Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this up (RL attacked). I made it a bit longer than usual by way of apology. Also, a little Sam/Jack shippiness is starting to creep in. Don't worry, it won't get any more overt than it is on the series

Chapter 4

Visiting Jonas, while it did not answer any questions, went a long way towards easing Sam's fears. She had not had a nightmare for days, which also helped. Janet had hesitantly returned her to active duty after exacting a promise from Jack not to get SG-1 into any unnecessary fire-fights. But those are the best kind! he had protested before solemnly promising.

Pinned down now in the middle of a very necessary fire-fight, Sam was inclined to agree with that assessment. At least the unnecessary ones could be planned for.

"Carter, dial us home!" Jack shouted, laying down a line of cover-fire as she darted towards the DHD. She made it halfway there before a Zat-blast took her in the back. "Carter!" he shouted, opening fire as several of the Jaffa approached her prone form.  

The Jaffa scattered but Sam barely had time to register relief before a pair of sandal-clad feet stepped into her line of vision. She struggled against the paralyzing pair of the Zat, pushing herself onto her arms, ready to fight. Jack fired a few shots at the woman, but her shield protected her. Sam was peripherally aware that he had abandoned his cover and was running in their direction.

The woman crouched in front of Sam, absently flicking a speck of dust from her toga. "Our brother was right. You will do nicely..."  she announced, her eyes glowing as she spoke. She reached for Sam's face only to be knocked to the ground by Jack as he reached them.

"Sir!" Sam shouted, trying to warn him that the woman had a ribbon-device.

"Take her!" the woman ordered her Jaffa as she used the ribbon-device on Jack.

"No!" Sam shouted, struggling against the half-dozen Jaffa who had just converged on her. "Sir! Sir!"

***

She woke up still struggling, fighting against the hands trying to restrain her until Jonas' voice filtered into her consciousness.

"Sorry," she said softly, sitting up as he climbed off of her. She straightened her nightgown, glad for the excuse not to look at him.

"I was afraid you might hurt yourself," Jonas explained, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better."

"I'll bet," he agreed quietly. "The dreams again?"

"It was different this time, I was still me, but... I think they were taking me to be used as a host." She shivered. "Sorry if I woke you."

"It's okay. No big deal," he assured her.

"Thanks," she said, looking up at him. A large bruise was forming on his cheek. "Oh, God, Jonas, did I do that? I'm sorry..."

"I've had worse," he assured her with a faint smile, batting her hand away. "Can't say I've ever had a woman I was in bed with give me worse, but..."

Sam laughed in spite of herself. "You spent way too much time with the Colonel while you were on earth, Jonas," she informed him. "Because for a minute there I thought I was talking to him."

He shrugged helplessly, then his smile widened. "You find yourself wrestling with him in bed a lot?" He winced at her pained look in response to the question. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say. Very stupid..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"It isn't your fault."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I should remind you of what you can't have, either."

She stared at him with wide eyes. "What do you... How do you..."

"I'd have to be blind to have missed the way you two look at each other sometimes," he told her quietly, shrugging. "When you don't think anyone else is watching. I know it doesn't really help, but I always thought it was a stupid rule."

"The regulations exist for a reason, Jonas."

"So what you're telling me is that it's a military thing?"

She nodded. "I mean, even before you start thinking about what it would do to the chain of command, it could seriously undermine team morale."

"Not your team." Jonas shook his head faintly.

"I know," Sam sighed. "But the rules are the rules."

She blinked and shook her head, abruptly unsettled. Was she actually doing this? Sitting in bed with Jonas talking about her lack of a relationship with the Colonel? Five minutes after waking up under him? Five weeks after hallucinations of both the Colonel and her own father had told her to forget the possibility of ever having a relationship with Jack?

"I don't want to talk about this, Jonas," she told him, shaking her head.

"Well, I know you don't want to go back to sleep."

"Reading minds now, too?" she asked, frowning. He had no right to be so damned insightful into the way her mind worked.

"No, not really. Just remembering what it used to be like for me." He shook his head faintly. "It gets easier. I'm not sure if that can be considered a good thing or not, but it does."

