Chapter 5 Second Day: Carter

Sam awoke to the smell of food, and her stomach turned. A large yawn escaped her mouth as she swung her legs back out of bed. Looking at the bedside clock, she noticed that it was almost one in the afternoon.

"It's almost one o'clock?!" She said out loud in surprise. She couldn't believe the Colonel let her sleep this late. On a mission, they would have been up at four in the morning. Well, even on a normal day she only slept until five or six. She was still in her t-shirt and pants, as she didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the buff with all the guys around. Sam looked down at her feet dangling off of the side of the bed. She noticed that both socks were missing as usual when she got out of bed in the morning. Her mom used to say that she would make a nest in the covers with her feet and that was what caused her to lose her socks. Sam smiled at the memory, and dug through the covers to find her socks. She put on her shoes, and walked to the door to go out into the other room with the rest of her team.

"Hey Carter, you're awake! It's about time you rolled out of the sack. Want some lunch?" Jack was all too bright-eyed as he spoke to his 2IC.

"Sir, why did you let me sleep that late? I haven't slept until after noon since I was in high school." Sam's mouth was beginning to water as she eyed the lunch trays that had been brought in for them.

"Don't worry Sam, we all slept late today. Colonel O'Neill just got up himself about a half an hour ago, and you know how unusual it is for him to sleep at all, much less sleep until noon. How are you feeling?" Was that ketchup Jonas was putting on his tuna sandwich?

Sam was beginning to change her mind about lunch. She looked at Jonas with disgust as he squeezed a big blob of red sauce on his sandwich.

"What?" Jonas said as he shrugged his shoulders and took a big bite.

"Nothing. Colonel, I am exhausted. Frankly, I could go back to bed and sleep another twelve hours. I think it has to do with the Earth's gravitational pull on the magnetic fields around our bodies. I…" She stopped midstream as the guys were diving into their lunch trays. Teal'c hadn't even spoken to her yet. He simply nodded at her with a mouthful of food.

Sam noticed that while Jonas and Teal'c could sit at the table and not stick together, the Colonel was on the other side of the room, sitting on the floor near his sleeping blankets. Sam guessed that that was where the Colonel had spent his night after his charade with Jonas.

"Yeeah Carter, I feel like I weigh a ton. But I am learning how to cope pretty well, you will too. Besides, it will only be today and tomorrow." Jack took a bite of what looked like some sort of pasta dish. "Hey you know what they did? They forgot to give us plastic forks and knives, look!" Jack held up his hands. The knife was stuck to his right hand, and the fork was stuck to his left. He grinned trough his mouth full of food.

Sam let out a big sigh and walked over to the counter to see what was for lunch. But she got a little too close to where Teal'c and Jonas were sitting at the table. As she went behind Teal'c, the magnetic fields around them connected. Before Sam or Teal'c could react, the chair tipped over backwards, and dumped the large Jaffa onto the floor on his back.

Sam started to laugh. So did Jonas. So did Jack. Teal'c was still holding onto his fork, and still sort of sitting in the chair, with his feet up in the air.

"I'm sorry Teal'c, I…can't help but laugh. I ha ha ha ah ah hhaa didn't mean to get so close!" Sam had stepped back out of range of Teal'c so he could roll over and get back up. He glared at Sam as he righted the chair.

"Really Teal'c I'm sorry." Sam said again

"No you are not." Teal'c stated as he sat back down to finish his lunch. Jack and Jonas laughed again as they too continued on eating.

Sam grabbed her tray from the counter, and decided to sit down on the floor with the Colonel so she wouldn't be pulled to Teal'c or Jonas. She knew it would be safe down there because she and Colonel O'Neill were magnetically charged the same.

Jack however, was almost finished with his lunch.

"So Carter, how did you sleep? I'm sorry we woke you up last night with our…uh… situation." Jack said rising to put his tray back on the counter so it would be cleared when the guard came back. He re-joined Sam on the floor. When he did, he noticed that she scooted back just a little. Jack wondered if it was voluntary or not.

Sam saw the look that Jack gave her as their magnetic fields repelled one another, and she was pushed a little ways back.

"Sir I didn't do that on purpose. The fields that surround us are repelling. The closer we try to get, the further away we'll be pushed from each other." Sam started in on her chicken sandwich. Boy was she glad they had been around long enough for the gang in the mess hall to know what to send up for the meals.

"You mean, the closer we get, the further we'll fall? Well, that sucks." Before realizing what he said, Jack quickly stammered, "Wups, did I say that out loud?

"Yes sir, you did!" Sam just smiled and kept on eating.

Just then, the door opened, and one of the guards entered their quarters followed by Janet Frasier.

