As Carter woke to the steady hum and beep of the machines around her, she was also greeted by the stabbing pain in her forehead. After a few moments of squinting and opening her eyes to gain her bearings she finally became use to the dim lights around her.

Looking around her she couldn't make out any figures in the room, only shadows moved about her.

"Hello?" She called out in a voice so weak that it barely traveled to the other side of the room where Daniel had fallen asleep against the file cabinet.

Her voice made him jump out of his seat and he almost fell to the floor as he tried to get to his feet.

"Sam? I'm here." He said walking over to her side. "Hey sleepy head, fleeing better?" He said sitting on the side of the bed.

"Really bad headache." She said wincing from the pain once again.

"Well you look a lot better than you did when Jack first brought you back."

"Is General O'Neill okay?" She asked looking to the bed next to her, only to see it empty.

"Yeah, he uhh...he bolted while doctor Smith wasn't looking and I haven't seen him since." He was lying, hopefully she wouldn't notice—but how was he supposed to tell her that Jack had only left when he came to talk to him? He had actually stayed in the infirmary a lot longer than usual—only to be by her side?

"Any idea when I'll be able to get out?" She asked trying to sit up straighter, to be once again confronted by the searing pain in her forehead.

"Not until that stops happening." He said holding her shoulders to steady her.

"Alright, guess I should take it easy..." she said letting him ease her back down in the bed.

"I'll go tell Jack you're up—he was waiting earlier but he had to go back to his office."

She didn't show it but a small part of her perked up at the thought of Jack showing concern for her—it had been the one constant through the years, no matter what, he was always there when she needed him.

"I'll be here." She said as he walked out into the hall. She slumped into the pillow and stared at the ceiling. "Yep—right here."

Daniel walked down the hall to Jack's office and stopped at the door. He knew something was going on—he just didn't know how bad it was.

After knocking twice he opened the door to see Jack sitting at his desk—acting like he was looking over some papers.

"Jack? You busy?" Daniel asked, not quite walking beyond the door.

"Not too much, what's up?" he asked, covering the papers with his arms as he leaned on the table.

"Uhm, nothing—Sam's awake."

"Oh, is she alright?"

"Yeah, big headache but the doc says she'll be fine in a few days."

"She has to stay in the infirmary till then?"

"Nah—"He said moving to sit in the chair across from Jack. "She should be good by tomorrow."

"Good." He said suddenly staring at Daniel as though he were intruding. "Was there something else?"

"Uh—no." He said standing and moving back to the door. "Is everything alright?" He asked turning back for a moment.

"Yeah—why?"

"Nothing, just checking..." he said walking out into the hall and heading to his own office.

IN DANIEL's OFFICE...

Stumbling through the countless translations that had piled up over the last few weeks, Daniel couldn't keep the voice in the back of his head from poking at him that something was wrong with his friends—but before he attempted to put together any sort of conspiracy he would wait until Teal'c returned from Hak'tal.

Yes, he would wait for Teal'c—he was always the rational one.

BACK IN THE INFIRMARY...

Carter struggled with having to eat while still laying down in bed.

As she tried to balance the spoon until it reached her mouth, she heard a soft chuckle from the shadows.

"Sir?" She called out into the room.

"Hey Carter—how's it goin?" He asked walking closer to the end of her bed, his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Could be better." She said setting the spoon down on the tray.

He didn't know how to react to the statement—what did she actually mean by it? Did she mean to say that could have been better if she wasn't injured? She'd be better if he had been there when she woke up? She'd be better if she were with Pete instead of him? Was she with him?

"Sir? Are you alright?" she asked, recognizing the look on his face that showed that he was thinking about something.

"Yeah—fine, so uhmm..." he said looking over at her tray and picking up the spoon. "You want some help with this?" He asked waiving the spoon back and forth.

"Uh, I think I can get it."

"Christ Carter—let me help alright?" He asked as he scooped up some vegetables in the spoon and held in near her mouth. "Come on...do I have to do the little choo choo train?"

She laughed—mission accomplished.

"Come on, you have to eat something." He said hovering the spoon closer to her mouth.

After a moment she gave in and took the spoon in her mouth.

After a few times of scooping up vegetables and holding them out for her, Jack paused as she chewed her last bite—he just stared at her.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up." He said looking down at the tray as he spoke.

She didn't say anything back, only reached out with her free hand and covered his hand with her own.

Smiling up to him now, he could only look into those blue eyes of hers and feel time slow around them.

He just nodded, knowing full well that he didn't have to apologize for anything—he never had to because somehow she had always understood.