Jack quietly slipped from the bed when Daniel walked into the room, holding a tray with a lot of food on it. "Daniel," he greeted in a soft tone, not wanting to wake a still sleeping Sam.

"Jack, I brought you guys some food," he smiled, placing the tray on the side table. "I figured you two hadn't eaten anything yet."

"Thanks, Space Monkey," Jack replied.

Daniel simply shrugged, knowing Jack would have done it for him too. "I should get going, I have to prepare the VIP rooms for the Tok'ra."

"Oh," he nodded slowly, racking his brain to remember what Landry had told him earlier today, about Daniel and Teal'c's meeting with them. "Those snakes are coming over? Why?"

"Didn't General Landry tell you?" Daniel asked, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "We met with Yosuuf and Garshaw and they agreed to send someone to try and help Sam."

Frowning, Jack huffed. "Really? What do they think they can do?"

"I don't know, exactly," he shrugged, "they said they needed to examine her first before they could tell us if they could do something for her."

"Great," he muttered under his breath. He didn't trust those snakes, not after what happened with Kanan. The only one he'd trusted were Selmak and Jacob, but they had proven themselves many times, especially by defying the High Council and helping Earth – Sam, actually – to defeat the Replicators. Not that he didn't want Sam to get her memories back – he was all for it – but with those damned snakes there was always a catch, one they often 'forgot' to mention. "When will they get here?"

"Tomorrow, or the day after," Daniel informed him, rubbing his chin. "It depended on the mission one of their operatives was on."

"Of course it did," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Well, thanks anyway, Daniel."

"Don't mention it," he smiled, before making his way to the door.

Hearing the door close softly behind him, Jack grabbed a plate and ate the food, without tasting much of it. He was still worried about Sam, although it looked like she hadn't had any nightmares up until now. That, of course, doesn't mean she won't get them somewhere during the night, he told himself. The only nightmares he ever got came to him in the middle of the night, but never before or close to sunrise. Next to that, he couldn't help thinking about what Teal'c had told him; how only Ba'al used that specific term for the DHD, as far as the Jaffa knew. Well, at least he could ask the Tok'ra if they got here, Jack thought grimly, not looking forward to their visit.

There was no doubt in his mind that they'd offer some untested method that would do more harm than good, especially if Freya and Anise were involved. God, I hope not! He wasn't sure if he could handle being around those two, not while worrying about his wife! Ever since Freya had come on to him after that first Zatarc testing he'd felt uncomfortable around him. Maybe I should tell her Sam and I are married? It wasn't just that he thought the Tok'ra might jump him again, but also the idea of Freya being interested in him sexually, while the snake wanted Daniel! At least it's not the other way around….

Jack's head snapped up when he heard Sam sigh loudly and mumble something incoherently. Immediately jumping to his feet, he wanted to make sure she wasn't having another one of those nightmares, when he noticed her breathing had changed. "Sam?"

"Hm?" She mumbled, sleepily, not opening her eyes.

"Are you awake?" He asked, mentally slapping himself for the stupid question.

Sam snorted, a small smile gracing her lips. "No, I'm talking in my sleep."

"Funny," he teased her, pushing a strand of golden hair behind her ear, making her giggle. "Come on, open your eyes."

"No," she shook her head, enjoying the last remnants of sleep and the peace in her mind, not wanting to face the world just yet.

"Samantha," Jack drawled out her name.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard him say her full name in that sexy voice, feeling a blush creeping up her neck. "Jack?"

"Ah," he smiled, proud of himself. "There are those blue orbs."

Ducking her head shyly under his intense gaze, Sam clutched the sheets to her body and slowly sat up. "Oh, you got food?"

"Daniel brought it," Jack replied, walking around the bed again since she was turning away from him – facing the food – and evading his eyes. "I already ate, you should eat the rest. I know it's kind of late for dinner," he gestured towards the clock, "but you haven't had any yet."

