The reviews have been amazing. Thank-you so much. There's still one more chapter left so keep hanging on till the end!

Sam listened to the voices around her before opening her eyes. She knew she was in the SGC but her thoughts were still consumed with her family. She blinked rapidly, trying to get accustom to the lights shining down on her.

"Hey." Jack had changed places with Daniel so she would see him when she opened her eyes.

"Sir." Jack didn't react visibly but his stomach twisted and his heart sank. The doctor stepped up behind him, moving him to the side, before he had a chance to speak again.

"I need to ask you a few questions." The doctor locked eyes with Sam, trying to get all of her attention focused on her and the questions she wanted to ask.

"Ok."

"What's your name?"

"Samantha." The response was hesitant but correct. The doctor nodded her head.

"Do you know your rank?"

"I was a Lieutenant Colonel before being honorably discharged with full retirement benefits." The doctor didn't respond nor did Jack but Daniel's brow furrowed.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a physicist."

"Why were you dishonorably discharged?"

"For medical reasons."

"What medical reasons?" The doctor was asking the questions quickly so Sam wouldn't think about them too much.

"I had an allergic reaction to some alien wood and was paralyzed. It took several years of treatment to regain my ability to function."

"Are you married?"

"Yes."

"What's your husbands name?" The doctor smiled, as if she was just trying to be friendly.

"Timor."

"Do you have any children?"

"Two, Alexa and Micha."

"How old are your children?"

"Alexa is forty-one and Micha is thirty-eight."

"Do you have grandchildren?"

"Five."

"Where do you live?"

"On Planton, a few blocks from the hospital."

"Is Planton the name of your planet?"

"No, that's my street. Atona is the planet's name."

"How old are you?"

"Too old to be answering that question." Sam grinned at the doctor. "When can I see my family?"

"As soon as possible. Right now I need you to get some more sleep. You've been very ill." The doctor motioned for the nurse to inject a sedative into the iv line. Sam tried to protest but the world around her grew quiet and she faded into sleep.

Jack's voice was the first thing that penetrated her foggy mind. Sam kept her eyes closed and listened, trying to get her bearings.

"Hey, beautiful. It's time to open your gorgeous eyes. I know I've told you how much I love your eyes, right? Well, I do. They're dynamic and full of power. I'm drawn to them. I guess really that describes how I feel about you. Hell Sam, you better wake up soon because I can't keep talking like this for long. Daniel or Teal'c will be back soon and I'll have to go back to being General O'Neill instead of your secret fiancé." Sam slowly opened her eyes and looked at Jack. Worry was etched on his face but he tried to mask it.

"I knew you were hiding in there. How ya' feeling?" Sam felt the tug deep within her and even though a big part of her still believed this man had forgotten her and given his heart to another she just couldn't hurt him.

"What happened?"

"You've been sick. You had a high fever and you've been out of it since yesterday." Sam ran a shaky hand through her hair.

"Can I see a mirror?"

"How can you be worried about how you look while you're lying in the infirmary?" Jack grinned at her.

"Please?" She was scared of something and he knew he'd do anything to calm her fears. He got up and searched the room to no avail. Finally he dumped all the instruments off a metal tray and it to her. The noise brought the doctor running. Sam sat up and took the tray. She ran her hands over her face. She was still young. It was instant proof that she hadn't spent the last four decades raising her family. Sam's heart fell. She dropped the tray on the bed and lay back down. She closed her eyes and rolled so her back was facing Jack.

"Can I be alone for a while?" Jack looked the doctor and questioned this request with his eyes.

"I have a few questions I need to ask and then we'll let you get some more rest." Sam sighed as the doctor picked up her chart.

"What's your name?" Sam sighed again.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter. I'm a member of SG1 under the command of General Landry. My family includes a brother, his wife, and their two children. Cassandra Fraiser has been living with me since her mother, my best friend, was killed by a Jaffa in the line of duty. I use to have a cat but I gave it away to an alien who was later killed by the Goa'uld and my cat probably perished in the same attack. I can continue if you like." The doctor grinned but Sam's eyes were closed so she missed the doctor's headshake.

