It had been nearly three days since they had returned from P3X-909 and still no change with Daniel. Since Daniel had been released out of quarantine yesterday night, his miraculous improvement had slowed to nearly nothing. His DNA continued to rewrite the alien DNA, but his behavior had barely changed.

No, in fact, his behavior was fairly constant. Sometimes he would talk about this mysterious Gosinphled, something that none of them could find a reference for in any of his books, or else he would whine about pains, but Janet could never find anything wrong with him. Most of the time though, he just acted with the mind of a child.

Sam sighed as she glanced over Janet's notes while watching Daniel out of the corner of her eye. He was wandering around the guest room, pointing out objects and naming them, while humming to himself.

He was bored. So was she.

Sam glanced down at her watch and sighed again. Colonel O'Neill was due ten minutes ago. He seemed to always be late for his shift.

Not that she minded spending time with Daniel. But the Daniel she was accustomed to had a sharp mind, and the two of them had a great way of working through some of their toughest problems.

She missed that stimulation and was afraid she would never have it back.

She guessed the reality of the situation was finally starting to sink in.

She'd noticed Colonel O'Neill had become more subdued, as if he finally understood Daniel's fate. Janet had grown quiet, almost detached, as she continued to work on trying to find anything that could reverse what happened to Daniel. Teal'c…Teal'c never seemed to change, but that didn't mean he wasn't affected.

And what about her? Sam didn't want to dwell on it. Colonel O'Neill always reminded her to stay positive. She sighed, clutching the notes she had in hand a little more tightly.

"Sam, what you reading?"

"Just some notes," she said, placing the chart back on the table. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged and bit his lip. "Nothing. When's Jack coming?"

"He'll be here soon," she told him. She struggled to keep her voice even as to not give away the doubt she felt. She realized, to Daniel, nothing was wrong. She was even glad he'd found someone to attach himself to, in this case, Jack O'Neill. But she knew the colonel did not feel the same way. Really, she couldn't blame him. But that wasn't Daniel's fault. "Why don't you look at your books until he gets back?"

Daniel slumped his shoulders and shot a glare at the nearest book. "I already looked at them."

She nodded. Of course he did. He couldn't get too far lacking the ability to read. She guessed he could only stare at the pictures so long.

"When's Jack coming, Sam? When?"

Sam glanced down at her watch again. Fifteen minutes late. Where was he?

"Right now," Colonel O'Neill said, shining that smile Sam knew was a mask.

He came into the room, weighed down by a box filled with…She frowned, standing as she peered inside. Were those items from Daniel's office?

"Sir?" she questioned, catching a hint of something of Middle Eastern flair as he walked by her.

"Just a little something to jog his memory."

"Colonel, you do realize if Daniel regains his full memory and personality and you break one of his—"

"Carter!" He looked appalled. "Ye of little faith. I won't break anything." Colonel O'Neill turned his head, and called out the door. "Teal'c? You want to bring that in here?"

Teal'c entered, carrying one of Daniel's larger artifacts. Sam was unable to recall the name, but it resembled a large surfboard.

"Great, just place it over there." The colonel put the box down and settled on the floor, quickly joined by an eager Daniel. "Alright, we're going to play a game."

"Yay!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. "What we playing?"

"Guess the thing."

Sam wanted to roll her eyes, but fought the urge, appreciating the benefit that could arise from this "game." Curious, she pulled her chair towards them, hovering over the box so she could watch. Teal'c joined her.

All of which amused Daniel.

"We're all gonna play?"

The colonel shrugged, glancing over at them. "I guess so." He flashed them a weak smile before grabbing some object from the box. "Know what this is?"

"A jar," Daniel replied.

"Okay, yeah, a jar. What kind of jar?" the colonel pressed.

"A big jar."

Colonel O'Neill rubbed at his mouth, a gesture she had learned long ago indicated just how stressed he could get. Finally, after a moment's thought, he put the jar down, and started to rummage through the box.

"I get it right?"

When O'Neill didn't respond, Sam nodded, patting Daniel on the shoulder. "Yes, that's right."