Sam unconsciously rubbed her stomach, realizing she was indeed hungry. She almost felt like doing a little happy dance now that she was finally, for the first time since… well, as long as she could remember, feeling really hungry! "Okay," she reached for the tray and placed it into her lap.

"Just like that?" He responded without thinking, expecting her to argue that she wasn't hungry. "Never mind," Jack quickly said when she looked at him with big blue eyes, her fork frozen mid-air. "Just… eat."

"Yessir," Sam smirked, winking at him before taking a bite. "Hmm, delicious."

Jack swallowed hard and quickly plopped back in his chair, trying to keep his body under control. Had she been flirting with him? Of course, it wasn't very strange for a wife to flirt with her husband, but Sam didn't even remember him! Granted, she apparently felt comfortable enough around him to let him hold her while she slept, but still…. She probably didn't even realize what she was doing, he told himself. Obviously she had no idea what that cute smirk and that saucy wink did to his blood pressure! "Never heard you so enthusiastic about commissary food before," he decided to play it casual and ignore his body's response, while shifting in his seat to get comfortable. Was it getting hot in here?

"Well," she spoke between bites, looking at him, "I don't remember the food being this good before."

He chuckled softly, glad that she was able to make jokes about her current condition. "Just wait until we get out of the mountain," he said, motioning towards her tray of food. He suddenly realized the double entendre of what he'd just said when she beamed that delicious megawatt smile at him, which only served to make his BDUs even more uncomfortable.

"Jack, where are you taking me?" Sam suddenly asked in a soft tone of voice, completely oblivious to his predicament.

Coughing, he tried to fight the images her words brought. "What?" He asked in a hoarse tone, quickly clearing his throat loudly before trying again. "What do you mean?"

"When Janet releases me," she reminded him, frowning at his lack of comprehension. Was he already forgetting that she was getting out of here soon? Did it mean that little to him? Or maybe he wasn't intending on staying with her?

"Oh," he nodded, "that."

"Yes," she said slowly, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Daniel told me that I was working in Nevada and living there, while you were working in Washington."

Oh, so Daniel is allowed to tell her that while Fraiser got me a list with forbidden subjects? Jack huffed to himself, shaking his head slightly. "Yes, that is true. But there's this little apartment here in town where we'll go." He decided to somewhat stick to the Doc's list by leaving out that it had been Jacob's apartment to avoid having to tell her about her late father.

"We also have an apartment here?" She asked, incredulous.

"Yeah sure you betcha," he grinned at her. "Nothing too fancy, but it's something."

Sam's insides almost did a flip-flop when he gave her that charming lopsided grin and she quickly evaded his gaze, looking down at her now-empty plate. It was obvious her body remembered him, she thought as her heart was beating loudly in her chest at his attention. "I see," she mumbled, trying to sound as if nothing was wrong. "At least that way we'll be close by Janet and the infirmary," she stated, more to herself than him.

"Why, is something wrong?" Jack asked, getting worried. "Are you afraid you'll need medical attention or-"

"No, it's not that," she quickly reassured him, holding up her hand. "Janet said she wanted me to stay near for further tests."

"Oh, okay," he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he leaned back in his chair. Changing his mind, he got up and got her empty tray to set it aside. "Want some more water?" He asked, pouring himself a cup.

"Sure," Sam nodded, placing her feet flat on the bed to hug her knees to her chest. She silently took the cup from him and quickly downed it, watching him do the same. It was a little after twenty hundred hours, she realized, glancing at the clock.

Jack fiddled with the empty cup in his hands, not knowing what to say exactly. Instead, he chose to let the comfortable silence reign longer, the only sound being the ticking of the clock with every passing second. He was mentally going over the list that Fraiser had given him, the one that said what he should and shouldn't talk about with Sam according to that Doctor King. Jack could care less about what the man thought he could tell his wife and was still contemplating whether to simply lie and tell Janet that he'd follow her instructions or just ignore the entire subject. The latter appealed to him most.

