A/N: Thanks all for the feedback this is a longer part hope you all enjoy.

Rumors of My Death
Part 14

I had asked the question that would bring everything back to normal.

Is she Janet Fraiser?

We waited and Dr. Brightman looked around the room.

"Where's Dr. Jackson, Teal'c? I'd think they'd want to know the results also."

She was right we should have everyone present.

I also wanted to know what Dixon had found out. It must be bad news or maybe . . . it would be good news.

Something to shed some light on what we were dealing with, they had turned us inside out and upside down and I was through playing their games.

"You're right Dr. Brightman. Let's move this to the briefing room. I'll have Walter wait topside for Dixon and tell him to bring Daniel there. I need to speak with him to find out what he did or didn't find."

Cassie grabbed my hand.

"I can come too right, Jack? I have every right to be there. This effects me as much as anyone else honestly, it effects me the most."

"Of course Cassie, I won't leave you out of the loop any longer. You're right, you are part of this and you will be kept informed."

She smiled and then turned to Sam.

She opened her mouth but thought about it and turned towards George without speaking.

Sam had waited for her to speak to her but when she didn't, she slumped closer to me.

I whispered, "Give her time. She's gonna need you when the truth comes out."

She nodded.

I called Walter and he told me what had happened with the guard topside. I exhaled and muttered a curse. Carter looked up and was about to ask what was wrong when I shook my head and motioned towards Cassie.

She got my meaning and came closer to see if she could hear anything else.

"Have Dixon bring himself and Daniel to the briefing room, Walter. Also find Teal'c, he should be up there, too. Dr. Brightman has the results and I think we should wait until Daniel is found to hear them."

I hung up and told Carter what Daniel had done. She bowed her head and whispered "no". I took her hand and squeezed it.

"We've got to be strong for them. Okay?"

She agreed.

"Thanks, Sir you've been incredible through all of this. I don't think I could have dealt with this without you."

She smiled. She had been on an emotional roller coaster and I wanted her to go back to being her strong self. Not that I minded being her rock through all of this. God knew Pete would not have been much help.

Pete, damn I had forgotten to tell her about Pete.

She squeezed my hand one more time and headed towards the door.

Should I tell her or wait?

I decided to wait until after we got the results. I should have been more patient with the putz but I would not apologize for what I did. He was out of line and if Carter couldn't see that, then maybe they did deserve each other.

I caught up to her as we waited for the elevator.

"Could this day get any worse, Sir?"

"I don't think so, Carter. It can only get better, right?"

The doors opened and she looked up and smiled.

God I missed that smile.

"With us staying together and figuring this all out it can only get better Sir."

She was getting her confidence back, which was good to see. I needed her to be confident Carter, level headed Carter Not the Carter that I didn't know how to handle even though I didn't really mind seeing a glimpse of that Carter. I loved that I was able to help vulnerable Carter. She had come to me and I was there to help. That was something I wouldn't forget.

"Sir?"

I came out of my thoughts to see the doors still open.

"Are you okay Sir? With all of this going on I didn't even ask you how you were. How are you coping with all of this?"

The doors closed as she waited for me to answer.

She was truly concerned about me. I missed that. She was looking into my eyes trying to read me, trying to see if I would reveal what I really thought of this screwed up mess.

"I'm okay Carter, you're right, this has thrown me for a loop. Oh and I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I was out of line…."

"No! You have nothing to apologize for. You could have me thrown in the brig for insubordination. I screwed up big time and you just pointed out my mistakes. I'm sorry. I hope you will forgive me for this, for everything for…"

"No need for apologies, Carter it's been a hell of a day. Hopefully, once we get these results we can start new. All of us."

"I'd like that, Sir.'

The doors opened and we headed for the briefing room.

On the way there I told her about my chat with Archie Dunnley and how I had sent Dixon to the location where he'd picked up the imposter.

We made it to the briefing room, General Hammond was in my office but Dr. Brightman wasn't there.

Cassie looked up to see us walking in and turned away.

I walked over and sat down next to her.

I took her hand and she squeezed it.

"This is almost over, Cass. We will know the truth in a couple of minutes. Remember we are here for you; we are your family. All of us."

