Disclaimers, etc. in Chapter 1

Chapter 3

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Jack and Janet both reeled back in shock as they heard Carter say that she saw Colonel O'Neill die. Janet recovered her voice first and, after briefly glancing at the Colonel, she turned back to Sam and said gently," Sam, what do you mean? Colonel O'Neill is right here. He came back through the Stargate with you."

Sam shifted her gaze to the Colonel and stared at him, her eyes full of steel. "I have no idea who that is, Janet, but Colonel O'Neill is dead," she stated, her voice cracking towards the end.

Before Jack could say anything, Janet sent him a look that said she would handle things. She took a seat on Sam's bed and looked at her tenderly. "Sam, can you explain what you mean? You agree that the man standing here looks and sounds like Colonel O'Neill, right?" she asked, wondering exactly what Sam was seeing.

"Yes, but it's not him, it can't be." Her voice held terror and she closed her eyes for a moment, her body shuddering as she obviously replayed events in her mind. "He's dead, Janet. I saw him die," she whispered, her emotions beginning to get out of control.

Jack couldn't take any more and stepped forward. "Carter, I'm here," he said, waving a hand aimlessly in front of her face. He instantly regretted his actions as she shrank back from him in fear and then opened pleading eyes to look at Janet.

"Colonel, maybe you should wait outside?" suggested Janet.

"No, I'm staying here until this is sorted out. Carter, what makes you think I'm dead?" Her actions were worrying him and that caused him to get annoyed, still blaming himself for her becoming unconscious in the first place. "Carter, answer me." She remained silent, refusing to look at him. "Major Carter, answer me, that's an order!"

"Janet, get security!" yelled Sam. When her friend didn't react, Sam's hand shot out and hit the emergency buzzer beside her bed, sounding a klaxon throughout the SGC.

"Aww, hell," grumbled Jack, knowing they would soon be surrounded by security, with General Hammond sure to be fast approaching as well.

"Sam, you need to calm down," said Janet softly as Sam became more and more agitated, screaming that the Colonel in the room was an impostor and that he needed to be restrained immediately.

"Why won't you listen to me?" she shouted. "Do you think I would make something like this up?!"

It wasn't like Sam to shout at all, especially in the SGC and Janet placed a hand on her arm to try and calm her. Her reply to Sam's question was cut off by the arrival of General Hammond. "Doctor Fraiser, what the hell is going on here?" He entered the infirmary and immediately looked to Janet and Jack for answers. They shared a look with each other, not knowing what to say. Jack eventually took charge.

"There's a problem with Carter, Sir."

"She's awake," stated Hammond in surprise, noticing that Sam was now sitting up in bed.

"Yes, we didn't get a chance to inform you, General," said Janet apologetically. "We had a bit of an… issue."

"Airman, get that alarm turned off," said Hammond brusquely, motioning to a young airman by the door, who immediately left to carry out his order. "Who set it off anyway, and why?" he demanded to know.

"I did, Sir," replied Sam.

"Why?"

"Because there's a security breach, a major one."

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The three worried figures of Colonel O'Neill, Doctor Fraiser and General Hammond stood outside the infirmary, all looking through the window at Sam. Jack had started to explain what was going on, but the constant interruptions by Sam were making it impossible and Janet finally ordered them out of the room so that Sam would calm down.

"She thinks you're dead?" queried Hammond, his tone showing that he wanted to feel amazed by the news, but that he would never automatically disbelieve anything after all that he had experienced since working in the SGC.

"It seems that way, yes," nodded Jack.

"Do you have an explanation for this?" asked Hammond of Janet.

"No, Sir. I can only assume that it is to do with the poison in her system, but I need to run some more tests, do another brain scan." The General scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "Sir, she seems absolutely convinced," said Janet hesitantly, her gaze flicking to the Colonel and back again.

"Colonel," started Hammond.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" yelled Jack. "You don't actually believe her, do you?" He didn't even try to hide his incredulity, or his contempt, and Hammond sent him a stern look. "General, what do you want me to say? I am Colonel Jack O'Neill, number –"

"Colonel, that's enough," interrupted Hammond, knowing Jack was about to give him all his military and personal details to prove his point. "I'm sorry, Jack," he continued more softly, "but we've been through this before. There's already one almost duplicate version of you out there, how do we know there isn't another one and that you're him?"

"Because I'm telling you! Look, I haven't had a visit from the Asgard, I haven't been cloned, I am Jack O'Neill!"

General Hammond turned to Janet. "Doctor, what do you suggest?"