Daniel grinned, grabbing his ankles and shoving his legs close to his body. Curious, his attention moved from Sam to Colonel O'Neill, his smile waning slightly as he peered inside.

"What you doing, Jack?"

"Just stay still, Daniel." Jack grabbed a couple of items and set them on the floor, allowing for more flexibility as he searched the box. "I'm finding something else."

"Oh."

Sam watched as Daniel waited. Impatient, he kept fidgeting in his seat, moving his legs one way, tiring of his position and moving another way. Every so often, he would turn and look up at the ceiling while muttering something incoherent.

"Ooh," he crooned, picking up one of the objects Colonel O'Neill had set aside. He giggled. "So nice!"

A little curious herself, Sam leaned over, taking a peek over Daniel's shoulder to see what he could be holding. Surprised, she leaned back, eyeing him carefully.

"Do you know who that is?" she asked, motioning to the picture frame.

He snorted. "Yeah. Daniel."

She glanced over to Teal'c who had also gained interest in Daniel's observations. "You are DanielJackson," he told him.

Daniel nodded. He pointed to his chest. "Daniel." He pointed to the picture. "Daniel." He giggled again. "Camel!"

"Yeah, the camel's nice, Daniel," O'Neill muttered, finally intervening. "You remember going there?"

Puzzled, Daniel cocked his head. "Daniel rides camels."

"You're Daniel," Sam stressed, pointing to the picture. "That's you."

Daniel laughed, a loud derisive laugh, as he placed the photo down. It was enough to startle Sam, the laugh even managing to throw Teal'c off guard, which was an amazing feat of its own. The three of them found they could only stare.

"No," he said, wiping some of the tears from his eyes. He giggled, shaking his head. "No, no."

"No, that's not you?" Sam asked.

He shook his head, covering his mouth as he giggled again.

Frustrated, she looked over at Colonel O'Neill. She knew that he wouldn't be much help, but in times like these, he often held a certain kind of rationality that even she could appreciate.

The colonel quietly took the picture and studied it closely before he spoke. "That's you, Daniel. You went to ride the camels."

"Noooooo," Daniel said, rocking gently. "Daddy rides camels."

"Daddy?" Sam stared at him. "No, Daniel, you're father—" She caught herself, chewing on her lip before she proceeded. Daniel didn't seem to take notice.

In an instant, he had jumped to his feet, running off to the table before he grabbed some paper. Smiling happily, he handed one to the colonel.

"See? Pretty? For you."

O'Neill flashed a curt grin as he gazed the sheet. "Yeah, that's great, Daniel."

Daniel then came over to Sam, surprising her with a hug. He handed her a paper. "For you too! But I have one for Daddy." He grinned. "He's coming soon, right?"

Sam rubbed his back, nodding, not really knowing how to answer. She could tell, just with a quick glance, that Colonel O'Neill wasn't faring much better. He was a practical man; he wasn't one to allow Daniel to stay locked up in his delusions. But on the other hand, he was hesitating, and she knew that probably had to do with the fact Daniel was so childlike.

Teal'c seemed to be the least bothered by the situation. Smiling, he extended his hand, reaching for a sheet for himself.

Daniel scowled at him. "Not for you. No."

Surprised, Teal'c brought his hand back, but bowed gracefully, returning to his silent watchfulness.

Daniel blew him off, returning to the box, and continued to babble about his scribbles and his father. Occasionally, he would talk about food, and then talk about the planet. They tried their best to have him focus on what exactly happened there, but he never would give a definite answer. His avoidance of the subject altogether was beginning to unnerve them.

"What's the problem?" Janet asked, standing in the doorway.

"Thanks for coming, Janet," Sam said, standing up and offering her seat to her. "For someone with a childlike mind, he's pretty good at dodging our questions."

"Ah, he's a sneaky one, then, is he?" Janet said wryly.

Janet grinned at him and beckoned him to come to her. Sam took position by Janet's side, nearly missing the slight tremble to her hands. Concerned, Sam leaned over, attempting to catch the other woman's attention, but Janet ignored her.

Sam shot a concerned glare to Colonel O'Neill. He gazed at her for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and returned his attention back to Daniel and Janet.

