"You'll be fine," Janet concluded her exam. "Just remember what I told you; more sleep, less work and eat more regularly," she gently scolded her friend. "Now, get dressed."
Sam rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed once Janet had pulled the curtain around the bed. The clicking of the petite doctor's heels told her she was heading back to her office. Blindly reaching out, Sam grabbed her BDUs and donned them over her underwear. Her boots were a bit more of a challenge and she eventually sat down on the bed again to tie them properly.
"Sam?"
Hearing Janet's voice from the other side of the infirmary, Sam frowned. "Yeah?"
"Are you almost done?"
"Yes, just tying my boots."
Suddenly the curtain was pulled away again. "Good, because I thought we could get started on that eating pattern of yours," Janet smiled, glancing at the clock. It was almost 1830 hours and she was famished. Knowing Sam, her best friend hadn't eaten yet and they could spend some more time together. It was almost as if these days they were only doctor and patient, which was frustrating for her as she had always tried to keep her doctor and friend sides apart. Of course that wasn't possible when one of her friends was gravely injured, but when she was in the infirmary, she tried to wear her doctor persona. Lately, Janet the friend had hardly surfaced and she wanted to know how Sam was coping with everything. She knew about the nightmares, as her doctor Sam had to inform her and she did like the good little soldier she was, but as her friend she was pretty much in the dark.
"What now?"
She nodded, crossing her arms. "Yes now young lady," she tried in a stern voice, making them both laugh. "Unless of course, you have other plans? Maybe you and the General were going somewhere?"
Making sure her laces were properly secured, Sam looked up. "No, we hadn't planned anything. As a matter of fact, I think Jack is still in General Landry's office."
"I thought the briefings were over?"
"Yes, but had a conference call with the President and the JCS," Sam replied, once again hopping off the bed. "He said that if he didn't keep them abreast they'd order him back to Washington."
"Washington?" Janet snorted. "Well, I don't think they know Jack O'Neill as well as they think they do if they think they can order him to leave the search for his child behind to go to meetings with politicians."
"You really think so?" Sam asked hesitantly, making her way to the door.
Janet followed her friend, trying to keep with her long strides with her own much shorter legs. "Of course! I even know so," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "You can't seriously doubt that, Sam?"
"I don't know," she shrugged as they walked into the corridors, heading for the elevators. "It would give him an excuse to-"
"An excuse?" Janet gasped loudly, quickly clasping a hand over her mouth when she realized there were SFs and other personnel around. "Why would he need an excuse?"
Lowering her voice to match her friend's tone, Sam answered. "Well, it would mean he didn't have to babysit me all the time."
"He's not babysitting you," she frowned.
"Keeping an eye on me then, putting up with me… whatever you want to call it."
"Sam," she grabbed her arm as they reached the elevators. "He loves you, he'll always be there for you."
"Maybe he shouldn't," Sam whispered, looking at the floor.
Janet felt like shaking some sense into her, but as her doctor she couldn't really justify that so she settled for a loud, exasperated sigh and scowl. "What are you thinking Sam? Are you crazy? The man is completely nuts about you, he actually moved to DC because of you so that you two could be together since you were transferring as well… well, and because General Hammond was retiring and he didn't want to break in a new superior. Honestly Sam, tell me before I drag you back to the infirmary to do a head scan because there is obviously something wrong up there."
Sam shrugged silently as the doors to the elevator opened and two nurses stepped out. She stepped inside, waiting for Janet and pushed the button for the commissary. They were the only two people in the car and she was pretty sure they didn't record sound in the elevator, or at least it wasn't available to the guys at level sixteen since one needed high enough security clearance to make a request to get access to the audio recording with the work they did here. "I don't know how he can still love me," she admitted softly. "I hardly remember anything, I keep having nightmares and waking him up too, he constantly has to explain things to me, I look like crap and above all that I left his child behind with the man who kidnapped me. God, I didn't even remember our baby, Janet, I'm a horrible person. I don't deserve to be a mother and I certainly don't deserve Jack."
"Oh honey," Janet exclaimed, hugging her friend. "I thought you were over this whole insecurity thing already?"