"A DNA test should confirm things, Sir. The Asgard clone had a DNA anomaly."

"You have got to be kidding me," muttered Jack, barely withholding his fury. "Fine, do whatever you gotta do," he finally acquiesced.

"Colonel, while we wait for the results, I'm going to have to restrict your movements," said Hammond. Jack rewarded him with a glare. "I'll have some airmen escort you to your office. Stay there until I tell you otherwise." Jack rolled his eyes. "Perhaps you can use the time to catch up on your paperwork," he added with a small smile.

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The results of Sam's brain scan showed that the poison was more prevalent than before, which puzzled Janet greatly since Sam was now awake. She was no longer agitated, but she was upset, fighting back tears every few minutes. Janet considered sedating her, but didn't want to take such drastic measures until she had the Colonel's DNA results and knew for sure whether it was Sam that was actually the problem.

Daniel and Teal'c were currently sitting with Sam, talking about anything other than what happened on the planet, as Janet had warned them how frightened she had been earlier.

"You don't believe me, do you?" said Sam accusingly, staring at Daniel until he flinched.

"Uh, Sam, maybe you should get some sleep," he hedged.

"Daniel, do you really think I would say Colonel O'Neill was dead if he wasn't?" she said quietly, distress lacing her voice. "I saw him die."

"We're still waiting on the DNA results, Sam, we'll know more then."

She wasn't appeased by his comment, but was too tired to argue anymore and let her head fall back against the pillows, closing her eyes. Frustration was growing inside her and she was scared that no-one would ever believe what she was telling them. Her mind was in overdrive trying to work out what had happened, how she could have seen Colonel O'Neill die and then see him in the infirmary. The only conclusion she had drawn was that it was an impostor, but she didn't know who was behind the plot and what they were trying to achieve. Every time she thought about it, her mind flashed back to the moment she saw him die and she felt tears welling up.

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"Jack, how are you doing?" asked Daniel as he entered Jack's office and closed the door on the two airmen standing outside.

Looking up at him in irritation, Jack replied, "Well, Daniel, I've got armed guards outside my office, Carter seems to think I'm dead, I've got armed guards outside my office, I'm not allowed to go talk to Carter and figure this out, I've got armed guards outside my office and, did I mention I've got armed guards outside my office?!" His voice had been getting louder with every word and the final ones were shouted.

"You could have just said you weren't doing too well," mumbled Daniel.

Reflecting on the tirade he had just subjected Daniel to, Jack felt slightly guilty, but was still too annoyed to apologize. "Have you seen Carter?" he asked. Daniel nodded affirmatively. "How is she?"

"She's okay. She was falling asleep, so we left her to get some rest."

"Did she tell you what this is all about? Why she thinks I'm dead?"

"I didn't ask," said Daniel, instantly regretting his admission.

"Why the hell not?" fumed Jack.

"She's upset, Jack and she's worried that no-one believes her. We thought it best to talk about something else, take her mind off things."

"You really didn't discuss it?"

"We said very little about it, Jack," confirmed Daniel.

Jack sat back in his chair and picked up his yo-yo, releasing the string until it almost hit the floor and then retracting it skillfully. His gaze moved to Daniel again, but he kept the yo-yo motion going. "Don't suppose Doc Fraiser told you when my DNA results will be back, did she?"

"I didn't talk to her. Aren't you supposed to be doing paperwork?" queried Daniel with a small smile, letting his eyes wander over the pile of documents on Jack's desk.

"Why bother? Everyone seems to think I'm some kind of clone."

"Ah, you mean if you actually do paperwork, it'll pretty much be proof that you are an impostor? I mean, the real Jack O'Neill would never do paperwork."

"The way I see it, I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't, so I'm opting for the don't," commented Jack, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"I'll leave you to it." Daniel rose from his chair and crossed to the door, taking Jack's silence as agreement that he wanted to be alone.

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"Ah, General, I was told I would find you here," said Janet as she entered Jack's office, leaving the door open. The General had been in there for five minutes already, arguing with Jack about why he couldn't go and see Major Carter. If it really was Jack, he could understand why he was so angry about not being allowed to see her but, if it wasn't Jack, it was too great a security risk. He was in a catch-22 situation and was grateful for the interruption.

"Doctor?" queried Hammond as he acknowledged her presence.

Janet's gaze met his for a moment before traveling to the other occupant of the room. She then looked over her shoulder at the airmen outside the door before looking back at both men.

"I have the DNA results."

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TBC…

A/N: Thank you once again for all the reviews, I'm glad my cliffhanger was frustrating :-D