"I think that tells me what I need to know. If you still wish to be alone I can pull the curtain but there are many people anxious to see you."

"Tell them I'm fine and pull the curtain as you go." The doctor nodded again.

"The nurse will be checking on you often for the next few hours."

"Great." Sam didn't attempt to hide her sarcasm. Jack backed away as the doctor pulled the curtain in front of him.

"Give her some time sir. Whatever she experienced must have seemed very real. Let her get it settled in her mind and then she'll be ready to see you again." Jack let Daniel and Teal'c each try to visit over the next four hours but Sam sent them both packing. He was getting frustrated and worried. The doctor told them all to leave until the next morning. Jack was back at 0600. Sam was sitting up in bed smiling when he entered the infirmary.

"Morning, sir." Jack was wary.

"Morning, Carter. How're ya' feeling?" Jack stood beside the gurney with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Like myself again. I'm sorry I was so out of it yesterday. I needed some time to re-center myself and now I'm back on track. No need to worry." Sam laid her hand palm up on the edge of the bed. Jack reached out for her hand and she wrapped her fingers around his palm. "We're good?"

"Yeah, we're real good." Jack smiled. He was still uneasy about her sudden recovery but he'd play along until she either lost it or proved him wrong. Daniel and Teal'c brought breakfast. They chatted amicably while they watched her pick at some fruit. The doctor released her that afternoon since her fever had been gone for 24 hours. She was told to stay home for at least two days before being allowed back under restricted duty for a week.

Jack spent the first day with Sam. They went shopping, watched television, and called Cassie at college. Sam seemed as normal as Sam had ever been. Jack tried to find flaws but he failed. He'd received numerous calls from Washington and reluctantly left early in the morning on Sam's second day at home. He promised to be back for a long weekend in two weeks. They'd been planning this weekend for over a month and he wasn't going to let anything disrupt their plans.

Daniel and Teal'c bugged her repeatedly during her second day at home. She was sure Jack had put them up to keeping tabs on her. It was frustrating and sweet, but mostly frustrating. Sam was glad to get back to her lab. She managed to have two straight days of mostly uninterrupted work time, since most of the lab technicians were afraid of getting sick.

Daniel and Teal'c came by at least twice a day, each, all week. Usually they arrived with food or sweets. Sam generally nibbled what they brought but most of it ended up in the trash. By the end of the week they were forcing her out of the building and threatening to tell Jack she hadn't been sleeping enough. What they didn't understand, and she refused to tell them, was her dreams were plagued with the voices and faces of people she now knew weren't real but she couldn't forget. She was working so hard in the hopes she could avoid her dreams for a little longer each day.

The weekend came and went. Jack called two or three times each day. Sam went to dinner and a movie with Colonel Mitchell, Teal'c, and Daniel. They were hovering but she was dealing. She thought she was hiding her unease from them but she underestimated how well Daniel and Teal'c could read her. Each night Sam went home and cried about the loss of the life she'd love. She missed her children and her grandchildren yet she knew she had to be insane because none of it had actually happened. Being pulled in both directions, towards grief and insanity, was making her miserable. She mindlessly drifted through Monday and Tuesday, depending solely on routine.

Sam found herself in the commissary with Teal'c, Daniel, and Cameron for breakfast Wednesday morning. She'd briefly considered not coming in this morning but her deep sense of duty and the draw of her usual routine were stronger then this feeling she refused to try and name. Sam stirred her soggy and mostly untouched cereal as the guys attempted to carry on a conversation. Worried looks flew between the men as Sam continued to be absorbed in the swirling patterns of her cereal.

"So Sam." Daniel watched her lack of reaction. "Sam?" Her head lifted a fraction.

"Huh?" The stirring never stopped but Daniel thought it might have slowed just a bit.