She nodded. "Thanks."

"So," he said, leaning around her and fluffing her pillows, "tell me about the dream."

"I'd really rather not talk about that, either."

He shook his head again, giving her a gentle nudge until she leaned back against the pillows. "You came to this planet to do this. So let's do it," he suggested.

Sam sighed and closed her eyes, nodding and trying to relax. It was not easy, not with all the adrenaline of a fire-fight still fresh in her system. Taking a deep breath, she quietly related the dream to Jonas.

"So you remembered going home? Janet clearing you for duty again?"

She nodded. "I even remember what we were eating when we were ambushed. Hell, I can still taste it."

Jonas drew a deep sigh. Whatever doubts he might still have entertained were gone, banished by her words. This was the real thing. She had been in the future, had seen it. She had lived it.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she asked quietly, the look on his face making her stomach churn.

"The more you know about what's going to happen, the better chance you have of changing it," he told her. "The future isn't fixed. You can change this."

She sighed and nodded. "How?"

"We'll figure it out," he promised, giving her hand a squeeze. "Tomorrow. Get some rest. I'll sit up with you."

"Oh, Jonas, you don't have to do that."

"I know I don't. But I'm still going to. Trust me, you'll sleep better," he promised. "Just close your eyes and try to relax."

Giving him a grateful smile, Sam did as he suggested.

"And if the dreams come back, I'll be right here to wake you up," he added. "It's going to be okay, Sam."

"I sure hope you're right."


"I'm usually right," he pointed out. "Night, Sam."

"Night, Jonas. Thanks."

***

"Are you sure about this, Jonas?" Sam asked as they walked back to the Gate.

"Positive. I want to discuss this with Doctor Frasier and the others. And I want to be there for my friend."

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate it," Sam told him.

Jonas shrugged and they spent the rest of the walk to the Gate in companionable silence which lasted until they reached the other side.

"Hey, look who decided to rejoin us!" Jack's cheerful voice greeted them. "Welcome back, Carter. Jonas?" He stared at Jonas for a long moment before speaking, his eyes lingering on his bruised face. "So, I see the wonderful world of diplomacy is agreeing with you," he deadpanned.

"That obvious?" Jonas asked wryly, rubbing his cheek. He was not suicidal enough to tell Jack who had really given him the bruise or, rather, not suicidal enough to tell him where she had given it to him.

"So, let me guess. You're planets about to blow up and you need our help. No, wait, we did that last month. You want to borrow a Zat to keep the other diplomats in line?"

Jonas scratched his head for a moment. "Actually..."

"Uh, it's complicated, sir," Sam began, shifting uneasily. Now that she was actually back at the SGC, she felt absolutely ridiculous about what she and Jonas were about to tell the others.

"I think Sam's nightmares are visions of the future," Jonas supplied when she hedged.

Jack raised an eyebrow, glancing from Jonas to Sam, who stared at her feet. "O...kay..."

"Before you dismiss the idea, remember that you've seen it before," Jonas pointed out reasonably.

"Yeah, but that was different. That was because Nirrti messed with your DNA."

Jonas nodded acknowledgement of the fact. "Yeah, but I've been talking to Sam, and it sounds to me like these dreams are real premonitions."

Jack bit his lower lip, glancing from Jonas to Sam. "Carter, can I have a minute?"

"I told him everything, sir," Sam said quietly, looking up at him. "Jonas thinks it's the real thing and I've never doubted his judgment before."

Jack sighed and nodded. "Well, I'd still say the Gateroom is probably not the place to discuss this."

"You could have something there," Sam agreed.

Jonas nodded. "And we should discuss this with Janet and the General."

Jack stared down at the younger man for a long moment, thoughtful. The nightmares alone were jeopardizing their willingness to let Sam do her job. If the nature of those nightmares became common knowledge, Jonas' assertion that they were prophetic would probably result in Sam being grounded indefinitely. Judging from the look on Sam's face, she knew it, too. Still, if she really was in danger of being taken as a host...