"I guess not," she mumbled in reply, her voice muffled in Janet's coat.
Letting go of her, Janet stepped back and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, get over it. It's ridiculous, Sam. What happened wasn't your fault, you didn't ask to be abducted by a megalomaniac and you certainly didn't ask to have your memories suppressed!"
"I know that," she sighed, ducking her head. "But I can't help the way I feel."
"Sure you can… just stop blaming yourself."
Sam let out a mirthless chuckle. "If only it was that easy, Janet."
"Maybe it is," she replied. "You always over think things."
Frowning, Sam looked at her, not believing it was this simple. "Maybe Jack is just putting up with me until we've found our baby."
"Yeah and maybe the President will give us all a raise," Janet replied sarcastically as the doors opened and they stepped out. "Let's go get some food into you, maybe then reason will return to that big brain of yours."
"Yes Sir," Jack nodded at the President's face on the screen. "SG-2 has returned from P2M-903 but there was no sign of any of Ba'al's Jaffa or his clones. His ships weren't on the planet or in orbit either, but we've left behind a concealed MALP to keep an eye on things."
"That's a damn shame," Henry Hayes replied, shaking his head. "What about SG-3 and Teal'c?"
"We found an alien named Khalek in stasis in Anubis' lab that was apparently an experiment, but Colonel Mitchell pushed the wrong button and when the stasis chamber opened the guy died. Daniel said it wasn't a big loss as he's the one reviewing the data and it looked like the alien was going to be a mean son of a gun. We did learn from Anubis' notes that there was supposed to be a DNA re-sequencer in the lab and there was an imprint on the floor that matched the heavy machine."
"So, the Jaffa stole it the other day?"
Jack nodded slowly, glancing at the reports on Landry's desk. "Looks like it, Sir. Carter thought Ba'al might have wanted it for, ah… the baby," he stammered slightly, again looking away from the screen. "Because he'd already tried to find the one that belonged to Nirrti but found that one to be destroyed. It was only after learning that that the Jaffa took the machine from P3X-584."
"I'm sorry, Jack," Henry intoned, genuine sorrow sounding in his voice.
He shrugged, not wanting to show his Commander-in-Chief what he was feeling. "SG-3 headed out already, a day ahead of schedule. Reynolds assured me that they didn't need a break and were ready to get out again so I've sent them to P2X-887, a planet in Anubis' old domain. It was rumored it had another secret base and since Hailey couldn't work on the data collected from 584 – it was all in Ancient – she was excited about this opportunity, so she's tagging along with them."
"Very well. What about the other teams?"
"SG-6 returned from P4S-237, one of Mot's old planets with a few updates on the locals but none had heard from Ba'al. They would contact us if they would, though as there would be some kind of harvest fest in two weeks which often brought travelers from other planets."
"How many teams are still out there?"
"Well, SG-4 returned from Erebus yesterday with no news and SG-13 said there was nothing but a mass grave on P3S-114. Some of the dead Jaffa had been taken by the Free Jaffa for a ritual, the Goa'uld were burned on the spot and the team has contacted the Tok'ra about their operative, Zarin who they'd found inside of the pyramid. The symbiote poison the Trust had sent through had worked very effectively and has completely dissipated from the surface and air."
"Damn rogue NID, Henry muttered. "What about the friendly world visits?"
"Nothing Sir," he shook his head. "SG-8 and -16 have already left for three more planets each and have a scheduled check-in at 0800 hours."
"That still leaves a couple of teams."
"SG-12 isn't due back until 0500 hours and SG-22 checked-in but is still investigating as they did find some of Ba'al's Jaffa."
"Very well, I'll let you get back to strategizing your next move. Keep me posted, Jack and good luck."
"Thank you, Sir, Mr. President," Jack gave a sloppy salute and waited for the screen to go black. He quickly turned it off and gathered his papers, before going down to the control room to see if maybe the Asgard – or even the damn Tok'ra – had contacted them since their first transmission.
"I'm stuffed Janet," Sam complained, rubbing her stomach.
"Good," she nodded smugly, "you can use the extra pounds. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to the infirmary for my last rounds."
