Chapter 2
Jack made his way over to the child on the floor. Her body was engulfed in the SGC issue clothing that all base personnel wore, the boots having fallen off her small feet. Jack pushed up the long sleeve of the shirt, feeling for a pulse. He was greatly relieved to feel one beneath his fingers. He took the Triplexus out of her hand and noticed two marks in her wrist that resembled needle marks. Jack had a really bad feeling about this situation. He went over to the wall and called for a medical team, then paged Teal'c and Daniel.
In the commissary, Daniel was about to bite into his bagel sandwich when alarms started to go off. He looked at Teal'c questioningly, then with fear and concern as he heard the page for a medical team to report to Sam's lab right away. This announcement was quickly followed by the request for both he and Teal'c to report to the lab. The two men got up from their table and quickly made their way back to Sam's lab; fearful of what they might find.
The small child was being placed on a gurney as Daniel and Teal'c rushed into the room. Jack was standing next to the girl, a look of utter bewilderment on his face.
"Jack, what happened? Where's Sam?" Daniel inquired in a frightened voice. He had glanced quickly at the small form on the gurney, then around the room as he entered.
"How did this child get into Major Carter's lab O'Neill?" Teal'c voiced his own question.
"Uh, I don't know exactly what happened guys. I came in here to get Carter and found this little girl on the floor, holding the Tripod."
"You mean Triplexus Jack," offered Daniel.
"Yeah. Whatever," came the distracted response. "The thing is, I think that little kid actually is Carter," Jack added, staring after the gurney as it was wheeled out of the room.
"What? How can that be?" Daniel was more confused than ever.
"You tell me Daniel. All I know is, Carter's not here and that little girl looks an awful lot like her. Plus she's wearing Carter's clothes and her dog tags. We need to get to the infirmary and see what the Doc has to say. Here, you take this thing and lock it up for now." Jack handed the Triplexus to Daniel and took off down the hall, heading for the infirmary.
Janet Frasier came over to the three men who waited somewhat patiently by the door of the infirmary. She had been working over her small patient for forty five minutes, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. She was still unconscious but was otherwise fine. Tests were still being run to determine what, if any, drugs or chemicals might be in her system. Janet needed to discuss the other findings with the team first; something she discovered was extremely odd.
Jack pushed away from the door and stood in front of the doctor. "So Doc, what can you tell us?"
"Basically, she's fine; except for the fact that she is still unconscious. I am waiting on the results of some blood tests. Hopefully I'll know more in a bit. Colonel, you said that you didn't see Sam anywhere in the room, correct?"
"That's right. I went in looking for her and found that little girl lying on the floor." Jack looked to the bed holding the small blond girl. Her shoulder length hair was spread out on the pillow, dark lashes resting gently against her pale cheeks. "Doc, is she who I think she is?" Jack inquired softly.
Janet took a deep breath and looked at all three men. "Yes Colonel. By all indications, that is Major Carter. I ran a DNA test and it came up a perfect match. The only odd thing about the test was that it didn't show the protein marker that Sam carries in her blood. Otherwise, that is Sam."
"Major Carter did not carry that protein as a child. Would that not explain why it is now absent, as she has reverted to her childhood form?" Teal'c asked.
"That is very possible Teal'c," Janet answered. "However, I am not convinced that Sam has completely reverted to her younger self. Her brain waves indicate the activity of an adult, not a child." At their puzzled looks, she continued, "What I'm saying is that I think Sam's mind is the same, it is just her body that has changed. She is essentially herself in the body of an eight year old."
"How in the hell is this possible? It has to be that damn device. She was holding it when I found her and I saw the marks it left in her wrist!" Jack was angry and extremely frustrated. How would they ever get her back to how she was supposed to be? How was Sam going to handle this when she woke up?
Daniel looked at the small child thoughtfully. "Of course! That must be what the first two symbols mean: a woman and a young girl. Somehow it sensed that Sam was a woman and turned itself on. The question is why would there be a device for this purpose? What possible good can it do?"
"No Daniel, the question is; how do we get it to change her back? That's what we need to work on next!" Jack insisted.
From the bed across the room, they all heard the small groan and saw the petite figure begin to move from beneath the covers. Janet quickly made her way back to her patient, the men following closely behind.