"I'll get the General."

***

"We could be looking at a sleep disorder," was Janet's first contribution. She and the General had listened in silence as Jonas and Sam described the dreams themselves, their apprehensions that they might be prophetic, and, finally, Sam's behavior the night before. She glanced at the bruise on Jonas' face. "REM sleep behavior disorder. Normally during REM sleep an individual is paralyzed. Acting out dreams is very rare, and potentially dangerous. I'd like to do a sleep study on you, Sam, maybe get some more brain imaging."

"Well, that's fine," Sam began. "But..."

"But it doesn't really address the issue at hand," Jack finished for her, nodding.

"Well, if these really are some kind of visions, I can not in good conscious jeopardize Major Carter by sending her off-world again until the threat has passed," Hammond said.

"Sir, come on!" Sam protested, shaking her head. "We should know from our experiences with Jonas that trying to keep things from happening like that doesn't work in anything resembling a predictable manner. In the past, we have caused exactly the incidents we were trying to prevent."

"Be that as it may, you are far safer from Gua'old infestation in this facility than you are off-world. Now, until we know for sure what's going on here, I am taking you off of active duty."

"Give you a chance to run those simulations you've been wanting to," Jack told her with an apologetic shrug.


Sam sighed and shook her head. "Come on, sir, there are a lot of missions we can go on where we aren't necessarily in any danger from the Gua'old."

"I have made my decision, Major. Now I want you to go to the infirmary with Doctor Frasier so she can get started on those tests."

She nodded shortly, rising and following Janet from the briefing room. Jack remained, staring at Jonas.

"Sir, you have to believe that I didn't know this would happen..."

Jack shook his head, irritated. He may have liked Jonas, but he did not like that Carter had gone to him before coming to her own CO with a problem.

"Why not? You seem to know everything else that happens before anyone else. Breaking up fistfights before they start, Jonas? Looks like the only blows you're having trouble predicting these days are the ones that come from friendlies. What were you doing in her bedroom when she was asleep, anyway? That is, I assume you were in separate bedrooms when you went to bed?"

Jack stopped, blinking in surprise at his own words. Where the hell had that last come from? As if he had any claim at all on Sam other than that of a concerned friend. Don't go there, Jack. Do not go there...

Jonas regarded him steadily and spoke in a low voice. "She was in the guestroom. The screaming woke me up and I went to make sure she was okay."

Jack flushed, embarrassed. "Jonas, I..."

"I understand, sir," Jonas assured him quietly. "You're just concerned about her. We both are."

Jack could not help but be grateful to Jonas for completely ignoring his behavior. "Yeah, well, if you're right, we should be."

"I know." Jonas nodded faintly. "That's why I came back with her. I want to try to help. And, I mean, unlike the rest of you, I actually have some experience with things like this."

"Quite a bit, it seems like," Jack noted. "Maybe more than the rest of us know?"

Jonas shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, the visions are back. You're a smart man, you knew that."

"Can you control them?"

"Not usually." Jonas shook his head apologetically. "It's more like... they come out of nowhere and I have to decide if I'm going to fight them or try to take them farther."

"Huh." Jack nodded faintly. "Anything about Carter?"

"Nothing useful."

"Nothing useful?" Jack repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"I knew she'd come. I didn't know why."

"Nothing useful," Jack repeated again. "Well, you just be sure to let me know if that changes."

"Of course, sir."

"You know, Jonas, you don't serve under me any more, you don't have to call me 'sir'."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, sir."

Jack just rolled his eyes. Deciding that an olive-branch was probably in order for his earlier display, he asked, "Hey, what time was it when you left? Hungry?"

"A little," Jonas admitted. Of course, he was usually hungry.

"Come on, I'll take you to the commissary. It's blue Jell-O day."

"Sweet."

"So," Jack asked as they walked. "Job keeping you busy?"

"Busier than this one ever did," Jonas answered with a grin.

"Bummer. You ever get enough time off to do any fishing?"

"After they dropped the N-bomb, I'm not sure I'd want to eat anything that came out of the water."