"Of course, thanks," Sam smiled, hugging her briefly. Taking the stairs, she went back to her lab to resume her work on the computer. Janet had been right; she did feel slightly better after eating some food and, of course, Janet's pep talk had helped somewhat.
After an hour, she sighed and looked around her dimly lit lab. It was so somber and she missed sunlight – even though the sun had already set – and fresh air. The air conditioning simply wasn't the same. She even missed the trees and traffic, clothes other than BDUs or lab coats. It was actually a bit depressing, so much that Sam couldn't remember how long ago it was that they'd come here. Straight from DC, she certainly remembered that night all too well and it wasn't memorable because she'd slept with her husband again… no, it had led them down another path, one much more frightening and depressing. Somehow she knew she'd always wanted children, but she was certain this wasn't the way she'd wanted to find out.
Her and Jack hadn't been intimate after that. Well, not really… despite his own desire he hadn't made a move other than that one night a few days ago when she'd been too upset to go to sleep. Why hadn't he made a pass at her by now? Perhaps he's waiting for a sign from me, she mused. The first and last time had been her initiative and he'd even protested, thinking she felt obligated because of their marriage and not because she simply wanted him. Maybe he still thought that was the case? It was obvious he was again leaving it all up to her… maybe he had a point? Was she ready to take that next step with him while her doubts were still dominating her thoughts? Perhaps she really wasn't as ready as she'd thought – at least, not now knowing a bit more of what had happened and not being certain of his feelings towards her. If she was to believe Janet, Jack still loved her and if she were honest with herself Sam had to admit that it was hard to belief he'd put up with the entire situation if he didn't love her. She just couldn't understand why he loved her….
"Sam?"
Startled from her thoughts, she looked up to see the object of her musings standing in the doorway. "Yes?"
"Are you busy?"
"No, just taking a break," she made a dismissive wave at her laptop and pushed it aside. "How did the videoconference go?"
Jack shrugged, his hand stuffed in his pockets. "Fine, just had to give a brief overview. I'll send Hayes the mission reports later as most teams haven't even finished them."
"Janet said I checked out all right," Sam told him, smiling slightly. "She insisted that I needed to eat more so she stuffed me full of food in the mess hall."
He chuckled and leaned down at the workbench. "I'm glad, I should probably go eat something too."
"You haven't eaten yet?" She gasped, looking at the clock.
"I'll be fine," Jack replied. "I still have a lot of work to do, so…."
Sam frowned at him, wondering what he could possibly do at this hour. "Like what?"
"Read some of the mission reports that have been written, make up a new roster for the teams and I have to check out the subspace network for updates," he droned out, ticking every task away with his fingers. "Did you see Teal'c?"
Surprised with the change of subject, she shook her head in confusion. "Not since this morning at breakfast, why?"
"He got a message from Bra'tac and had to go back to Dakara, some kind of trouble in Jaffa land."
"I hope it's nothing serious," Sam mumbled, suppressing a yawn.
Jack smirked and leaned forward, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "It's getting late, you should go get some sleep."
"You can tell me to go to sleep but you're the one staying up-"
"Ack!" He held up his finger. "Doc Fraiser called me to let me know about the exam and she said you needed more sleep and less work."
"Traitor," Sam muttered under her breath. Seeing Jack's scowl she relented though. "Fine, I'll go to bed. Good night."
"G'night," Jack whispered, giving her a quick kiss.
"Jack?"
Hearing Daniel's disbelieving tone, Jack looked up from the report he was reading. "Daniel?"
"Ah," he crossed his arms and walked into the lab. "I didn't expect to find you here."
"Looking for Sam?" He asked.
Daniel nodded as he leaned on the workbench. "I thought she might be here, with this being her old lab and all… where is she and what are you doing here?"
"She went to bed," Jack shrugged and gestured towards the report. "I'm just going over SG-4's mission report from Erebus."
"Oh, okay."
"What did you want with Carter?"
Taking a sip from his coffee, Daniel waved his cup around. "Just wanted to see how she was doing. She mentioned a checkup with Janet today?"
"Yeah, everything was fine," he reassured him. "Her hormone levels were almost back to normal, still slightly elevated and the Doc wants her to gain a few more pounds, but other than that she's doing good."
