A/N: I forgot how soothing it is to get lost in a fog of creative energy. I swear, writing this stuff is addictive. Maybe my constant illness has actually been withdrawal from my fanfic habit!
Chapter 12
Looking uncertainly at Daniel, Janet stood in front of the now-blank monitors, apparently unsure of what to do next. Glancing around the room, she saw her nurses staring at her with wide-eyed looks of uncertainty. Straightening, Janet realized there was at least one thing she could do to make this situation easier. "All right, ladies. I'll take it from here. You're dismissed." Looking sternly at each of them in turn, her next words seemed to be underlined in steel. "I don't need to remind you that this is a classified project. If one word of this gets out, I'll know who to court martial." With nods of understanding, the three young women left the room swiftly.
As soon as the door shut behind them, Janet's air of calm collectedness seemed to evaporate. Turning back to her two colleagues, she exhaled slowly. "Okay, so now what?"
Daniel blinked. "You're asking us? Aren't you the doctor?"
Glaring at him impatiently, she shook her head. "I'm not asking what to do medically. I'm wondering if one of us should go in there," she said, gesturing to the large window separating the control room from Sam's bedside.
At that, Daniel visibly balked. "Given what we know about those dreams, I'm not going in there."
This time, it was Teal'c who replied. "Neither Colonel O'Neill nor Major Carter seemed to act in accordance with our expectations," he pointed out stoically. "If our understanding of their condition were correct, then I would have predicted a very different set of actions from both of them upon their awakening."
Janet nodded forcefully. "I'm not sure what happened in there tonight, but I'm pretty sure it was not what's been going on this week. That wasn't sexual frustration," she said, pointing in the direction of Sam's room. "That was despair."
As he digested Teal'c and Janet's statements, Daniel began to see the truth in their words. Taking a deep breath, he sank into a chair. "Still," he said softly, "whatever it was must have been pretty intense. I'm not sure I want to be the one to interrupt at this point – even if their clothes are still on." To his credit, he only flushed slightly as he spoke.
Janet's face registered a half-smile. "All right," she agreed gamely, "I'll go. As you pointed out, I am the doctor." Straightening her spine, she pulled herself into her best professional stance and strode purposefully toward the door.
Teal'c followed her movements with his dark eyes. As soon as she left the room, he spoke softly to Daniel. "I would not wish to cross Doctor Frasier in battle."
Daniel smiled faintly. "Yeah, she's pretty tough when she needs to be," he agreed. Looking at the curtained window, his eyes grew serious. "I just hope everything's okay in there."
Knocking once to announce her presence, Janet waited a moment before opening the door to Sam's infirmary room. Aware of the curious looks that the two marines were giving, she entered the room as quickly as possible, closing the door firmly behind her.
The sight which greeted her was heartbreaking. Sam was curled into Jack's chest, weeping with a quiet desperation that Janet had only heard from her friend on a few prior occasions. Her pitiful sobs spoke of a complete lack of hope.
Slowly approaching the couple, Janet tried to think of something to say which wouldn't sound ridiculous. 'Are you okay?' was certainly not an option – it was obvious that neither Colonel O'Neill nor Sam were anywhere close to okay.
Sensing her presence, Jack looked up and caught Janet's concerned look. "I realize this is probably all on video and will likely get me court-martialed, but at this point, I really don't give a damn," he said tersely.
Janet stepped closer, sympathy evident on her face. "I shut them off before they caught anything incriminating," she said simply.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "How are you going to explain that to The Powers That Be?"
Shrugging, Janet spoke with her usual candor. "If The Powers That Be are ever in a position to question my actions, then we'll have much bigger things to worry about," she replied succinctly. "I'm hoping we'll solve this quietly enough that they'll never need to know the gory details."
Slowly becoming aware of the other presence in her room, Sam lifted her head from Jack's chest and looked at Janet with red, puffy eyes. As if pulling herself back to the present, she forcibly took control of her emotions. Sniffling, she wiped her face and regarded Janet warily. "Did you find anything?" she asked quietly.
Exhaling, Janet sat down on the edge of the bed and looked carefully at both of her friends before continuing. "The short answer to that is 'yes.' As soon as you both fell asleep, we knew something strange was going on. And when the dream started, things really went haywire." Noting the haunted look in Sam's eyes at the mention of the dream, Janet pushed ahead. "Unfortunately, at this point, I have no idea what any of it means."
Still holding Sam tenderly, Jack didn't seem at all uncomfortable with his open display of affection. "Do you think you can fix this?" he asked quietly.
Janet took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "I've gotta be honest with you," she replied. "This might be out of my league."
Jack nodded, apparently expecting that answer. "Anyone we can ask for help?"
At that, Janet shifted uncomfortably. "Technically, yes."
Looking impatient, Jack gestured for her to explain further. "Technically?"
Taking a blunt tack, the doctor replied with a grim look on her face. "The Tok'ra are experts in analyzing brain activity and memories. I've no doubt they'd also be helpful in figuring this out."
Closing her eyes, Sam groaned and buried her face in Jack's chest again for a moment. The one word she uttered pretty much summed up all of their thoughts.
"Dad."