He would, however, follow her medical instructions for Sam's physical health to the letter! Now that her withdrawal was over she could finally keep food and liquids down, but he was one hundred percent sure that the last few days weren't enough to bring her back to her old weight. She was still rather skinny, although she'd retained most of her luscious curves.

"Jack?"

Startled by her voice breaking the silence, he looked up to find her dark blue eyes on him. "Yes?"

"What about my family?"

Crap, what to do now? "Sam?" He asked, trying to avoid having to answer her question.

She frowned at him, wondering why he wouldn't answer. "My parents…."

"What about them?" Jack tried to keep it cool, making it seem like he was simply waiting for her to continue instead of acknowledging the almost silent question her trailing voice posed.

"My mother," Sam whispered, looking down at her hands, clasped around her knees. "She's dead, isn't she?"

"Look Sam," he leaned forward and grabbed one of her hands, trying to figure out whether to confirm, deny or ignore.

Shaking her head, she pulled her hand from him and scooted back into the pillows. "I was thinking-"

"I'd be surprised if you ever stopped," he tried joking, giving her a smile.

"-and wondering why I remembered Uncle George, especially since he said I hadn't called him that in a long time. And he didn't have any hair," she frowned, looking up at her husband. "I held on to that picture in my mind and tried to think why it was so important. I just realized that he was there for me when my mother died," Sam ended in an almost-sob.

"Sam," Jack whispered, joining her on the bed and pulling her into a hug.

"I'm right, aren't I?"

To hell with the damn list! "About your mother, yes," he squeezed her tighter when she really did sob and buried his head in the crook of her neck. "About Hammond, I'm not sure," she'd never really spoken about her mother's death in all the time he'd known her, only mentioned the essentials when the memories had appeared while she'd been trying to remember some of Jolinar's memories. "But I wouldn't be surprised if he was there for you," Jack whispered against her shoulder. He meant it, Hammond was that kind of guy. Especially knowing Jacob hadn't coped well with his wife's death and the estrangement with his kids that followed after, Jack had no trouble imagining that Jacob's old friend and his wife had been there for Sam and Mark.

"He was," Sam sniffled, her hands on his chest clenching, fisting his shirt to try and keep her emotions under control. How could she be upset about something she hardly remembered? She just felt it, knew that her mother had died but she couldn't remember the woman and yet she wanted to cry over losing her! "And," she leaned back slightly, wanting to look him in the eye, "my Dad?"

Jack's brown eyes locked onto her blue ones and before he could even decide how to break the news, he saw understanding dawning in her eyes. "He, ah… Jacob, he-"

"He's dead too, isn't he?" She asked, pleading him to answer her with her eyes. "Jack," she tried again, casting her eyes downward. "I can't explain it, but I just feel like he's gone too."

"You're right," Jack whispered as he gently took hold of her chin and forced her to look up. "He died last year."

"While I was missing?" She asked, her eyes widening, but before Jack could answer, she shook her head. "Of course not," she said more to herself than anyone else, "or else I wouldn't have known."

"A few months before you, er… went missing," Jack confirmed, gently caressing her cheek with his roughened thumb, brushing silent tears away. "It was his apartment."

Confused, Sam creased her brow. "What?"

"Jacob left the apartment to you. He'd bought it to be closer to you in the first place," he explained. "Not that he was there a lot, but that's a whole different story."

"Oh," she nodded, finally understanding. "And I kept it?"

"Well," he sighed, leaning back slightly now that her tears were gone, "I was reassigned to Washington and you to Nevada. Nothing was keeping us here, except the occasional job-related visits and friends, so we-"

"Sold our house?"

"Yeah," Jack nodded, not trying to correct her by explaining they still had their own houses at the time because they hadn't gotten married until they were both waiting to start their new assignment and the regs didn't apply. "You decided you wanted to keep the apartment a little longer and I agreed; that way you still had that emotional connection to your father and we had a place to stay if we were in town."

"I see," Sam mumbled, processing this new information. "So, it's just you and me?"

"You, me and our family here at the SGC," he told her, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, before pulling her back in his arms.

"No kids?"