"Great!" He smiled, genuinely pleased to hear that.
Jack nodded slowly, once more glancing at the report in front of him. It didn't tell him anything important he hadn't heard during the debriefing, so he decided he'd had enough. "Yeah, the Doc seemed pleased with her diet but does want Sam to eat more regularly and sleep a bit more."
"Is she still having nightmares?" Daniel asked, concerned about his friend. He and Sam had been talking since she'd returned, but their relationship was changed now that she didn't have her memories and she didn't confide in him as she used to do.
"Yeah," he sighed, leaning back as he closed the file. "Seem to occur less frequent though, every other night if she's lucky and sometimes she remembers some stuff."
"Like what?"
"Ba'al," Jack replied in a casual tone, feeling anything but. "His appearance and voice, but not his name or what he was saying."
Daniel was about to ask more, but realized just in time that Jack wasn't very willing to talk about it and he could understand that. After all, Jack had gone through quite a lot when Ba'al had imprisoned him a few years ago and this entire situation was a little too close to home – due to Ba'al and Sam. "Well, that could be a good thing," he said hesitantly. "I mean, it could mean she will remember more soon."
"Maybe," he mumbled, getting up.
"Anything important?" He asked, pointing at the file in Jack's hand. "The mission report, I mean."
Jack shook his head. "Nah, there weren't any people around, just the deserted labor camps and naquadah refinery – albeit completely in ruins – and the blast furnaces from the underground volcanic systems. You can't really blame those Jaffa for not going back after we relocated them to the old Alpha Site. And with them being the only race able to withstand the heat and toxic gases it was very unlikely there would be new inhabitants or that Ba'al would be there – I can't imagine him staying there."
"Neither can I," Daniel nodded in understanding. "I've been looking over the files that were about Khalek, but haven't found anything of importance either. I think that's a dead end, since he was Anubis' creation and Ba'al simply left him behind, if he or his Jaffa even noticed him."
"Was there anything else besides the half naked dead guy on that computer?" Jack inquired, stifling a yawn as he walked around the workbench to close up the lab.
Turning to follow him out to the corridor, Daniel took the last sip of his coffee. "Yes, but I need more time to go through it all. Have you heard anything about the autopsy?"
"Fraiser said she'd do it in the morning," he replied, swiping his card to lock up the lab after killing the lights. "You just focus on that other stuff, maybe there's something about more bases of Anubis that we or the Tok'ra don't know about yet. Ba'al probably would know, since he used to work for him and he might be hiding out there."
"Okay, I'll get right on it," he retorted as they walked to the elevator. "Maybe you should get some sleep, Jack. You look like you could use it."
"Gee, thanks Space Monkey."
Pushing the elevator button, he smiled sheepishly. "Well, you're under a lot of pressure and I can't imagine what you're going through right now," Daniel shrugged helplessly, trying to explain. "Anyway, there is nothing you can do right now, is there? It is the middle of the night, after all and you've already read the available mission reports. We all just have to wait until the rest of the teams and Teal'c come back."
"I guess you have a point there," Jack reluctantly admitted as the doors opened and they stepped in. Pressing the button for level twenty-seven to drop off the mission report at Landry's office, he was surprised to see that Daniel was planning to go back to his lab. "Perhaps you should follow your own advice."
"I'm not tired yet," he replied, holding up his coffee cup. His regular caffeine shots were keeping him wide awake, making it possible for him to work late into the night in the hopes of finding some clue to find Ba'al and the baby.
"Suit yourself," Jack mumbled when the elevator stopped at his floor and he stepped out. "You'll better be there at the 1000 hours debriefing," he warned the young archeologist before making his way to his old office. Now that he was the director of Homeworld Security he didn't have an office at the SGC anymore, and he was reluctant to do all his work from the briefing room so he'd been hiding out in Sam's lab. The door to Hank's office was unlocked and dropping the folder on his desk, Jack walked back and took the stairs two levels up. Once again, he reached for his clearance pass and opened the door to the VIP room he and his wife shared.
