Author's Note: Sorry it's taking me so long to get these chapters up. RL is attacking with a real vengeance. I'll try not to keep you waiting nearly this long for the next chapter. Enjoy

Chapter 8

"One hundred and thirty-eight refuges," Janet announced at the briefing. "According to Calpurnia, there were over two hundred in her section of the prison camp."

"Yeah, a lot fell in the initial attack against the Jaffa," Jack said, nodding faintly. "I'm honestly surprised we got this many through."

The General nodded faintly. "The real question at this point is what we're going to do with them now that we've rescued them."

"The Land of Light," Jonas said. When everyone turned to stare at him, he shrugged. "They still owe you guys and the culture's materially similar to Delphi. It seems like a good option."

"But will they accept over a hundred refugees?" Jack asked, eyeing him thoughtfully.

"You'd have to ask them that one, sir," Jonas answered, rubbing his forehead.

He hated the way people were starting to assume he knew everything. It would have been easier if he had. Except for the very real likelihood of it driving him crazy before he could do much good.

"Sir, permission to be part of the delegation to the Land of Light?" Sam asked abruptly. Aware that everyone was now staring at her, she shifted uncomfortably. "It isn't exactly a hostile environment," she pointed out.

Hammond conceded that with a shrug. "Doctor?"

"I'd like to keep her over night for observation, but if she doesn't manifest any symptoms in that time, I don't see how it could do any harm. She's already been asymptomatic for almost twelve hours which is a record."

He nodded faintly. "SG-1 leaves tomorrow."

"Uh, sir," Jonas began.

"You, too, son, if the Colonel has no objections."

"None at all, sir," Jack answered, shrugging.

He really did enjoy having Jonas around again, if only because he could keep Daniel distracted for long periods of time, periods during which he did not have to listen to the archaeologist rambling on about things that he could not begin to understand even if he had wanted to. Just as well to have another brainiac along for Daniel to talk to. Delphi had him in one of his ebullient moods, and Jack would rather have had his full attention free to keep an eye on Carter.

"Dismissed," Hammond told them, rising.

"Sir," Sam said, rising and following him. "Thank you."

Hammond smiled faintly and nodded his understanding. "I know how frustrating this experience has been for you, Major. I can't endanger SG-1, but I am sympathetic."

"I appreciate it."

"Just don't--" He paused, sighing deeply. "This is an election-year, Major."

"I know," she whispered, nodding faintly. Kinsey in the Whitehouse. Talk about a recipe for disaster at the SGC.

"Get some rest," Hammond advised, patting her arm.

"Yes, sir." She nodded and turned to leave, nearly bumping into Jonas. "Oh, hey."

"Problem?" he asked, concerned.

She nodded. "Yeah. One you can identify with. Politics."

Jonas made a face, shaking his head. "It's the same on every planet, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately." Sam sighed and shook her head. "Hey, you want to grab a bite to eat? Tell me about Delphi?"

"Uh, no actually," Jonas murmured, shaking his head faintly and slinging an arm around her shoulder. "Jack is hovering in the briefing room. I think he's hoping you'll come back through. Something tells me that he has dibs on the honor."

"Does it?" she asked, shaking her head.

"You know, I do occasionally make honest guesses," he pointed out, grinning wryly.

"Is this one of those times?"

"Nope," he answered blithely, giving her shoulder a squeeze and half-skipping off.

Sam stared after him, shaking her head, before returning to the briefing room where Jack was indeed standing, staring down at the Gate.

"Sir?"

"Carter!" he greeted her, spinning. "So, all those tests finally showed something up, huh?"

"Actually it was more like a lucky guess, sir. The tests just confirmed it."

"Well, either way, it's good to have you back on active duty."

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be back. How did things go on Delphi?"

"Funny, I could have sworn I saw you and Jonas chatting in the Gate-room when we came back. I figured that's what you were talking about."

Sam blinked to hear what sounded suspiciously like jealousy from her CO. "He gave me the bare bones, yes, sir. But thirty seconds isn't really enough to describe anything..."

"No, I guess it's not." He glanced at the clock. "I'll tell you all about it over lunch."