"No kids," he shook his head. Not yet, anyway. Jack didn't think he should tell her that right now, not wanting to push her.

"General O'Neill," Janet said coolly as she found him in the briefing room.

"Doc," Jack said warily, noticing her facial expression and stance. "What can I do for you?"

"I hear you've been talking to Sam," she replied, crossing her arms as she stood in front of him, looking up to hold his gaze.

"Well," he tried to act casually and shrugged, "she is my wife."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Janet wasn't buying it. "I thought we had covered the points you weren't supposed to tell her."

"That was on the list?" he asked, giving her his best innocent expression.

"Yes Sir," she gritted her teeth, now clenching her fists at her side. "It was one of the conditions for me to release Sam into your care."

"Geez Doc," Jack whined, sitting back on the edge of the briefing room table. "I told you I couldn't remember the entire list!"

"Right," Janet rolled her eyes, huffing slightly. She should have known he'd ignore her and Dr. King's instructions. "You could have caused major damage, Sir."

"Well, I didn't, did I?" Jack asked, getting impatient with this ridiculousness. "Besides, Sam brought it up and she was the one who remembered it all, I just filled in the blanks."

"Of course you did," she muttered under her breath, having trouble getting angry with him if what he was saying was true. It would mean Sam's memory might be coming back! "Look Sir, if you don't follow my orders-"

"Instructions," he corrected her.

"If you don't follow my instructions," she rolled her eyes before continuing, "I don't know if I can release Sam into your care."

"Oh, come on Doc," Jack cried out, throwing his hands up in the air.

"No Sir, if you disregard my medical instructions then-"

"It was a stupid list," he objected. "I would never endanger Sam's health, you should know that."

"I thought I did," Janet petulantly stated, crossing her arms again, glaring at him.

Jack sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. "Janet," he tried, cocking his head to the side. "It would break Sam's heart if you'd refuse to let me take her home."

Swallowing, Janet tried to keep her facial expression in check. She knew he was right; Sam had been asking her for days when she could finally leave the infirmary. Janet wanted her friend to leave, to try and get back to her old life and maybe she would even remember more! But the doctor in her was fighting with the friend, even though she knew Jack O'Neill would never hurt Sam. "Sir," she let out a deep sigh.

"I swear, Janet, I'll follow your medical instructions, regarding her physical health to the letter," Jack told her, holding up his hand.

"Fine," she relented, "but I want her back here for regular checkups and-"

"Yeah, about that," Jack grimaced, dragging a hand through his hair.

"What?" She almost snapped and added a belated "Sir" when she saw his eyebrows shoot up.

Jack straightened and pushed his hands in his pockets, glancing at the floor before looking back at the petite doctor. "I just got off the phone with the President and he wants me back in Washington."

"When?" Janet gasped, her mind already trying to figure out a solution as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Yesterday," he groaned. "I told him about Sam and he understood, but said I was needed back at Homeworld Security. Apparently, the videoconferences aren't enough for the JCS and the IOA."

"So, when are you going back, Sir?"

"Probably the day after tomorrow," Jack rolled his eyes at her. "Sam is coming with me," he warned her. "I'm not leaving her here."

"Of course not," Janet responded sharply, the thought hadn't even crossed her mind! She wasn't going to keep Sam here, despite her need to check up on her friend regularly.

"The President already said he wanted to see her too."

Janet frowned. "He does know that her memory isn't working… properly, right?"

"Yeah, I told him, Landry told him, Hammond even told him. But apparently, Hayes likes her and wants to make sure she's alright. Something about her being a national treasure and all," Jack groaned, always having known that one day he was going to regret telling the President of the United States that Samantha Carter was a national treasure. "I think he wants to soothe his conscience for declaring her KIA without any substantial evidence and having planned that memorial service in a few days," he spat out, still not having forgiven the man that, even knowing that he was probably feeling the pressure from the JCS and others.

"Well," Janet sighed, smoothing her hair back. "I analyzed the blood sample I took last night from Sam and everything is looking good, so I guess you can take her home in a few hours, Sir. After I have given you a full briefing on her medical instructions."