"I know a lie when I see one," the colonel stated evenly.

"Not lying," Daniel muttered defensively.

"It appears that DanielJackson is concealing something," Teal'c added.

"Am not!" Daniel stalked away from Janet, stopping before Teal'c. With a decisive stomp, he scowled at him. "You lie!"

"Daniel," Jack warned.

Immediately, Daniel snapped to attention and sat down quietly. "I'll be good," he whispered.

"Now, Daniel, can you tell me a little bit about the planet?" Janet asked, her warm eyes solely focused on Daniel.

Sam watched as Daniel cocked his head, as if he was trying to decide whether to answer or not. Shrugging his shoulders, he nodded while poking at the frame of another picture. "Yeah."

Janet smiled. "Now—"

"Oh," Daniel whispered, holding the picture closer.

Sam froze. Of all the pictures the colonel had to bring…

She glared at Colonel O'Neill, feeling her anger burning through her cheeks. Again, he only shrugged.

"You know who that is, Daniel?" he asked.

The way Daniel nodded, burying his sniffles as he stared at the picture, made Sam want to scream. Her commanding officer's coldness and lack of regard for his feelings burned her to the core. If he felt this was the best way to snap Daniel out of his state, he was wrong. Janet had gone over his results a hundred times. Right now, none of them knew what to do.

"Sha're," he mumbled.

"That's right," Colonel O'Neill said, satisfied. "Your wife."

"Colonel," Janet said firmly.

"What?" O'Neill snapped back. "It's true. He's got to accept that if he wants to break out of this phase."

"Colonel, we don't know what is wrong," Janet stressed, rising from her chair. "His EEG is normal. All this could do is cause further trauma for him."

"She's right, Sir," Sam said, coming to support her friend. "Subjecting Daniel to this—"

"Then call it shock therapy," Colonel O'Neill said bitterly.

"Matters will improve if DanielJackson can better understand his adulthood," Teal'c mentioned.

Sam couldn't believe what she was hearing. Angrily, she pointed to Daniel. "He doesn't understand!"

"She's dead," Daniel said sadly.

"See?" O'Neill waved his hand to Daniel. "Now, we're getting somewhere."

Daniel placed the picture down and choked back what sounded like the start of another sob. "Daddy was so sad. She's gone." He wiped his eyes.

"Excuse me?" Colonel O'Neill asked. "What?"

"I see he still has this fixation with his father." Janet shoved her hands in her pockets. This time Sam was sure of the tremble. "Though, I don't understand this development."

"He keeps referring to himself as his own father," Teal'c clarified. "And yet he distinguishes himself as DanielJackson."

Janet shook her head. "That is definitely bizarre. Maybe if we—"

"Uh, Sir?"

Sam turned at the sound of Sergeant Harriman's hesitant voice. He was standing the doorway, appearing a little sheepish as he stared at her commanding officer. Colonel O'Neill, who was still sitting on the floor, remained where he was, unbothered by the awkwardness of his position.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Uh, General Hammond would like to see you in the control room," Harriman said. "He said it's urgent."

Colonel O'Neill held up his hands in defeat, before pushing himself off the floor. "Did he say why it was urgent?"

"No, Sir. But I think the images from the MALP will speak for themselves."

The MALP had found something? Sam straightened, suddenly feeling more alive than she had for the past three days. Maybe Colonel O'Neill was right. She should stay more positive.

"Okay," the colonel said, nodding his head. "Carter, Teal'c, let's see what's up." He gestured in Janet's direction. "You gonna be okay with him?"

Daniel laughed, jumping to his feet, grabbing an artifact and shoving it in Janet's face. "Play?"

Sam cringed, watching as Janet carefully took the item from him and handed him a piece of paper. The exchange didn't seem to bother Daniel. Happily, he accepted the paper and started scribbling away.

Janet on the other hand…

Sam couldn't believe just how weary and dejected the other woman appeared. This ordeal was draining her, more so than Sam would have imagined.

"I'll watch him," Janet said softly. "I have a few things I need to check on anyway."

"Great." O'Neill motioned to the door. "Let's go see what the MALP has to offer."