"Thank you, sir." Sam nodded and followed him from the briefing room, smiling to herself.

***

Jonas had considered visiting the infirmary to see how Janet was holding up, but detoured to his temporary quarters instead. He was not particularly up to smiling at anyone else this afternoon. Nearby, Sam and Jack were discussing Delphi. Or maybe their conversation had already meandered from that course and they were talking and laughing. Dessert would come next, and Sam would have a smear of whipped-cream on her cheek. Jack would lean across the table and absently wipe it away with one finger. Most natural thing in the world, really.

How many times had he done the same with Sarah or Hannah? Sarah would always flush and bow her head, embarrassed to have missed it herself, especially in front of her love. Hannah would always giggle a protest at her brother's behavior. In the vision, Sam had flushed and bowed her head.

"It's not fair," he muttered to no one in particular, dropping onto the bed and riffling through one of his bags.

The drawing of Sarah had been his chief concern when he defected. Having seen Major Carter, and with considerable surprise the first time, he had been shocked by the physical similarities between the two. The drawing would have been easy to misinterpreted when they found it -- it had gone without saying that they would search his luggage. They had, but had missed the drawing, carefully hidden away in the cover of his journal. They had read that, more than once, probably, but they had not found the drawing, carefully executed by his own hand. Sarah had loved that drawing, claiming he had made her look prettier than she could make herself.

You hang on so tight...

Smiling to himself, he carefully peeled back the covering of the journal and retrieved the drawing. The similarities to Sam were not by any means absolute. Sarah had more meat on her bones, longer hair, black eyes... but they could have passed for sisters at least.

The doorknob turned and he cursed softly, aware that he had forgotten to lock it. He quickly tucked the picture between two journal pages and looked up, his expression innocent.

"Jonas, how are you?" Janet asked, leaning in. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you before the briefing."

"I'm fine, Janet. Come in," he offered, rising.

"Well, maybe just for a minute. I have a lot of patients..."

"What else is new?" he asked, laying the journal on his desk.

"Jonas, you're losing pages," Janet told him, pointing at it.

He looked and saw one edge of the drawing sticking out. "Oh, that's nothing," he assured her, reaching for it.

"I recall it being in better shape this time last year," Janet said, frowning mildly. "None of the pages looked ready to fall out."

Jonas cringed as she reached for it, knowing that he could not keep her from seeing it without raising questions.

"Jonas?" Janet asked, staring at the picture. "Is this Sam?"

"No." He shook his head faintly. "It's Sarah."

Janet's eyes widened faintly. "This is Sarah? She... she looks so much like Sam."

"I'd noticed," he answered quietly.

"God, that must be hard on you." She sighed and placed the picture on the desk, face-down. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault." He shook his head and retrieved the drawing, replacing it in the cover of the journal. "Mostly it just makes me wonder 'what if', you know?"

She nodded faintly, sitting on his bed. "I wonder that myself an awful lot."

He sighed and sat down next to her, shaking his head. "She could have used a doctor like you. Maybe things would have been different."

"Jonas," she sighed, shaking her head. They had been through this before, more than once.

"I know." He nodded faintly, leaning into her shoulder.

Janet stared down at him in surprise. He was a friendly man, but not generally so demonstrative. He must have felt so lonely at that moment. She sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, shaking her head.

"Sometimes I wish she'd survived and sometimes I wish I'd never helped her that day in the library," Jonas murmured, shaking his head.

"And sometimes I wish my ex-husband had never been born," Janet pointed out. "Wishing... it only makes things harder, Jonas. We can't see the future. Well... most of us can't..."

Jonas smiled and straightened, shaking his head. "I know. I just... life would have been different. You know, last year, someone mistook Sam and I for a married couple. It felt so great. I mean, not because I feel anything like that for Sam, necessarily, but because... I don't know."


"Because it feels nice to think about what it is to be loved, maybe?" Janet asked quietly. "Because of the 'what if' factor?"

"Probably," he agreed with a sigh. "You'd have made a good psychiatrist."

"Jonas, I almost flunked my introductory psychology course as an undergrad," she informed him, shaking her head. "I'd have been a disaster."

"I beg to differ." He smiled down at her. "Don't ever change, Janet."