"Yes Ma'am," he smirked. "Wait, in a few hours?"

"Daniel said the Tok'ra are coming today?" She asked, surprised that he didn't know. "To examine Sam and see if they can do anything for her."

"Oh, right," he groaned, "I forgot about the snakeheads."

"General O'Neill, Doctor Jackson, General Landry," the Tok'ra nodded and bowed slightly in a greeting.

"I thought you said there was only going to be one snake, Danny boy," Jack scowled at his friend, ignoring Anise.

"No, I didn't," he denied, shaking his head.

"Yes you did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Jack, Dr. Jackson," Hank interrupted their argument, rolling his eyes. "Excuse them," he waved towards the two men as he smiled at the three Tok'ra in front of him. "Freya and Anise, it's good seeing you again," he greeted the attractive woman he'd met on several previous occasions.

"It most certainly is, General," Anise smiled at him after quickly glancing at the other two men. "I am most pleased to see you are present as well, General O'Neill and Doctor Jackson as I had been informed that neither of you would be staying at Stargate Command."

"Yeah well," Jack glared at her, "tone it down a bit, will ya?"

"I do not understand," she replied, looking at the other Tau'ri for an explanation.

"What Jack means to say that it's good to see you again too, although we wish it would be under different circumstances," Daniel explained.

Stepping off the ramp, Anise stopped in front of the two attractive males. "But I do not."

"Okay, that's it. Dial the gate, Walter," Jack barked at the Chief Master Sergeant in the control room, swinging his arm in the air. "Let's send them back to Tok'ra land!"

"Jack," Daniel cried out, pulling his arm down. "I'm sure Anise didn't mean it like that."

"Of course she didn't," Jack muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Daniel to hear.

"I most certainly meant what I said, Doctor Jackson. Had the circumstances been different you and General O'Neill would not have been present, am I correct?"

"Well, yeah," Daniel admitted, shuffling on his feet. "But the reason you're here is Sam, Garshaw said you might be able to help if you were able to examine her yourself and that's what I meant. That you would prefer Sam was alright while meeting us, rather than having to come because she is hurt."

"I see," Anise replied, nodding her understanding but not confirming his answer. She did not understand why the two men were so attentive to the now-Colonel Carter and had never been able to understand.

"I must agree with you, Doctor Jackson. It is most unfortunate and we were saddened to hear of the predicament of Jacob's daughter."

Hank Landry looked up when one of the other Tok'ra spoke and they both took off their sand colored robes, leaving them in the typical brown leather Tok'ra outfit. "I don't believe we've met?"

"Jalen," Jack greeted the young woman, remembering her from when she'd so generously offered them a ride after flying an asteroid through Earth. "It's good to see you again. You too, Raully."

"Thank you, General O'Neill," both women bowed slightly, glad the Tau'ri leader seemed less apprehensive about them than their sister.

"Yeah, we had no idea you'd survived the explosion from Hathor's facility, Raully," Daniel admitted.

"I was most fortunate in my escape," she informed them. "Ever since, I was on a long term mission and as you are aware the High Council does not-"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack made an impatient gesture with his hand as he interrupted her, "they don't like sharing information."

"Indeed. However, the charade is no more, now you may call me Mingala," she spoke in her Tok'ra voice, "and my host 's name is Thina."

"Very well, Jalen, Anise, Mingala, if you would please follow me to the briefing room," Hank told them, smiling. He had always known Jack didn't like the Tok'ra very much – not very strange considering his experience with the one named Kanan – and decided it would be better for him to lead this meeting. Not only because he was the commanding officer of the SGC nowadays, but also because Jack seemed to be eager to send the Tok'ra – or more specifically, Anise – back. He wondered what that was all about….