"True." Jack shrugged. "You could come with me some time..."


"Really?" Jonas asked, surprised. "Wow, that'd be fun. I've never been fishing before."

"Imagine that," Jack murmured, shaking his head.

***

"He didn't have to ground me completely," Sam grumbled to Janet.

"General Hammond did what he thought best. Personally, I agree with him."

"Not you, too," she sighed. "Come on, Janet."

"Sam, whatever else is true, you are acting out violent nightmares. You're a danger to yourself and to those around you for as long as that's going on. Now if you and Jonas are right, and there's more to it than that, I can't really blame the General for wanting to keep you safely on this side of the iris."

"Yeah, but for how long?" she asked.

"Until we can sort this out. Now, best case, these are only nightmares. In that case, you've still got a sleep disorder we need to deal with. Worst case, you leave this planet at exactly the wrong time and you end up a Gua'old. Sam, we care about you. None of us wants to lose you, especially not like that."

"I know, Janet." Sam nodded weakly. "I just feel so completely helpless sitting here doing nothing. I'm used to being out there saving the world, taking action, solving problems."

"Well, this problem's a little bigger than a pair of mother ships in orbit ready to destroy us, or a black hole trying to suck us in."

Sam laughed and shook her head. "So, what do the imaging tests say?"

"Well, nothing resembling a tumor, although you've got some brain activity that's fairly abnormal..." Janet shook her head. "I'll need to run more tests."

Sam groaned. "That new phlebotomist getting any better?"

Janet chuckled and shook her head. "Tell you what, Sam. You've been such a good patient that I'll draw the blood myself."

"Does she get a lollipop, too?" Daniel asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Janet looked up at him with an unreadable expression. "When was your last routine blood profile?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Sorry, Janet, I had one right after our last mission."

"Huh, well, depending on how Sam's blood work comes out, I may want to run the rest of SG-1 as well."

Daniel groaned.

"If the onset of her symptoms can be traced back to your time on Delphi..." Janet shrugged. "You were all prisoners."

"Ooh, I hadn't thought of that," he said quietly.

"Must be why they pay me the medium bucks," Janet answered with a grin. "Did you need something, Doctor Jackson?" she asked, prepping a syringe for Sam.

"Just came to see how the patient is."

"I'm fine, Daniel. A little upset over being summarily grounded-- and if you tell me that the General was only acting as he thought best..."

"Okay, shutting up now." He held up his hands in surrender."

"Thank you. At least you'll have time to catch up on those translations."

"Oh, I finished those last night."

"Wow, that was fast."

"Well, it turned out not to be as completely alien a script as I thought. They turned out to be related to the petroglyphs found in Tiwanaku, so all I had to do was cross-reference them to the translations along with certain symbolism still used by the Aymara today and..." He paused. "And you really don't care how I did it, do you?"

Sam laughed and shook her head, hissing softly as Janet took the opportunity provided by her momentary distraction to insert the needle. "What did the inscriptions say, Daniel?"

"Nothing very interesting," he admitted, shrugging. "Just that a Gua'old named Vericocha ruled there for several thousand years."

"Never heard of him."

"Minor-league. Was probably wiped out centuries ago." He shrugged. "Dead end, really. I finished translating the Delphi inscriptions that we managed to get before our capture, though."

"What did they say?" She asked. "Thanks, Janet," she murmured as Janet removed the needle and applied a bandage.

"Uh, apparently, Apollo is not the only Gua'old ruling there."

"What, he's sharing with another one?"

Daniel nodded faintly. "You know much Greek mythology?" he asked, perching on the edge of an empty bed.

"Little bit, why?"

"Apollo had a sister, Artemis. They were fairly inseparable according to some accounts. I went to grad school with this woman who contended that their relationship was actually incestuous."

"Yuck."

"Yeah, well... Looks like art's imitating life. Apollo shares his domain with," he paused, pulling a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolding it. "Our royal sister and Queen, Artemis," he read.

"Our brother was right. You will do nicely..."

"Artemis," Sam whispered, closing her eyes.