"I hadn't planned on it."

He opened his mouth to respond, but paused, closing his eyes and grasping her shoulder.

"Jonas?" she asked, alarmed.

He did not respond for several moments and when he did, his voice was stilted. "I'm okay. Just... you know..."

"Another vision? What of, Jonas?" she asked. He was getting used to them, not usually so visibly affected by them.

"Don't ever change," he repeated. Shaking his head, he bent and brushed his lips across hers. "Don't ever change…"

Janet stared up at him with wide eyes. "Jonas?"

"You are so compassionate. I've always loved that about you. The first time I came here, when I'd defected... I was so scared, sure your people would just throw me in a cell somewhere for what had happened. You picked up on that. You talked to me, like I was a normal person. I know Doctor Jackson had to have been on your mind, but I never saw it in you. Even Sam... you could see her pain, no matter how cheerful she seemed."

"Jonas," she sighed, shaking her head. "Don't do this."

"How's Crawford?" he asked abruptly.

"He'll pull through."

"I'm glad. You've saved so many lives here." He shook his head. "And you saved my sanity a few times. For what that's worth. I get visions."

She snorted softly, shaking her head. "Not always proof of insanity around here."

"True," he admitted, shrugging and yawning. "Sorry."

"No, no." She shook her head. "You must be exhausted. You just had a running fire-fight over ten miles of rugged terrain."

He gave a faint nod, not answering.

"I'll let you get some rest," she said, rising.

Jonas rose as well, walking to the door with her. He pulled her into a hug before she could open the door. "Don't ever change," he whispered again.

"I promise," she answered, hugging him back. "You know where to find me if you need to talk."

"We're still on for supper, right?"

"Any time."

"Great. Maybe tomorrow? If I'm on-planet."

"If you're on-planet, Cassie and I would love to have you." She smiled up at him and gave his shoulder a squeeze before turning and leaving, faintly troubled by his behavior.

***

Jonas sighed softly, staring up at the night sky with a faint smile.


"What are you thinking about?"

"You, Sarah," he answered without tearing his eyes from the stars. "Us."

She smiled faintly, rolling onto her stomach and grinning over at him. "You, too?"

He rolled to face her. "The government's offered me a job in one of their research labs when I graduate. The money's very good."

"That's good. I'm glad," she answered quietly, not sure if he was going where she hoped he was.

"It would be more than enough to take care of a family," he continued, not quite looking at her. "Uh, I… Sarah…"

"I'd love to."

"You would?" he asked hopefully, staring at her with wide eyes. "Really?"

"Well, you don't have to sound so surprised," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Would I be sitting with you on a hillside commonly known as lover's lookout if I wouldn't? I mean, midterms are next week, after all..."

Jonas laughed along with her. "That's right. I'd almost forgotten."

She regarded him with mock concern. "Should I call a doctor?"

"Smart-ass."

"That's me," she agreed sweetly. "And that's why you love me."

"Yes, it is," he allowed, leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Sarah, I..."

"I love you, too, Jonas."

"What are you, a mind-reader?" he asked, shaking his head.

"I'd get better grades with less study if I were," she answered, shaking her head sadly.

"That why you're always studying? And here I thought you just enjoyed working with cadavers."

"Well, they're occasionally less pert than some living people I could name."

"Sarah, honey, that just hurts."

"No it doesn't," she laughed, swatting him affectionately.

"Hey!" he protested, grabbing at her wrist. "Cut that out!"

"Make me," she suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"That sounded suspiciously like an offer, Sarah," he said quietly.

"Jonas Quinn, you're blushing!"  

"I am not! Well... maybe a little."

"And here I thought you shameless to bring me here." She laughed and shook her head.

"Me? What about you for coming?"

"Oh, I am shameless," she admitted unrepentantly, shrugging. "Would you like proof of the fact?"

His flush deepened as he tried to frame an appropriate response.

"Come here," she directed, pulling him into her arms and kissing him tenderly. "I love you, Jonas," she whispered, resting her forehead against his. "Now, tell me what you see when you look at the stars the way you do."

"The future. Our future."

She nodded and rolled onto her back, staring up at them. "Do you see children?"