She didn't acknowledge me. I picked up her chin to face me and she closed her eyes.

Tears escaped her as she whispered.

"It has to be her, Jack. Please tell me you believe it's her?"

I couldn't answer her.

I looked up to see Carter waiting to talk to Cassie.

Cassie followed my attention and sighed.

I came closer to Cass, "Be easy on her okay? She's been through a lot today and I know you have also but finger pointing is for later okay. Daniel will be here in a couple of minutes too. He has every right to know the results too. Just remember Cassie we're all human, and not perfect. So don't hold anything against them because you'll have to hold me accountable too."

She closed her eyes and whispered.

"I was so cruel to both of them, do you think they'll forgive me for what I said?"

"They will. Don't worry Cass; you're hurting as much as they are. But we will get through this I promise. Let her talk Cassie, don't judge."

She nodded and I got up. I looked at Carter and could tell she was in a panic; she was about to walk away when I grabbed her arm.

"She'll listen, just tell her what you feel Carter and it will work out. No more tears, Colonel."

She stood up straight, smiled and whispered, "No more tears, Sir."

I let her go and she went over to Cassie.

General Hammond stepped out of my office and I went over to see whom he had called.

He said he was just keeping the President informed and that he contacted Agent Barrett to see if he had any news.

"He said he shook every tree and called every person he knew. No one was talking and nothing was being done but he's still looking. He'll get back to us if he finds anything."

"That's good to hear."

"Jack, what about this Archie fellow? Maybe he is involved."

"No, Sir I don't think so. He was straight forward, no nonsense; he's just a victim in this. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was just helping out. Dixon will most likely confirm what I feel. We should let him go after we hear from Dave."

He looked over to Cassie and Carter.

"They're mending fences, Sir. We all need to stick together; we can't let them divide us."

"You're right, Jack. We do need to stick together."

Dr. Brightman walked in, as did Walter, Dixon, Balinsky, Teal'c and Daniel.

He looked lost – as if he wanted to bolt out the door.

I walked over and he couldn't look me in the eye.

I needed to mend some fences, too.

"Hey, are you okay? Daniel, about what happened in the room . . . I'm sorry but I had to do it. You weren't thinking rationally."

He looked up and blurted out, "Sorry? I'm the one that's sorry, Jack I almost killed her. Without remorse, it was automatic. I needed to stop my pain. Their pain, it was scary losing control like that. I never thought I was capable of doing that. I've just screwed everything up, haven't I? I always had this nagging feeling Cassie thought I was responsible. She just confirmed it. She has every right to hate me. All of you do. I'm just a sorry excuse for a friend and teammate. So if you want to arrest me, or whatever, I understand. I deserve it."

I pulled him into my arms and he collapsed into me.

"Daniel, I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark. I thought I was protecting you. I ended up doing more harm than good. We've all made mistakes today but that's over now. Let's get some answers and find out what the hell is going on."

He pulled away and wiped the tears from his face. Teal'c came over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We hold no ill will towards you, Daniel Jackson. We are a family and we will not let them destroy us. We will fight those who wish to do us harm."

"You got that right, Teal'c. We'll stick together and nothing can harm us."

"That's the spirit, space monkey, come on let's see what the doc has to say."

He looked over to where Cassie was sobbing in Carter's arms. We all stood and stared. Watching her hurt affected us all.

"Jack, I have to speak to her before the results, I need her to know I don't hold her accountable for anything she said. It was the truth. I failed Janet. If I had watched out for her she wouldn't have died."

"Stop that, Daniel no one but the Jaffa who shot her is to blame. Or if you want to get technical the person that made her vest or me for not bringing enough people through the gate or maybe General Hammond for sending her off world. There's plenty of blame, Daniel don't let this take you over; the guilt can kill you."

He nodded.

"I should have done more though, I just hope she can forgive me one day."

"She does not think you are responsible, Daniel Jackson, she revealed this to me as I comforted her. She is just overwhelmed with all that has transpired today."

"Go talk to her, Daniel if you want, she won't shun you. She's sorry, too."

He turned and smiled, "Thanks, Jack."

"For what, Danny? It's my job."

"For keeping us together, for being our friend, for being the voice of reason even as I say it out loud it still seems wrong."