Sam was still rubbing her forehead, long after the three women had left her to confer about their findings. She could still feel the heat of the red beam from the seneb'kesh after they had scanned her body and her brain. Not to mention that she'd been afraid she was getting sick again when they were in the room with her, crowding her and she'd gotten that nauseating tingling in the pit of her stomach. Luckily, she'd been able to keep breathing and tried to relax, not giving into her body's desire to throw up that wonderful breakfast of this morning, or the blue jello she'd just had.

"Sam, are you okay?" Jack asked, getting back into the room. Those damn Tok'ra had insisted everyone else stay in the observation room while they had scanned Sam's head for trauma and injuries.

"Yeah, it's just an awkward feeling," she gave him a small smile and let her hand drop from her forehead to squeeze his hand reassuringly.

Squinting at her, he leaned forward and brushed her bangs from her face. "Are you sure? You look a little pale." He couldn't shake the nasty feeling inside of him, thinking there was something wrong with her. After they had eaten something last night, Janet had dropped by and gotten the blood samples she needed and eventually he had slipped into bed with Sam again and they'd fallen asleep. Only to awaken in the middle of the night, because Sam was having nightmares again. Her reaction was almost similar to the last few times, but at least this time he'd been able to refrain from trying to keep her still and pushing her into the mattress while holding her hands. But she'd still been shaken once she woke and, if he were honest, so was he.

"I'll be fine, I just…." She frowned, trying to formulate what had been bothering her. "I got this sickening feeling in my stomach when they were here. I don't know, probably just felt crowded with all those strangers," she shrugged, as if it was nothing, not wanting Jack to be worried about her.

"Oh," he nodded, realizing she was referring to sensing the naquadah from their snakes. Better not tell her now, it can wait, he told himself as he stepped back. He couldn't remember her ever getting sick from it though. "I'll make sure they'll keep their distance once they get back."

"Thanks," she smiled sheepishly at him, feeling like she was overreacting, but happy that he wanted to make it easier for her.

"Don't mention it," he grinned at her.

"Jack," Daniel greeted him as he walked into the room. "Anise and Raul-Mingala are back," he corrected himself and gestured behind him.

"Where is Jalen?"

"Do not concern yourself with that, General O'Neill," Freya almost purred as she stood next to him. "Anise and I, as well as Mingala and Thina have reached a conclusion."

"Oh and Jalen doesn't get a vote?" he couldn't help but ask and stepped closer to Sam's bed – and, more importantly, away from Freya and Anise.

Freya smiled at him and placed her hand on his arm as she gently shook her head. "Jalen is not specialized in this area, she was merely escorting us."

"So, what have you come up with?" Daniel asked eagerly, hoping they could help Sam.

"The only possible solution is what you call a memory recall device as the one that Martouf used on Colonel Carter-"

"No," Jack shook his head, interrupting Raully – or Mingala, whatever her name was. "I don't think so."

"Surely Colonel Carter can decide for herself, can she not?" Anise asked, taking over from Freya, giving the woman on the bed a glance.

"I don't know," Sam replied hesitantly, looking between the woman and Jack. "I've already used it before…?"

"Yeah, we all have," Daniel grimaced, remembering the mockup complex of the SGC in Hathor's facility. "It's a coin shaped device that is placed on your temple and stimulates certain areas of the brain, making it possible to recall memories. You can even hook it up to a sort of screen, so that the memories play out like a movie."

"That sounds… dangerous," she bit her lip, trying to imagine what the device must be capable of if it attaches to one's temple and could actually conjure up stored memories.

"It is," Jack confirmed, nodding with his arms crossed, glaring at the two Tok'ra.

"Janet?"

Stepping forward, Janet found herself standing next to Daniel. "Well, I don't know, Sam. I've never been able to study the technology as you've only used it off world, but I must agree with you and General O'Neill; it sounds like a risky thing to do."

"I assure you, it is not," Anise stated.

"Like those bracelets of yours?" Jack sneered, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, Jack," Daniel objected, looking around the room, letting his eyes rest a bit longer on Sam. "If it can help Sam remember…."

"Daniel, we're not playing Russian Roulette with Carter's brain."