He figured she was already asleep as she'd left almost three hours ago and decided to get undressed in the living area as to not disturb her. Wearing only his boxers and carrying his BDUs and socks, Jack made his way to the en suite bathroom and dumped his clothes in the hamper before brushing his teeth. After splashing some water in his face, he flicked the light switch and surrounded in the dark he opened the door and padded over to the bed in the bedroom. Grabbing the covers on his side of the bed, Jack pulled them back slightly and slid under them. His body involuntarily slid over to Sam, spooning behind her. Only then did he notice her breathing wasn't evened out. "Sam?" he whispered, leaning on his elbow to look over her shoulder.
"Yeah?" She replied in the same tone, her voice slightly raspy.
"Why are you still awake?"
She shrugged as well as she could while lying on her side. "Couldn't sleep, I guess."
"It's the middle of the night," Jack argued, "you went to bed three hours ago."
"I know," she sniffled softly.
Concerned, Jack laid his hand on her shoulder and rolled her on her back. "What's wrong?"
"Tek'ma'te, Bra'tac," Teal'c smiled slightly and offered his hand.
Bra'tac grabbed and shook it. "It is good to see you, my friend. Come, we must join the other council members."
He inclined his head and followed his old teacher as they made their way from the chaapa'ai to the temple where the High Council resided. They easily fell in step and even though they had nothing to fear as Dakara was now home to the Free Jaffa Nation, they still walked in silence as the sun was already starting to set. Not merely out of caution, but habit and they both knew that there was not much more to say until they had reached the temple.
"The message you relayed stated that several council members appeared troubled." Teal'c stated more than inquired with his old friend. Bra'tac was not only his old teacher; he had also ensured Rya'c had become an honorable warrior, as his own presence had been required at Stargate Command. If not for Master Bra'tac, he would have never stood up to the false God Apophis he had been serving ever since Cronus had exiled him and his mother. Despite serving Apophis for several decades as his First Prime and teaching youngsters to become strong, honorable warriors, the master Jaffa had also taught his apprentice the belief that the Goa'uld were false gods.
"Indeed," Bra'tac replied as they reached the carved out steps leading up to the temple. "I felt it urgent to inform you."
"You were correct," he sighed, already weary from the prospect of yet another council meeting in which he would have to convince his fellow Jaffa of his view. "To whom are you referring?"
Stopping atop of the stairs, Bra'tac leaned on his staff weapon as he turned to his former apprentice. "Gerak is the most outspoken and has partnered with Se'tak and Bo'rel. However, Arkad of Co'rak has been elected as a council member as well only six days ago and he and his men are showing support for Gerak and his views."
"Arkad," Teal'c huffed, remembering one of his previous adversaries, the man he thought responsible for the death of his mother. Now, however was not the time for revenge as he and Master Bra'tac had been named Bloodkin of all Jaffa. They were also members of the High Council of the Free Jaffa Nation and could not afford personal matters to blind their judgment, not in these dire times when building a democratic nation was their main objective. "How is it possible that he has been named council member? I have not been informed of this matter!"
"Neither was I," he admitted. "Maz'rai contacted me five days ago when I was on Chulak to express his concern over this new development; he feared disarray with the addition of Arkad. Arkad, however, had the support of Se'tak, Bo'rel, Gerak and his former aide and our fellow council member Yat'Yir."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow and grimaced as he processed this information. "Why were you and I not informed to cast our vote?"
"Unfortunately," Bra'tac sighed, surreptitiously looking over his shoulder at the entrance of the temple to ensure no one would overhear their conversation, "he had the support of many, as Ba'kal, De'vir and Te'rak are still loyal to him and have many followers who do not live on Dakara, Chulak or any of the other planets allied with the Council. Arkad and his men offer their own conquered planets as a home to many Jaffa. Because of this, he already had enough votes and even with the council divided over his position they could not refuse since we are working towards democracy."
"Indeed," he replied in disdain, not looking forward to the prospect of being civil towards the man; his adversary, a warrior without honor who cared not for the lives of the men serving in his armies. They had met several times during the last several decades, the first time when Arkad had been assigned as one of Master Bra'tac's students. The wise man however, had immediately noticed his newest pupil was not an honest soul. "What matters are troubling the council members?"
