going on?" Daniel asked curiously.

"We're about to see if the Tok'ra are useful in times of need," Jack said sarcastically.

Just then, the wormhole connected and General Hammond spoke into the microphone. "This is General Hammond. I need to speak to Jacob Carter. Now."

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