Chapter Seventeen:

I couldn't keep the grin off my face as I gazed around me at the familiar sight. I was back! Anubis was destroyed. And even the pain had faded. I blinked as I raised a hand to my face. No blood! I checked my stomach and arms. No bruises! I laughed delightedly.

Still grinning, I half walked, half jogged down the corridor as I went to find my family. I decided to check mom's lab first, as she was almost always there. And she was, her blonde head bent over a piece of technology she was trying to figure out.

"Mom!" I called out, excited. "I'm back! And you'll never guess what happened."

I frowned slightly when she didn't seem to hear me, but I figured it was just because she was absorbed in whatever she was doing.

"Mom!" I called again, this time walking right up to her.

She looked up, but there was a worried look in her blue eyes. "Any change?" she asked.

Huh? What was she talking about?

"Not yet." I turned around to see dad standing in the doorway, the same worried expression mirrored in his eyes.

"Change in what?" I asked.

But neither of them seemed to hear me. Mom put down the pen she was holding and walked over to dad, right past me – and she didn't see me. I was getting a bad feeling about this.

"I'm just so worried, Jack." Mom said, stepping into dad's arms.

"I know." He said, hugging her to him. "I worried too. She shouldn't have had to face him alone. I should have been there with her."

"Jack…" mom began.

"I'm her father, Sammie. It's my job to protect her from danger, not be the reason she's facing it." Dad interrupted.

"It's our job to protect her." Mom corrected. "And she'll pull though. She's a fighter."

I left them standing there in each other's arms, thoroughly confused. Just what exactly was going on? And why couldn't my parents see me? I frowned in puzzlement and decided to find answers to those questions somewhere else. Which is why I headed for the infirmary. Janet would know what was going on.

When I entered, I stumbled to a halt, completely shocked and bewildered at what I saw. It was me. I was lying in one of the beds, as pale as death and hooked up to about a zillion beeping machines. Daniel sat at my bedside, with Janet standing just behind him, her hand on his shoulder.

"She's just like her parents, you know." Daniel remarked suddenly. "She didn't even hesitate to take on Anubis. To save us. Just like Sam or Jack would."

Janet smiled slightly. "Yeah, although they're not the only ones who do that on a regular basis." She said. "She's a fighter too. She'll wake up Daniel, don't worry."

Daniel nodded, before getting up and placing a kiss on my forehead – or at least the me that was on the bed. This was just too weird. "See you soon, Shannon." He said and left.

Janet gave me (the one on the bed) a final glance and was about to leave when Mac stuck his head into the infirmary. "Can I come in, Doc?" he asked cautiously.

"Sure, Major." Janet said, faintly amused. "What can I do for you?"

"Umm, I was just wondering if I could see Dr. Carter for a moment." He said.

"Certainly." Janet said. "I was just leaving. I'll be back in about ten minutes to check on her."

"Thanks, Doc." Mac said, coming to sit on the chair beside my bed.

I wandered closer to the bed, coming to stand on the other side to Mac. I took a moment to study him as my confusion increased. How long exactly had I been in here? Mac looked slightly dishevelled (for a member of the military anyway) and had deep shadows under his eyes. He sat there for a long moment, obviously trying to say something and not sure how.

Then he reached over and took my hand. "Hey, Carter." He said.

I didn't bother to reply. It's not like he would have heard me, judging by my track record so far.

"You'd better wake up soon." He continued. "You're starting to scare everyone."

He paused. "You're scaring me, too." He added. "No one told me where you'd gone after you disappeared, so seeing you in the corridor was a shock. And then when you ran at Anubis…I think my heart stopped. I know it definitely did when I saw you just lying there after the flash. You weren't moving…"

Mac trailed off, obviously lost in his own thoughts. I wasn't sure what to think about his confession. His concern touched me, but I couldn't help the suspicion that there was more to it than that.

"Anyway, Carter." Mac said after a moment. "Wake up soon. This place isn't as fun without you around. And…and I miss you." He finished in a whisper.

I stood there, stunned – both at Mac's confession (which was still somewhat confusing) and everyone's inability to see me. "Just what is going on around here?" I asked out loud. "Why can't anyone see me?"

"It's complicated." Said a voice.

"Oma." I smiled in relief as she came to stand beside me.

I glanced at her and my smile grew. I was happy to see her, despite the circumstances. "Let's just say your conscious mind has become separated from your unconscious mind." Oma explained.

I blinked in surprise. "Okay." I said. This was so not what I had been expecting. "Is this going to happen every time I face one of them?"

Judging from the look on Oma's face, she knew exactly who I was talking about. Then she looked at me. "In theory? No." she said. "But then, it wasn't supposed to happen this time either."

"Then, why did it?" I asked.

"I don't know. Your mind was supposed to rejoin your body as soon as you were sent back."

"But it didn't."

"No." Oma agreed.

Then I snapped my fingers in realisation. "It's because they moved me!" I said.

When Oma looked at me curiously, I explained. "My body wasn't there when I was sent back, so there was nowhere for my mind to go." I laughed in relief. "It should be easy enough to fix then."

Oma just smiled at me, rather like a proud teacher. "I'll see you soon, I guess." I said.

"Indeed you will." Oma replied.

I nodded, before walking right up to the bed and sitting down on it. I swung my legs up and lay down. The only way I can describe what happened next was a faint feeling of sinking before I snapped open my eyes and found myself lying in the bed and hooked up to all the monitors.

I grinned and looked over to where Oma had been standing. I couldn't see anything but it didn't mean she wasn't there.

"Shannon!" Janet cried as she came bustling in.

"Hey, Doc." I said.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine." I replied. "So how about you unhook me from all these machines and let me get out of here?"