"It could blow up?" Sam asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"Rest assured, such an event has never taken place before," Mingala replied, "nor are there any indications it is possible."

"There's a first time for everything," Jack countered.

"Look Jack, I'm no fan of the device myself," Daniel frowned as he remembered the painful procedure. "But what if-"

"Daniel!" Jack threw up his hands. "Remember our little trip to Netu, in how much pain Carter was when good ol' Marty used that thing on her? How Apophis used it on her combined with that blood stuff? Her memories were all screwed up, Daniel!"

"Don't you think it's worth the risk?" he asked, turning to Jack.

"No, I don't."

"But Jack-"

"No," he shook his head resolutely. He had seen what a mess Sam was after that little trip to Netu and for her it really had been hell! She had told him later on that she was still haunted by some of the memories of Jolinar that had been conjured up during those sessions with Martouf and Apophis. This time, he wouldn't allow those snakes to play with her head like that.

"Colonel Carter's memories must be very precious," Anise tried again, positive she could convince those Tau'ri. "From what Doctor Jackson and the Jaffa Teal'c told Garshaw the High Council assumes the Colonel has been held by Ba'al for almost eight of your months. Certainly this must have provided her with information-"

"Here we go again," Jack cried out, effectively shutting her up. "I told you, Daniel, there's always a catch! You didn't come here out of respect for Jacob or because of the alliance, you immediately realized there was a chance for insider information about Ba'al and his clones!"

"Colonel Carter," Anise decided to try and approach the woman this time. Perhaps she would be more willing considering her scientific background, Dr. Jackson most certainly seemed tempted.

"Don't bother," Jack interrupted her again. "She's not doing it."

"Jack," Daniel whined, knowing his friend had good reasons but also realizing this might be the only chance Sam would have.

"Daniel, maybe the General is right," Janet grabbed his arm gently, to get his attention. "Sam has already used the device twice and I know it was upsetting for her, for all of you."

Understanding General O'Neill and the Tau'ri doctor would not be changing their minds, Mingala tried a different approach. "Do you not have free choice amongst your people?"

"Yes we do," Daniel nodded an affirmative, wondering where she was going with this. "Why?"

"Does that not allow Colonel Carter to make this choice on her own? After all, it are her memories we wish to retrieve."

"Yeah, particularly the ones about Ba'al, huh?" Jack asked sarcastically. "Not to mention it will also be her brain that's at risk, not yours."

"Still, the choice would be hers," Anise chimed in.

Sam was still thinking about the possibilities; everyone had a point. Daniel was right that she might remember, it could be her only choice. Even those two women made a good point about important information that could be retrieved. Jack and Janet on the other hand, were looking out for her health and wellbeing. What was she to do?

"Actually, it's not," Janet hesitantly stated, feeling all eyes on her. "The decision is General O'Neill's."

"Please explain," Anise demanded.

"Yeah, Jack what's going on?"

"Considering Sam's mental state she is incapable of making an informed decision," Janet explained, "therefore, the medical decision – which it is in this case – goes to the next of kin."

"I'm not insane, Janet," Sam protested.

"I know, honey," she tried calming her friend. "It's just for your own safety, you don't remember all the things you've gone through and can't comprehend the risks without your memories."

"Of course, because Jack is her husband, he is the next of kin and thus the decision is his," Daniel stated aloud, finally able to connect the dots.

Shocked, Anise glanced between the two Tau'ri officers. "You and Colonel Carter are mated?"

"Yeah sure you betcha," Jack smirked at her. "And no way in hell am I allowing you to do this."

"Jack, come on, let's think about this," Daniel tried again, still not able to give up. "Maybe you and Sam should talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about, Space Monkey. I'm not letting them dig around in her brain because they want information on Ba'al which Sam might not even have!"

"But Sam," he turned to his best friend, "these are your memories we're talking about!"

"Daniel, cut it out," Jack groaned, not wanting him to confuse Sam further.

"Why don't we leave you two alone so you can talk about this," Janet offered and herded the others out of the room. "We'll be back later."