"Hey!"

He walked away and was standing by Carter and Cassie. Carter said something and Cassie turned to see Daniel and whimpered. He pulled her into his arms and I knew we'd be okay.

Teal'c was looking at our friends and I was about to ask how he was when he spoke.

"These people are very perceptive. They used our weakness to their advantage. The woman claiming to be Janet Fraiser has done great harm to us. She will pay once the Doctor confirms that she is not Janet Fraiser. I am ashamed to say I had believed for a moment that it truly was Dr. Fraiser. I cannot explain why O'Neill. Her actions, her speech is exactly like hers."

Teal'c was admitting what I was feeling.

"Don't beat yourself up too much, big guy. There was a second there she had me going, too. Damn, Teal'c she knew things only Doc knew. This whole ordeal is surreal."

"Indeed, but we have proof of the truth O'Neill. We were witnesses to her death. We buried our friend."

"Yeah, we did and we've got to protect our own. No more games T and definitely no more tears."

"I concur, O'Neill."

Dixon was speaking on the phone by the wall. Balinsky was listening, trying to hear what was being said. When Dixon hung up he didn't look happy.

I nodded to him to come over, Balinsky was at his side.

"General, we're here to give you a report on our findings."

"You came back pretty fast, Dave so that tells me its bad news. Let's wait until we hear what the doc has to say so you don't have to repeat yourself."

"Whatever you say Sir, but ah, we had an incident up top."

"Don't worry Dave, Walter filled me in about Daniel."

Dixon looked at Balinsky who was avoiding me.

"Ah, Sir, not that incident."

He looked over to Carter who was in deep conversation with Daniel and Cassie. She was holding each of their hands and it looked like they were okay.

I turned my back to them and they moved around.

"What incident, Dave? And please tell me it doesn't involve Shanahan," I whispered so not to be heard by the others.

Balinsky looked up at me then at Dixon. I didn't have to wait for an answer.

I groaned.

"Sir, it's my fault not Colonel Dixon's. He was mouthing off as we were taking him topside. He was going to be taken home by an airman and he was livid. Well, he was saying some pretty awful stuff about you and SG1, especially Colonel Carter and then he crossed the line."

"Crossed the line?"

I tried to keep my voice down. I tried to keep my cool but it was difficult. I knew Balinsky, he had to have been pushed really hard to have done something.

"General, Balinsky was out of line but I won't say he was wrong. Ah hell, the guy had it coming, Sir. He said some pretty nasty things and when I called him out on it he said what number was I, since Colonel Carter had such a fan base she must be handing out favors to all the men on the base."

"Favors?"

I didn't like the sound of that.

Dixon winced.

"Ah Sir, I'm cleaning it up, he used specific terms that, well, were derogatory to Carter and well, my mother would wash my mouth out with soap if she heard me talk that way! Then when he asked how I liked sloppy seconds…"

"What?"

"Yeah, he said that and I called him out on it. Then he started baiting me and I knew you'd be mad so I walked away and he tried to hit me from behind."

"Dave, are you okay?"

"Sir, he never got close. I heard the whole thing and turned just in time to neutralize him."

That sounded like the incident.

"How neutralized, Balinsky?"

"Well Sir, he was on his back in less then a second and will be sporting a black eye."

I couldn't be mad. I would've done worse.

"He was taken to the emergency room. I didn't think it was safe to keep him in the mountain after you found out what he said. I was just talking to the airman, he delivered Mr. Shanahan to the emergency room, nothing broken but he wasn't happy. I think it would be a good ideal to keep Carter here until he cools down."

"You think he'll hurt her, Dixon? Balinsky, do you think he'd actually hurt her for what happened?"

The both looked at each other.

"Sir, he was very agitated especially with you. He kept insinuating that something was going on between you and the colonel and he was going to put a stop to the charade."

I looked at Teal'c he hadn't known what had happened in the holding room, they did.

Balinsky murmured, "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't want to cause any more problems for you but this guy was way out of line. I like Colonel Carter and I don't see what she sees in him he's like a kid that didn't get enough attention. I'll apologize to her but not to him. I'll take my punishment."

