Shivering slightly, Sam awoke to the sensation of being watched. She tensed involuntarily and prepared to defend herself if needed.
"MajorCarter, you are in no danger."
She sat up slowly, taking in the new surroundings. She was in sickbay on the Prometheus with a soft cast covering the lower half of her left arm.
"How long was I out?"
"Several hours. The physician examining you stated that you required rest."
She ran the bandaged hand through her hair, but stopped as a sharp pain emanated from the fingertips up along her arm. "What happened to my hand?"
Teal'c glanced at the medical officer in the room before stating, "We do not know."
"Is it broken or sprained?" Sam looked to the doctor who merely shrugged and left the room. "Okay, that was weird. Teal'c what is going on?"
Sitting down on an empty cot facing her, he answered quietly. "You have no recollection of the events prior to this moment?"
"Um, no, I mean, I remember standing in front of the stasis chamber. We had to leave. I think I remember being on the cargo ship, but don't know for sure. What are we doing on the Prometheus?"
"We arrived here in the Tel'tac, not long after leaving the cavern. General Hammond is in command and wanted to know the details of what transpired with O'Neill and his current state of being."
With a huff, Sam retorted, "Popsicle."
Teal'c raised an eyebrow at her and frowned.
"Sorry." She sighed, fidgeting her left hand, continued, "Seriously, what happened? I don't remember anything but snippets of conversation between you and Daniel, but I could swear the Colonel was there, too."
"Perhaps he was."
Shaking her head as if to clear her mind, she asked softly, "How? Didn't we leave him there?"
"We did indeed leave his physical form in the cavern. I am unsure as to whether his entire being remained."
"Sorry Teal'c, but I'm not following you. What are you saying?"
The Jaffa leaned forward, speaking in hushed tones. "I believe you have retained a fragment of O'Neill's consciousness."
"What?!" Sam blurted, then lowering her voice whispered harshly, "Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what they'd do to me if they thought you thought that?"
"Perhaps it is not what they think that matters, but only yourself."
"You think, that I think that I'm him? That makes no sense. It is completely absurd." She her hands waved emphatically in the air in a recognizable gesture.
"Is it?" Teal'c smiled slightly before continuing. "You yourself have experienced many strange events that have seemed to be impossible. This may be another of those things."
"Oh I doubt that. There is a fine line between an alien entity downloading into my brain and my C.O.'s consciousness residing in my head."
"Then it is true." He got off the bed to stand in front of her.
"No, I never said that. I said there was a fine line. There is no way he's here, I think I'd know." Sam scrubbed her hands through her hair and sighed. "This is nuts."
"O'Neill." Teal'c whispered in her ear.
"Nope. Not going to work. It's just me, Sam Carter, theoretical astrophysicist and Air Force Major. Overworked, underpaid and a mess with men." Sam closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"I believe you are attempting to deceive me."
Sam fisted her hands and growled, "Don't do this!"
"I am merely trying to ascertain whether you are whom you say you are." Teal'c reached out and touched her left hand.
With a lightning fast reflex, Sam's right hand gripped tightly at the Jaffa's throat. "I said don't do that!"
"O'Neill, you do not wish to harm me." The words garbled by the choke hold on his airway.
The face before him contorted to an expression Teal'c had seen many times. It was one that O'Neill wore when those he cared for were being threatened.
"Would you rather I Vulcan Nerve pinch you? Would that be better? You need to leave her alone. Got it?"
"She requires my assistance."
"No, she doesn't. Now we'll pretend this didn't happen, right?" The hand released its grip and returned to cradle the bandaged arm. "We're done here."
Those were the last words uttered just before Sam's body crumpled back down to the bed.
o0o
Strolling into the sickbay, Daniel was shocked out of his musings by the sight that greeted him. Sam's body was strapped down by restraints as Teal'c stood over her armed with a zat.
"Uh, Teal'c, what's going on?"
"DanielJackson, MajorCarter is indeed inhabited by O'Neill."
If it weren't for the grave expression on the Jaffa's face, Daniel would have sworn he was joking.
"O-kay? Why do you think that and are the restraints really necessary?" The archeologist asked skeptically.
"They are. The body of MajorCarter became agitated and assaulted me." Teal'c stated without moving his gaze from the sleeping form.
"Sam assaulted you? How? Why? What did you say to her?" Daniel's voice rose to a fevered pitch.
"She was not who assaulted me."
"But you just said—"
Teal'c turned to face the younger man, and replied quietly, "It was O'Neill."
"Jack? You think Jack attacked you, through Sam? That's crazy. First off, that whole persona inhabiting another body is a little far fetched and even if it were true, why would Jack attack you? It makes no sense." Daniel argued softly, not wanting to awaken his friend.
"It is a theory that has merit. She was in physical contact with him before his placement into the stasis chamber. She also touched the chamber after its activation."
"Teal'c, we all touched it in those last few minutes, that doesn't mean he's in me. Besides, I still don't see how it could have happened, we were there the whole time."
Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, Daniel inquired, "So, why do you think it's Jack? Couldn't this just be too much stress or something? She's had a pretty rough time lately, we all have."
"Were you not witness to her responses on the Tel'tac? That was certainly not MajorCarter. My most recent conversation with her proved this. It began as her, but she had no memory of her time on the cargo ship, nor our discussion. She then became quite agitated and began to tremble. I reached to touch her left hand, but was grabbed at my throat. I was told to let her alone. It was O'Neill."
Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. "Teal'c, even if, and I stress if, Sam is controlled by something, why would 'Jack' do that? You're his friend, why would he attack you?"
"Perhaps he considered me a threat to her. MajorCarter implied that if others believed her to be inhabited by O'Neill, she would be in grave danger."
"From who?" Daniel asked, sitting down on the empty cot next to Sam.
"Whom?" The soft voice interrupted the pair.
"Sam?"
She tilted her head to look at the man and asked, "Daniel, what's going on? Why am I restrained?"
Glancing at the Jaffa, Daniel answered, "Well, we're still trying to figure that out." He nodded his head to Teal'c and added, "It seems you got a little agitated."
"What? When? I remember waking up here, and that I must have injured my hand but I don't remember getting upset."
Turning her face enough to see Teal'c, Sam whispered, "What did I do?"
"You did nothing. It was the one within you that became aggressive."
"The one within? What are you saying?" Terror filled her as she assumed aloud, "A host? Am I a host? Oh god, no! Kill me, please! Don't let this happen! Teal'c, you have to end this!"
"You are not a host, MajorCarter."
"Uh, at least not in the Goa'uld sense." Daniel explained, "We think you might have somehow taken on another personality."
"Another personality? Like psychosis? How?" She couldn't control the tremor in her voice.
Daniel paused a moment before answering, "We're not sure. This is all speculation, but we think it has something to do with Jack."
With a shake of her head, Sam muttered, "No! Not again. Please…"
Her eyes closed and she slipped into oblivion.
o0o