"Sometimes."

"Not always?"

"It changes."

"Huh." She nodded. "Jonas," she asked abruptly. "Do you ever wonder if there are people out there?"

"People?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Other than us, you mean? Like in the old stories?"

"Yeah."

"I don't... I guess there must be. We came from somewhere, after all."

"What do you think they're like?"

"I don't see how they could be that different from us. Some of them are probably very nice."

She nodded faintly, smothering a cough in her hand.

"Not getting sick, are you?" he asked, concerned.

"Just a spring cold," she assured him dismissively, giving him a reassuring smile. "I want to meet them, Jonas," she said after a few minutes of silence.

"Well, I personally can't think of a better representative for our people."

"You're just biased."

"Mmm, maybe a little," he agreed, pulling her into a hug. "We have a wedding to plan," he reminded her. "How about this summer?"

"Why so long?" she protested.

"Sarah, I need to finish school before I can start my job. You know that."

"Why? Who says a woman can't support her husband for a few months?" she demanded. "Come on, Jonas. You're better than that."

"This isn't about pride, Sarah. I just... I love you and I want to take care of you. Is that so wrong? Neither of us has any money to spare right now and you're working hard enough just supporting yourself as it is. I don't want to burden you."

"As if you ever could." She sighed and nodded. "I hate it, but you're right. I have enough trouble putting food into my own mouth without filling that bottomless pit of yours that passes for a stomach."

Jonas laughed and shook his head. "Not for long," he promised. "And once you have your medical degree, we'll have money to spare." He paused for a long moment before adding, "Money to feed several children with bottomless pits just like their father's."

"Is that something you'd like, Jonas?" she asked slowly.

"Well, sure. Wouldn't you?"

"I don't... I'm not..." Sarah sighed and shook her head. "I know you spend a lot of time up to your eyeballs in physics texts, so maybe you haven't been reading the news. They're saying it might come to war."

Jonas frowned and shook his head. "Don't be silly, Sarah. They'd never attack us. It would be suicide."

Except that part of him insisted that it was not as impossible as it sounded. Sarah was upset enough as it was, though, so he held his peace. It would be suicide, he reminded himself firmly, returning his attention to his fiancée.

"Oh, gee! I almost forgot!" he said, pulling a small box out of his pocket and extending it to her.

Some proposal, forgetting the promise ring. At least it was a welcomed distraction from the threat of impending war. As if it would ever come to that. All three sides had to rattle their sabers every few decades. It was a good way to let off steam. Actual war, though... Not without a radical shift in the balance of power.

"You got a ring? Oh, Jonas, how did you afford it?" she asked, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Well, I've been saving and it's not much," he added, opening the box.

"Well, I think it's beautiful. Is that my birthstone?"

"Yeah," he said, slipping it onto her finger. "I'll get you a better stone when I get my first paycheck."

"Don't you dare!" she ordered, shaking her head. "Oh, Jonas, it's perfect."

"I wish I could give you more."

"You will," she promised, smiling.

"Looking into the future now, love?"

"Last time I checked, it was your family that ran in."

"You know, it's not nice to tease your fiancé..."

"Does that mean I have to wait until you're my husband before I can tease you again?"

"Yes." He nodded smugly.

She opened her mouth to reply, only to have her response lost in another cough. "Oh, dear. I guess I'd better get some cough syrup at the pharmacy tomorrow."

"Can't hurt," Jonas agreed, rising and helping her to her feet. "Come on, I'll walk you home. You should be where it's warm."  

"Jonas, it's just a little cold," she protested, shaking her head. "I'm having a good time with you."

"You should be where it's warm," he repeated more firmly, shaking his head. "Come on, Sarah. You never take care of yourself like you should."

"Obviously, that's what you're for," she retorted as he walked her back to her apartment.

"Night, Sarah," he murmured at the door, kissing her cheek and turning to leave.

"Jonas," she said, catching his shoulder. "You could stay..."

"S... you want me to... stay?" he asked, staring at her with wide eyes. "You mean... stay the night?"

"If you want." She chuckled at the look on his face. "I love that goofy grin you get when you're excited," she announced gravely, taking his hand and steering him inside.