He felt the Presence even though he didn't open his eyes. His head hurt – even in his sleep, and opening his eyes would only make it hurt more. Besides, he didn't need his eyes. He could feel the power and love surrounding him – love he felt all the time, just not in such force – and knew even before he heard the voice that this was the being that was always with him.

"Jack... Something's wrong."

"I know. My head is killing me."

"It shouldn't be, though. There's nothing wrong with you."

"There must be... Can't you fix it?"

"I can't, because I'm not sure what it is. Whatever it is, it's affecting me, too, and that's impossible. I need you to try and relax."

"My brains are trying to push out my ears."

There was gentle amusement.

"Do your best." There was a hesitation that Jack felt, rather than saw. "I need to leave you for a moment... and when I do, the pain will grow worse."

He opened his eyes.

"Leave me?"

Immediately there was reassurance; comfort and love surrounded him, holding him firmly before he could begin to worry.

"Only for a short time. I won't be long, but I need to talk to someone, and I can't call her to me with my head pounding like it is, so I have to go to her."

"Can't I come?"

He was being petulant, and he knew it, but Jack had the sense that the presence had been with him so long and had become such an ingrained part of him that he didn't want it to leave him alone.

"No. Relax, Jack... try to think of other things to take your mind off the pain. I'll be right back."

There was a sudden wrenching, and Jack gasped. Suddenly he felt an empty spot in the very center of himself. A spot he'd never felt before. A piece of him was missing, and the pain in his head suddenly flared beyond anything he'd felt before. He groaned, grasping at his forehead, and closed his eyes tightly, trying to think of anything besides the pain.

"Jack?"

Sam was suddenly worried. Far more worried than she had been. She'd watched as Jack had fallen asleep once more, holding Jaffer lightly, and then had gone to call Janet. Fraiser hadn't been much help. Jack's symptoms were the same as someone who was suffering from a migraine, she said. If he wasn't any better by morning, she'd have a look at him and maybe do an MRI or a CAT scan, but until then, all she could suggest was that Sam put a cool cloth over his head, and let him sleep.

So she had. She'd put the dinner she made into the fridge and covered him and Jaffer with a comforter, then had put a wet towel over Jack's forehead and eyes, hoping it would block out any light that might be irritating him. Then she'd settled in the chair that was normally Jaffer's – a very ragged, chewed up chair – and had tried to read a book while she watched him sleep.

Then he'd almost woken. He made a pained noise and then another, and his hand had went to his head, clutching at it.

"Jack?"

She ran her hand lightly over his, moving his gently out of the way so she could see if he were awake. His eyes were tightly closed, and there was a definite pained expression on his face. Sam knelt closer, and brushed a kiss against his cheek as he hand lightly stroked his face. She wasn't sure if he was awake, but she knew even if he wasn't he'd be able to feel what she was doing, and maybe it would help. Her fingers caressed his forehead, running along the same lines made by the pained expression, and she whispered lightly in his ear, soothing him as well as she could.

It seemed to work. His face relaxed a little, and his pained expression eased. The lines were still there, but not as pronounced. Sam continued what she was doing, debating whether or not to call Janet back. She didn't have much experience with migraines, so she didn't know if this was normal or not.

&&

Dotty Adams was sound asleep. She was in a hotel room, snuggled comfortably up against her husband. The two of them had left that very morning on a 4-day cruise – the first vacation the two of them had ever had alone. She hadn't planned on leaving until the next day, but Jack had asked that she let him drop Shawn off, and Dotty had agreed, knowing that this was almost as big a day for Jack as it was for Shawn. It was the beginning of his military future, after all. He'd soon be more a part of Jack's world than he was a part of Dotty's. So she'd agreed, and she and James had left for their cruise, arriving just in time to make the sailing of the earlier trip. The day of travel had left the two of them tired, and they'd gone straight to their room and had fallen asleep, not even watching the festivities as the boat set sail.

Suddenly though, she felt the same presence that Jack had felt, although she felt it in a different way, and she didn't feel anywhere near as much love as he felt when the being was with him.

"What are you doing here? What's wrong?" Something had to be wrong, or he'd never have left Jack. She knew what it meant for him to distance himself as he had, and knew that he wouldn't casually do it.

"I don't know. You tell me."

Dotty listened as he started to explain what was going on, but he'd no sooner started to describe the odd headache he and Jack were both suffering from when she stopped him.

"Headache?"

"From out of nowhere," he confirmed.

"Ashrak."

"What?"

"It's something I put into Jack's psyche after the incident with the assassins from the future. I wanted a warning if there were any more, and I knew Jack would be closer to Shawn than I am most of the time. If there's an Ashrak within a hundred miles of Jack, he'll know."

"In the form of a headache?"

"One that gets worse, the closer the Ashrak gets to Shawn."

"It's close to killing him already." There was a tone of disapproval in the voice. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I put it on him while the two of you were recovering, and it slipped my mind with other things that came up..." Dotty was truly contrite, since she'd never kept a secret from him before, and hadn't meant to this time.

"He can't function if he can't see straight."

"Once he knows the danger, the headache will fade... it's just a warning. A way to tell him that he can't ignore."

"He can't ignore it, that's for sure." Now the voice was dry. "I need to get back to him."

"The ashrak-"

"I'll let him know."

"How?"

"I'll tell him."

"You can't do that... he won't remember-"

"I'll take care of it." He didn't have time to argue with her. Every minute away from Jack was causing him pain. It would get worse as time passed. "They can't hide from me."

She nodded, and he was gone.

Dotty rolled over and shook her husband's shoulder. She had to get home.