CHAPTER SEVEN: RETURN TO COLORADO

Jack's eyes fluttered open, the bright lights overhead hitting his sensitive pupils, and his eyes closed quickly.

"Colonel?" he heard a soft voice question from beside him.

Jack tried opening his eyes again, looking away from the light. The sight of his 2IC's face hovered over him and he couldn't help but breathe better just from seeing her at his side.

"Carter," he managed to rasp.

Sam quickly reached across to the bedside table to get the cup of water that sat there. She held it steady as O'Neill took a sip from the straw, feeling better than he had in days as he swallowed the cool liquid.

"How are you feeling, sir?" Sam asked.

"Normal," he replied. His mind was trying to put together the bits and pieces of the last few days, and his head cocked to the side curiously as he remembered seeing something that was definitely unusual. "I know I was nuts for the last few days, and it's possible that I was hallucinating, but…I coulda sworn I saw the Doc."

When Sam Carter's gentle smile turned to a full grin, Jack felt his breath catch in his throat, and he savoured the sight. It wasn't often that Sam smiled like that, and to have it directed at him was just mind-blowing.

"You did sir," she assured him. Sam looked over her shoulder to the infirmary bed next to Jack's, and the Colonel struggled to prop himself onto his elbow to see across to where the petite doctor lay sleeping.

"Y'know, I'm starting to think that we should stop holding memorial services for SGC personnel until we're really certain they're not coming back," Jack mused.

Sam smirked a little, feeling more light-hearted than she had in months. Her best friend was back from the dead, and her CO was back to his usual snarky self. She couldn't have been more thrilled than she was. Life was back to normal, or so she hoped.

"How's she doing?" Jack asked.

"Vitals are normal," Sam replied. "She hasn't woken up yet. You two have been asleep for the last two days."

"Two days?" Jack repeated. "Huh…feels like longer."

"Anubis is gone," Sam suddenly said, changing the topic abruptly. "Whatever weapon was hidden in that outpost, it worked. It got through his shields and took down his ship. The Prometheus and a squadron of X-302's went head to head with Anubis' Al'kesh and his Deathgliders."

"We saved the world," Jack murmured, lowering himself to lay back down on the bed.

"Yeah…you did," Sam replied softly.

Their eyes met and locked, a thousand things they could never acknowledge aloud being spoken with just one look. And while both knew, and had even acknowledged that there was more than just friendship and respect between them, it was all there would ever be. It was these quiet moments that made it all worth it.

Their moment was spoiled by Daniel stepping into the infirmary with Teal'c following, a smile on the archaeologists face, and the hint of a grin on Teal'c's.

"You're awake," Daniel greeted the Colonel.

"Pretending to be awake, maybe," Jack replied.

"Well, you're not speaking Ancient anymore, so that's a good sign," Daniel commented. "We were a little worried."

"Yeah, how is that exactly?" Jack asked curiously. "Thor pay a little visit while I was asleep?"

The other three SG-1 members traded glances, a little uncomfortable with the topic. They were still no closer to finding out exactly what had happened two days ago, and the only one who had the answers was still unconscious in the bed beside Jack's.

"Not exactly sir," Sam answered.

"So…how'd I get un-Anciented?"

Daniel tried not to wince at the completely mangled word.

"We believe that it was DoctorFraiser who restored you to your normal state," Teal'c explained.

Jack paused, lifting onto his elbow again to get another look at the doctor. He'd never really appreciated just how many times he'd hurt himself until the Doc hadn't been there. The infirmary had felt cold and empty without her presence, and he'd missed the gentle teasing and the quiet confidence that his Napoleonic Power Monger had exuded. Seeing her again was a sharp reminder of how much he and everyone else at the SGC had missed their CMO. Her replacement, Doctor Julia Brightman, hadn't come anywhere close to filling Fraiser's shoes, and having the Doc back was definitely a good thing.

"Well, we knew the Doc could work miracles, but…" Jack trailed off uncertainly.

"We don't know how she did it Jack," Daniel stated quietly. "She hasn't woken up, and…"

"Her EEG readings are almost identical to the readings you had with the repository downloaded into your head," Sam filled in.

"How is that possible?" Jack asked worriedly.

Daniel glanced over at the sleeping doctor, worried for his friend. He'd definitely missed seeing her, and when he'd laid his eyes on her in Antarctica, he'd felt more than a little relief.

"We're not sure. We do know that she was speaking in the language of the Ancients when she showed up in Antarctica," Daniel said.

"I thought you said the Doc ascended," Jack said, making a vague hand gesture.

"We may have been wrong about that," Sam admitted quietly.

"Then where the hell was she?" Jack cried, unable to think straight. He was tired and cranky, and that didn't lead to coherent thought processes.

"It is possible that DoctorFraiser was a prisoner aboard Anubis' ship," Teal'c said quietly. "If Anubis truly was an Ancient, he would know enough to stage an ascension to lead us to believe that DoctorFraiser was safe. We would not search for one whom we believed was no longer on our plane of existence."

Jack's brow furrowed and he felt sick to his stomach. He had spent two days in Ba'al's hands, and he had no fond memories of that time. He'd been tortured for information he hadn't understood, and he'd barely withheld what he knew. He couldn't imagine spending the better part of three weeks in Anubis' hands.

He was broken out of his musing when a soft shuffling of sheets sounded from the next bed over. SG-1 turned their attention to the slowly waking Janet Fraiser who blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the harsh overhead lights. Sam was at her side in an instant, taking the doctor's small hand in her own.

"Janet?" Sam whispered softly.

Janet swallowed and she licked her dry lips, staring up at Sam. The blonde woman couldn't help the tears that welled in her eyes at the sight of her best friend, a woman she'd convinced herself she'd never see again.

"Sam," Janet replied, her voice soft and croaky.

"Do you know where you are?" Sam asked gently.

"Home," Janet replied, a smile lifting the corners of her lips.

Sam's own smile faltered slightly, and she looked to Daniel for translation.

"Home," Daniel explained, a sad smile working its way onto his lips.