"Not so fast." Janet said. "You gave us quite a scare, so you're staying overnight for observation at least."

"Yes, Doc." I sighed, knowing there was no arguing with her.

In that moment, a whole crowd of people came rushing into the infirmary, all yelling something over the din. "Dr. Carter, how are you feeling?" the General asked.

"Shannon, you're awake!" Mom cried. "We were so worried."

"Shannon, I told you we would face him together, and I meant it!" Dad was saying.

"Hey, Shannon." Daniel said. "What exactly did you do back there?"

"I am glad to see you're awake, Shannon Carter." Teal'c greeted.

Family. You gotta love them. I took one look at everyone's face and couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing. Everyone stopped talking and stared at me in shock. "Sorry." I said after a minute. "I'm just glad to be back."

"Back from where?" the General asked.

I took a deep breath, prepared myself for all the questions and told them all about my latest adventure. Man, mom had really meant it when she said this place would change my life.

I yawned as I came awake in the blissful peace and quiet of the infirmary. Janet had finally kicked everyone out about an hour ago and I had been drifting sleepily ever since. Of course, everyone had promised to come and see me again tomorrow, no doubt with everyone who hadn't been here today. I was going to have to stop waking up in the infirmary so much.

"Are you still awake, Shannon?" Janet asked quietly as she walked over.

"Barely." I told her. "Why?"

"Because there's a certain Major wearing a hole in the floor outside the infirmary." Janet said. "And it might be best if you had a chat with him before he gets himself into trouble."

"Mac's here?" I asked.

Janet chuckled softly. "Does that mean he can come in?" she asked.

"I…" I began and then remembered the confession I had heard earlier – the one I don't think I was supposed to have heard. "Umm…"

Janet grinned and moved closer to my bed, taking a seat in the chair that was always there. "I see you've noticed then."

"Noticed what?" I asked.

"That the boy is crazy about you." Janet grinned.

"No way. We're just good friends, that's all." Oh, no. This was not happening to me! My life was just getting back to some semblance of normality!

"Oh, he is." Janet disagreed. "He's been hovering around the infirmary with a distraught look on her face ever since you were brought in."

"He has?"

"Oh, yeah." Janet nodded. "So, how do you feel about our friend, Major Mackenzie?"

"Janet!" I hissed. "Stop grinning at me like that. He's just a friend."

"Are you sure?"

Was I? "Oh, I don't know!" I snapped. "There was a time, not long ago I was entertaining thoughts about someone else."

"And now?"

Now? I sighed. "I really don't know."

Janet nodded and stood up again. "Well, I'll send him in anyway. Just to stop all the pacing." Then she winked at me.

What was up with Janet? She was acting like some sort of match-making fairy godmother. Oh, God. Please tell me that wasn't what it was.

"Hey, Carter." Mac's soft greeting brought me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, Mac." I said.

"Not long, Major." Janet warned. "Shannon needs to get some sleep."

"Yes, ma'am." Mac replied.

Mac waited for Janet to disappear again (although I could guarantee she hadn't gone far) and came to sit down beside my bed. I couldn't help but feel slightly awkward as I was reminded of the scene earlier.

"How are you feeling?" Mac asked.

"Better than everyone thinks." I replied. "I keep telling everyone I'm fine."

"But the Doc just wants to keep you here, huh?" Mac grinned.

"Yeah." I muttered. "And run God knows how many tests on me!"

"Sounds like the Doc." Mac agreed.

"So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" I asked.

Mac smiled at me. "Well, we were assigned a temporary fourth member until you got back and Scott has been driving him made with her incessant talking."

I chuckled softly. "Sounds like Lizzie." I said. "I haven't seen her today though. Do you know where she is?"

"She's off-world until tomorrow. She went off with one of those archaeological teams to look as some important rocks." Mac said. "Although, considering the amount of people in here today, she might not have been able to get in."

"I did seem to be more popular than I thought." I said.

There was a moment of silence, before Mac spoke again. "So, is it really true?" he asked hesitantly. "Are you really an Ancient?"

"Technically, yeah." I said. "I have some cool new party tricks, but other than that I'm still the same I always was."

"Party tricks, huh?" Mac smiled.

I smiled back, happy he was accepting this whole thing so easily. I had expected a little awkwardness in the beginning, but the simple acceptance was a nice surprise. "Yep. I can glow." I said. Then I spared a quick glance, but Janet was nowhere in sight. "And I can do this."

As Mac watched in astonishment, I made a pen on a nearby table rise up and float through the air. "Wow." He said. "Do the other Ancients know what they've gotten themselves into by letting you have these new tricks?"

"I think they're beginning to get the idea." I grinned as I put the pen back on the desk.

"All right you two, time's up." Janet said, walking back over to us. "Shannon needs her sleep."

"Okay, Doc." Mac said. "See you later, Carter."

"Seeya, Mac." I replied.

Then Mac shocked my by leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. Blushing a little, he nodded to Janet and quickly left the infirmary. How was it possible that Mac's little kiss on the cheek was nicer than a kiss on the lips from Alec? I couldn't help but compare the little tingles I felt now to those that I had felt at the airport so long ago.

Could someone really like two guys at once? And Mac was my commanding officer of all things! I wasn't held back by any military regulations or anything, but I worked with him! Man, why was my life so complicated?

I looked at Janet, who was watching me with a grin on her face. "What?" I snapped.

"I didn't say anything." She said.

"You were thinking it." I replied.

She laughed. "True. But just think of it this way, Shan." She said, something of what I was thinking obviously having shown on my face. "Tomorrow's a new day – deal with it then."

"Good idea, Doc." I said. "I'll deal with it tomorrow."

Janet chuckled again as she left, leaving me to my thoughts as I tried to get some sleep.