Jack shook his head and raised his eyes heavenward, as if praying for a strength. "Wouldn't that just be dandy? 'Gee, Jacob. Nice to see you again. Think you can help me figure out what's making me have pornographic dreams about your daughter? And did I mention we're sleeping together?'" He snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure that would go over real well."
Smiling in spite of herself, Janet was inclined to agree. "Trust me, I've considered the consequences, which is why I haven't already contacted them. It would be next to impossible to ask for their help without alerting Jacob, especially if Sam is involved."
Much to everyone's surprise, Sam's response to this assessment was a foul, four-lettered expletive. As soon as the word left her mouth, she blushed sheepishly and mumbled an apology. "Sorry, but this whole situation has just about done me in."
Jack, however, shook his head, ignoring her explanation. "No, wait. I think there's more to it than that."
Sam looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
"Just now, when you said–"
Raising her hand, Sam cut him off before he could repeat it. "Yes, dear. I know what I said."
Smiling, Jack acknowledged her discomfort with a brief wink. "Anyway," he said, continuing, "it was exactly what I was thinking." Seeing that the two women were not terribly surprised by his statement, he tried again. "Sam, you said the exact word that crossed my mind at the exact moment I thought it. And it was a very un-Carter-like word to say. Don't you think that's a bit of a coincidence?"
Janet looked skeptical. "Given what we were talking about, I think it was warranted."
Sam, however, had an odd light in her eyes. "You know," she said slowly, "I think he might be right."
Examining her friend closely, Janet was a bit bewildered. "Right about what, exactly?"
Jack smiled darkly. "I think Sam and I are somehow aware of the other on another level."
Janet blinked. "Another level? You mean, like, psychically?"
Sam shrugged. "More like empathically. It's weird, but I can almost tell what he's feeling, even when I'm not in the same room with him."
Nodding, Jack agreed. "Exactly. Like earlier tonight, when I was drifting off, I could tell when Sam was starting to relax and get drowsy. I have no idea how I knew, but I did."
Janet leaned back, examining the couple carefully. "You both entered a sleep state at exactly the same moment. And I mean exactly the same moment – down to the tenth of a second." She paused for a moment. "If you are somehow empathically connected, this might bring about a whole different set of problems from the ones you're currently dealing with."
Jack's face darkened. "Oh, goodie. Just what we need is more problems." Looking wearily at the doctor, he asked, "So, what exactly are we talking about here?"
Janet sighed. "I suspect that neither of you will be able to sleep unless the other one is also sleeping. And I have no idea what effect distance will have on you. If this empathic link is somehow affected by distance, then sending one of you through the stargate without the other could be extremely dangerous."
Sounding both depressed and resigned, Sam said what they were all thinking. "Then I guess you'd better contact the Tok'ra." Seeing Jack start to object, she cut him off. "We'll think of something to tell Dad, but we can't ignore the only possible solution we've come up with so far. For all we know this could get worse."
Sounding vaguely disturbed, Jack shook his head. "I'm not sure it could get much worse than tonight," he admitted softly.
Janet gently broached the topic, anxious to know what had occurred to upset them both so much. "Can you tell me what happened? I don't need details, but I think it would be best if I had some idea what went on here tonight."
Sam exchanged a desperate look with Jack. Then, taking a shaky breath, she explained. "It was nothing like the other dreams," she said softly. "I woke up in a hospital. Jack was there, and he told me that everything had gone well." Seeing Janet's puzzled look, she pushed ahead. "A nurse walked in. She had a baby–" At that point, her voice broke, and her throat closed on a lump of emotion.
Squeezing Sam's hand tenderly, Jack finished the story in a few simple sentences. "It was our daughter. The nurse was about to hand her to us when we woke up. We never even got to see her face."
Choking back tears, Sam looked at Janet. "Her name was Hope. I was just about to take her when the dream ended."
Understanding washed over Janet in a soft, sad wave. Suddenly, she knew why her friends had been so upset. The shared dream was something that both of them were desperate to believe in – something that they wanted more than life itself. But it was also something that neither of them believed they could ever possibly have. Janet could only imagine what it would be like to not only have a dream like that, but to share it with the one person who could truly feel its significance. "Oh, Sam," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."
Jack looked at her pleadingly. "Why did it change?" he asked, clearly angry with the situation. "Sure, I wasn't looking forward to having an erotic dream in the middle of the SGC's infirmary, but I think anything would have beat this. What the hell happened?"
Shaking her head, Janet could offer no good explanation. "I wish I could tell you," she said earnestly. "I think, next to the Tok'ra, our best bet is to get Daniel back to that temple. Maybe he can find something which will offer an explanation."
Sam sighed, looking weary and exhausted. "Can we go home now?" she asked quietly.
Janet took in their drawn, despairing faces and nodded immediately. "I'll start poring over the data. As soon as you two are awake tomorrow, get in touch with Daniel and explain everything you're comfortable telling him about these dreams. After he's briefed, I'll make sure Hammond sends him back to P3X-739 without giving anything vital away."
Jack looked at her with a wry smile. "You're really bending the rules on this, doc. You could get into a lot of trouble."
She smiled back, looking just as darkly amused as he did. "Not as much as you," she quipped.
As the three of them pondered the truth of her words, it was difficult to say who looked least pleased by them.
