Major Carter tripped over another tree root that was half hidden by the springy, mossy grass that had grown like a carpet over a path between the trees. She wasn't normally this clumsy but with her neck craning to see the canopy, head snapping round as a bright burst of colour would betray the existence of another variety of brightly coloured flowers, and with her jumping every time she was startled by a parrot that squawked out of the tree tops like a brightly coloured jet fighter, being just about as noisy; her feet were a rather unregarded concern.
Besides her Daniel was voicing his appreciation for every beauty of nature that Eden threw at them. The peaceful feeling the forest created meant that her unhappiness from an earlier, particularly brusque encounter with Colonel O'Neill had faded a little.
"Here looks like a good spot," said Daniel as they reached a clearing in the trees.
"I agree. Let's get the equipment set up..." It was difficult to remain focussed in the warm, humid forest, the relaxing effect of some yet-to-be-identified alien phenomena but Carter was an expert in keeping her mind on the job. She'd had a lot of practise over the past few years.
"So..." said Daniel, clearly about to make a statement he was unsure of her reaction to, "What was up with you an the Colonel this morning?"
Carter swore under her breath. Was it really that obvious? "Nothing Daniel."
"Oh come on! I might not be omniscient anymore but I'm not blind! You could cut the air with a knife. Was it something to do with your date with, uh, Ben last night? How did that go, by the way?"
Carter felt her misery return full measure. "Fine," she replied, dodging the earlier questions, "Really well in fact... its just..." She stopped, wondering how best to phrase her problem. Daniel was an excellent counsellor, and she also knew her words would go no further. But it was a harsh admission she was going to have to make, an acknowledgement of feelings she had spent a long time learning to repress.
"Just what?" Daniel asked, although the shrewd look in his eyes betrayed the fact that he knew damn well what was about to come next.
"Well, Ben asked me back for a coffee, after a really great evening..."
"And you said...?" Daniel prompted.
"And I turned him down," the Major answered wretchedly. "I do like him; a lot in fact. I said I had to be out early this morning..."
"Which was true," Daniel said nodding.
"..But there was a part of me that was aware that if... if *someone else* had been doing the asking I wouldn't even have considered the early morning get-up."
Daniel exhaled slowly. No need to ask who someone else was; a particularly irritable Jack O'Neill.
"I just can't let go Daniel. I'm really trying. I thought with Ben I really might have something..." Carter finished, throughly mournful now.
"Ah Sam," Daniel said, not knowing of anything he could say to comfort Carter. "I'm really sorry to have bought this up."
"Hey," she said, giving him a thin smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Don't worry about it." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm just being stupid. Come on. We need to get these tests finished."
*
O'Neill sat on a fallen log in the chirruping jungle, poking the dirt with a twig. Teal'c attempted, for the third time in an hour, to try and get the Colonel to speak of what was bothering him.
"O'Neill," the Jaffa warrior said, "Is there something troubling you?"
O'Neill turned his scowl up to Teal'c's patient expression. "No," he replied, in what he probably thought was a nonchalant tone of voice.
"I have difficulty in believing that, O'Neill," Teal'c continued.
"Did you know that Carter had a boyfriend?" O'Neill asked suddenly.
*Ah*, though Teal'c. "I was aware she had become acquainted with a man from outside the SGC."
There was silence, broken by the dripping of water from huge green fronds and the chatter of primates in the high branches of the trees.
"It's nice here, isn't it?" O'Neill asked, a strangely bitter edge to his voice.
"It is indeed pleasant," Teal'c replied, sighing internally as he prepared himself for another day of trying to coax the crotchety Colonel out of his bad mood, as the man stabbed at the ground with increasing violence.
*
It had been nearly an hour, and Carter was still no nearer to deciphering the mystery of the seemingly magical healing powers of Eden. Radiation readings came out bewilderingly close to Earth normals. "I just don't get this," she admitted to Daniel, running a distracted hand through her short hair.
"Well, don't worry about it Sam. I'll ask T'Yanthon if they have any idea." He squeezed her shoulder in a friendly manner.
"Ugh," the Major replied, admitting defeat. "You're probably right. Let's find the Colonel and Teal'c and go home."
"I like it here," Daniel confessed as they packed away their equipment, "It's very relaxing."
"Hmm," Carter replied, but she nodded her agreement. "I'd like to see some of the settlements here, deep in the forest."
"I bet they're fascinating," agreed Daniel.
*
Major Carter didn't dare glance at the clock; it would be unwelcome acknowledgement of how much time she had spent in her lab pouring over readings and information from the High Council and still not understanding. Everyone else had gone home after their post mission check-up. Except possibly O'Neill, who had disappeared off without a word. She felt a stab of irritation, her stomach clenched uncomfortably at his name.
She was annoyed with herself too; the burning bitter anger bubbling just below the clam exterior she presented the world was distracting her. If she could only get his scowl out of her mind she was quite sure the answer would present itself to her.
She rubbed her eyes with exhaustion and took a sip of her cold coffee, making a face at the terrible taste. She longed to just give up, admit that this puzzle was one step beyond her, but her stubborn tenacity would never let her quit. She'd spent three months working on a particle generator before now, to try and drag that miserable Colonel's whingeing, good for nothing ass back home...
She let out a growl of frustration, pounding her forehead with her fist as she had let him enter her thoughts *again*. She's had enough. She was going to her quarters to get some sleep. Maybe she should 'phone Ben, but her anger at the Colonel made her sure that would be a mistake, she didn't want to scare the guy off with jealous ravings about another man. She stormed out of the lab to bed.
She opened her eyes to see a vaguely familiar ceiling. Sitting up suddenly she realised she was in the infirmary. Janet hurried over to her, to push her back on her pillows. Carter felt dizzy, nauseous, every limb seemed too heavy to lift; even her eyelids drooped with the perceived weight.
"What happened Janet?" she asked hoarsely, trying to unstick her throat.
"You were collapsed in your quarters Sam," the Doctor said, eyes full of concern. "The test results should be back soon. I want you to rest."
Carter nodded, panic seizing her chest; lying back on her pillows she wracked her brains for an idea of what could be wrong with her *this* time.
It was half an hour before Doctor Fraiser returned and her kind face was unusually grave. Carter knew straight away that the news was *not* going to be good.
"Sam, it looks as if something is making your body reject the naquadah left in your blood stream by your blending with Jolinar, but your liver is unable to cope with breaking down all the waste products from the process."
"So?" Carter asked anxiously.
"You're going into multiple organ failure Sam. Your liver is already failing and there are signs that your other major organs may soon be affected. You probably haven't noticed, but you're extremely jaundiced. Colonel O'Neill isn't faring any better either..."
"The Colonel?" Sam queried, confused.
"He's suffering from the same affliction Sam. I guess his blending with the Tokra symbiote has affected him in much the same way as you. Can you think of any cause for this?" Janet enquired.
Sam thought for a moment. "Eden," she replied after a few seconds. "The forest we visited on P3X-106. It has healing properties or something; maybe it tried to rid us of the alien contaminant. I collected readings in the forest. Jack spent time in there too." Her yellowed face took on an expression of even deeper misery.
Janet on the other hand looked a lot happier; finding a cause was always the first step to finding a cure. "I'll get Daniel to talk to the inhabitants, see what they can tell me. You rest now Sam. Get some sleep." Janet gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and Carter settled back down again, trying to ignore the symptoms of her illness, and the gut wrenching fear underneath it all.