Looking at his younger friend, the son he never had, Bra'tac clasped his arm. "The Tau'ri, once again."
"As I had surmised."
"Tek'ma'te Teal'c!"
Turning completely towards the entrance, Teal'c smiled. "Tek'ma'te Maz'rai, Ka'lel," he inclined his head in respectful greeting.
"I am most pleased to see you have returned," Maz'rai continued as he grasped the man's wrist in a greeting. "Master Bra'tac convinced us you could be the voice of reason in our latest situation."
Ka'lel bowed her head towards both newcomers. "I must agree, Teal'c, Master Bra'tac," she smiled before turning and gesturing towards the temple. "Shall we proceed inside?"
"Indeed," Teal'c replied, following the woman's example, falling in step with his old friend. They strode through the empty corridors of the temple towards the chamber where the council members would discuss this latest matter. Ka'lel opened the doors for them and beckoned them inside.
"Ah, welcome Teal'c," Arkad sneered. "We did not have the pleasure to meet yet since the fall of the System Lords."
"Indeed we have not met since," he retorted, his feelings reflecting no pleasure at all. "Tak mal tiak, my brothers," he looked around the room, "and sisters."
"Chel hol."
"Tak mal tiak."
"Tek'ma'te."
Teal'c inclined his head at the greetings from various council members. "I have been informed of Arkad's new status."
"Yes," he smirked, "once again you were too busy with your Tau'ri friends, otherwise you would have known sooner."
Huffing, Bra'tac turned to Arkad. "Teal'c was investigating one of Anubis' old laboratories after tracing Ba'al and several of his Jaffa there, while you were here," he motioned with his hand, "celebrating your new status like a Chal'tii receiving his first staff weapon," he added in disgust.
"Ah yes," Arkad leaned back in his chair, "of course, you were helping out the Tau'ri with their quest."
"A quest which is important to all of us, my brothers and sisters," Ka'lel spoke up. "Ba'al is the last of the System Lords still alive and we continuingly receive sightings of him all over the galaxy."
Gerak stood up, the scraping of the chair loud in the chamber. "We will find Ba'al ourselves; we do not need the Tau'ri or anyone else. We are Jaffa!"
"Indeed, the Tau'ri child is not our concern," Bo'rel added. "The Tau'ri are merely using Ba'al as an excuse, a ploy to get our support. And what of us? Are we expected to waste our time and efforts to help them who only turn to us when they need help? When they need our ships and our warriors because they are weak themselves!"
"You speak nonsense," Bra'tac huffed, graciously sitting down in his own chair.
"The Tau'ri are anything but weak," Rak'nor argued, "and they have helped us many a times."
"Do not be a fool," Arkad exclaimed. "They are once again using us, like the Goa'uld tried to use us!"
"If not for the Tau'ri, you would still be serving the false Gods," Teal'c intoned, glaring at his adversary.
Nodding, Tolok drew attention to himself as he cleared his throat. "Teal'c is correct; therefore, we should not simply dismiss the Tau'ri's request."
"As we discussed earlier," Maz'rai said, "there is benefit for the Tau'ri as well as the Jaffa in this quest. Namely, the capture of Ba'al."
"You have already discussed this?" Teal'c inquired, glancing around the circle of council members.
Arkad smirked and rose from his chair. "We started the proceedings over two hours ago as you were once again with the Tau'ri, instead of with your people."
"Such disgrace," Bra'tac exclaimed in a subdued tone. "High Council proceedings should not start before every council member is present!"
"As far as I know, Teal'c has pledged allegiance with the Tau'ri and we come second if not third," Arkad argued. "We could not be certain he would show."
"You have no honor," Teal'c said with constraint, scowling at his rival, the killer of his mother. "Master Bra'tac is one of the oldest and wisest Jaffa and he is a council member who was present at Dakara, yet you started proceedings without him. All of you did so," he accused at his fellow council members, "that is no way to treat one of our own."
A soft murmur was heard as everyone reacted in their own way to Teal'c's accusation, before a silence descended upon the room. Nervous glances went around, council members seeking allies for their views before the silence was broken.
"Perhaps a short recess is required," Maz'rai said. "We will reconvene after sundown."