"Hello everyone! As sorry as I am to have to tell you this, General Hammond has requested that you come with me to one of the rooms in the infirmary. We have cleared everything out. It took all night, because 98% of everything in that infirmary is metal, or has metal in it, but we got it done."

"What did he do that for? I heard you say that we could wait for a few days for our physicals?" Jack was about to start whining. Why not, it worked every other time.

"Sorry Colonel, the NID wants to have a look at you and your team, and they prefer to do it in the infirmary. Don't worry, they are not here for anything other than observation. The General has made that pretty clear to them, sir." Janet had been prepared for this protest from Colonel O'Neill. A good night's sleep had helped her patience level tremendously.

Sam wolfed down the rest of the chicken sandwich, and she, Teal'c, Jonas and Jack stood to head up to the infirmary on level 19.

They all were careful to leave one by one. They had worked out a little system unknowingly, and Teal'c and Jonas walked together, and Sam and Jack walked together. That way, the magnetic fields repelled instead of attracted. Jack brought up the rear as he followed the rest of the team out into the corridor.

Jack was still feeling ornery as ever, and without warning, he quickly changed speeds to catch up with Carter. Walking fast, he stepped right up behind Sam. The magnetic fields repelled, and Sam was pushed forward. Taking quick steps so as not to fall, Sam turned around.

"Sir, please." She turned back around and kept walking.

"Sorry Carter." Jack was smiling. He waited a couple of seconds. Then he took a leap to land right behind Sam again. She went forward again, as if she had been rudely shoved from behind. Jack slowed immediately as Sam stopped and turned to look at him.

"SIR!!" Sam glared. She started walking again.

They made it to the elevators, and as the doors opened, Jack stepped really close to Sam as she was getting on the lift. She stumbled into the airman that separated her and Jonas.

"Ma'am?" The airman said as he turned to see Sam trying to untangle herself from his back.

"Sorry Sergeant. It was… the… uh…Colonel O'Neill uh…never mind." Sam stuttered. As the doors to the car closed, Sam glowered at the Colonel. He just smiled a cockeyed smile and enjoyed the ride up to 19. Once there, Teal'c and Jonas got off first, followed by Sam and Jack.

"General Hammond and some members of the NID are waiting for you to arrive." Janet said as she led the team to one of the newly remodeled infirmary rooms.

Jack couldn't resist. He stepped up behind Carter again. She stumbled so far, that she

fell into the back of Jonas this time….and got stuck. The airman beside Jonas

reached over to get a hold of Sam. Jonas tried turning, and Sam went with him. The

airman pulled, and Sam came loose fairly easy. She stood up and turned around to face

the Colonel.

"SIR! STOP IT!" Sam stood in place and faced her CO. "I am not moving until you go

first. I insist." She was not going anywhere until the Colonel went ahead of her.

"Careful Major, that's insubordination." Jack said in a singsong voice as he stepped

around Carter with a grin.

It took everything that Sam had not to stick up her finger or stick out her tongue at him.

She'd be court martialled in a heartbeat. Maybe. The others just watched as Sam and

Jack carried on. As much as things changed, they always stayed the same.

The four entered the infirmary and were not surprised to see absolutely nothing in the room. Up in the observation area, General Hammond and about six NID agents looked down at them.

"Afternoon General Hammond." Jonas said up to the window.

"Sg-1 this is not an interrogation, or a briefing, the NID would simply like to see the effects of the electro-magnetization on you, before they wear off. So, on that note, we are going to try some experiments." Hammond sounded a slight bit amused as he delivered this latest information.

"What kind of experiments sir?" Sam took the bait, and her mood changed instantly.

"AAH, here we go. Those wouldn't happen to be NID SCIENTISTS would they General?" Jack said annoyance taking over the tone in his voice.

"As a matter of fact Colonel, yes they are scientists, and the experiments have to do with different ordinary objects, and situations that we might come in contact with if we agree to trade with the Cequarish people. We have to know what sort of thing we are dealing with, and you and your team are the best source of information right at this time. And…Jack, may I add that the pentagon and the president have already approved these experiments, so you have no choice." Hammond too had prepared for whatever Colonel O'Neill brought his way. Nothing a terrific, extra tall mocha chocolate latte couldn't do to help start a day off right.

"Yes sir." Was all that Jack would allow.

Jonas and Teal'c were just happy to get out of the isolation quarters, there were only so many different ways to play cards, and they both sucked at scrabble. So this would relieve the severe boredom they were expected to suffer at the expense of meeting some new alien friends.

Sam on the other hand was giddy. The scientist in her took over. Maybe she wouldn't have to wait until she got to her lab to do some research. She would just have to pay close attention to the type of experiments the NID would do, and read the reports thoroughly before continuing her own experiments. She looked back up at the General and the NID guys.

"So! Sir! Where do we start?"

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