"Okay, there will be no punishment, you were protecting your CO and this thing between Carter and her fiancé stays between them. It's been a long day and tempers have flared, I'm guilty of it myself. But I'll tell Carter what happened with Pete. Okay? You two did what I asked you to do. If anyone is at fault then it will be me. Dixon, I'll try to keep her here or maybe I'll send Daniel home with her. Not Cassie though, she's not going back."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"I'll fill you in later."

He bowed his head. Dr. Brightman was trying to get my attention.

"Doc, everyone is here lets get this briefing started."

I sat in my old chair leaving the one at the head of the table for General Hammond. He hesitated but sat when I motioned him to. Everyone else took their place, Carter was next to me and when I looked over she smiled at me. I took her hand underneath the table and she grabbed it like a lifeline and squeezed hard. Cassie was next to her and then Daniel.

Teal'c was across from me, Dixon and Balinsky next to him.

Dr. Brightman stood and she looked nervous.

"Okay, everyone is here. I have the results from the blood we took from the woman in the isolation room and I've compared it to the DNA sample Dr. Janet Fraiser had here on file. I had one of the tech's do a test also to have double confirmation and…."

The klaxon's blared and the gate was activated.

Carter jerked and looked to me.

"No one's due back; hell, no teams are off world."

I stood up and was followed by Dixon and General Hammond.

"The rest of you stay. We'll be right back as soon as we find out who's knocking."

We got to the control room.

Walter was there.

"Sir, we have a transmission from the Asgard they say it's urgent."

"Talk about timing damn, the bugs must be really doing a number on them."

The gate shut off.

"Walter?"

"I'm sorry, Sir the transmission was shut off on their end not ours. I'll run a diagnostic but it looks like the shut off."

I had a dilemma, wait for another call from the Asgard or find out if that was Janet.

"We'll be in the briefing room, Walter if they call back."

We went upstairs and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Bad connection, okay Doc, lets get to the bottom line."

We sat down again. Carter reached for my hand and I realized I needed her support also.

"The tests prove it can be Janet Fraiser in that room."

Gasps were heard all around. Cassie whispered, "I knew it."

Carter squeezed my hand hard and held the other over her mouth not wanting to show her emotions. I held on and started to rub my thumb over the top of it.

I looked over and Daniel was pale. Too pale, Teal'c struggled to rise and went over to make sure he was okay.

"But . . . "

We all turned back to Dr. Brightman.

"The test also proves that it can't be her. There is a substance in her blood that I can't identify, neither could the tech. He's working on it right now. It's not of this world and I've checked all the databanks for alien substances trying to find something that could come close but I haven't. I'm sorry, Sir I can't tell you 100 that the woman is Janet Fraiser."

Alien organism?

Sam gasped, "Replicator?"

Cassie started to cry out, "No, no, no, oh god, no it's her, you said."

Daniel snapped out of his stupor and took her in his arms.

I was still reeling. Could that be a replicator that I had let onto my base? An alien that could wreak havoc on my whole base?

I let go of Carter's hand and stood up. Dave and Balinsky followed suit and rose also.

"Balinsky, go down fully armed with any available SG teams I don't want to sound the alarm so do it discreetly. We've got to evacuate that floor. Make her think we still haven't gotten the results."

Balinsky left.

"Dave, what did you find out in that field."

"Nothing, Sir it's like she was placed there with no tire tracks other then the ones on the road and it looked like the area wasn't disturbed at all. We left a team to scour a bigger area but they reported back with nothing new. It's like she was just beamed there."

I looked at General Hammond he was in shock also.

My stomach started to flip.

Carter tried to stand but couldn't.

"Fifth replicated me and now Janet, why?"

I wish I had an answer for her but I didn't.

I turned to where Dr. Brightman was still standing.

"Doc, how could she be human? You drew blood? Something isn't making sense here."

Carter blurted out, "He's probed my mind as has she. They know what procedures we would take. What test would be administered, it's all my fault I should have let Teal'c kill her when he had the chance."

I rubbed my face with my hands. I had screwed up.

I let my emotions rule my decisions and now I was putting people I care for in danger.

I walked over to Carter.

"Not your fault, Carter I need you to focus! We'll get through this I need you…"

That was the last thing I said before being beamed out of the SGC.

TBC -