"SG-8 brought back a piece of technology with some writing on it. I thought you might be willing to come back to my office after breakfast and help me figure out what it does." Sam nodded.

"Ok." Daniel glanced at Teal'c who gave his head a slight shake.

"Great…that's really great Sam. I'm sure together we can crack it." Daniel smiled one of his really big smiles. Sam didn't look up.

"Probably." Sam sighed.

"Let me know when you're done and we can get started." Daniel reached across the table towards Sam's arm.

"Oh…I'm done." Sam looked up but her eyes were dull and more lifeless then Daniel was used to seeing.

"But you haven't really eaten anything." Daniel glanced at Sam's bowl. Sam's eyes followed his.

"I hate it when it get mushy. I'm not hungry anyway." Sam gave the cereal a final swirl and stood. She walked to the door and Daniel slowly stood to follow her.

"But shouldn't she be hungry. I haven't really seen her eat much of anything since she was released." Daniel leaned down and whispered so only Teal'c and Cameron could hear him.

"Nor have I. I fear Colonel Carter has not yet fully recovered."

"I agree but I'm not going to be the one who tells her." Cameron stood up and grimaced. "She'd kick my ass."

Sam waited for Daniel near the door. She shuffled along beside him never really making eye contact with anyone as they passed. Daniel opened the door for her and let her walk in first. He went straight over to his bookshelves to find the books he needed.

"I just need to find two volumes to help with the translations and then I'll be ready." He ran his fingers along the edge of the book spines, almost as if he was caressing each one.

"That's fine." Sam walked around his desk, running her index finger along the edge. On a shelf in the back corner of his office she saw the box, her box. She was drawn to it. She reached out and ran her right index finger along the carvings on the top. Daniel turned around in shock when he heard the metallic sound of a latch opening. Sam pulled her hand back from the box.

"Sam, what did you do?"

"I…I just touched it." She reached towards it again.

"Are you sure you should touch it again?" Sam picked up the box, clutching it to her chest, and brought it over to Daniel's table.

"Yeah, I'm positive." Sam caressed the box again and lifted the lid. Daniel raced around the table and stood beside her as she opened the box. Sam removed a small silver teacup. She sniffed. Daniel looked over at her and saw tears in her eyes.

"Sam?"

"It's Alexa's. Timor gave her a tea set when she was three. She'd sit sipping water with her baby dolls while I nursed Micha." Daniel didn't know how to respond. He looked into the box and saw a piece of white paper folded up into a square. He pulled it out and opened it. It was obviously a childs drawing. There were four grown ups and a child, basically depicted as stick figures, surrounded by trees with perfectly round tops. There were large block symbols written across the top and bottom. Daniel recognized a couple of these symbols from the carvings on the box. He held the picture out so Sam could see it. She gasped again and took it from his hands.

"Tanel drew this. This is Alexa." Sam pointed to the roundest of the figures. "She was pregnant with Tanel's sister when he made this picture. He gave it to me for my birthday." Tears escaped down Sam's cheek. Sam carefully laid the cup and picture on Daniel's table before looking back in the box. Sam lifted out some kind of stuffed animal; at least Daniel assumed it was an animal because it seemed to have feet and a head. If he'd been asked to identify the darn thing he wouldn't have even been able to say more then it probably belonged in the animal kingdom. Sam clutched the ragged thing to her chest and lowered her head. Daniel heard her smell the dirty looking thing. That was the moment Daniel decided things had gone too far.

"It still smells like him."

"Who?"

"Micha. He slept with his mishca for eight years. It was a baby gift when he was born and he didn't give it up until he couldn't stand Alexa's teasing anymore. I think he secretly sleep with a little longer then any of us even knew." Sam grinned at the memory. Daniel reached out a hand towards her.

"None of this is real Sam." Sam pulled back from him.

"You're wrong. I'm here…these things are here. It all happened and I remember every moment. I won't let you take this from me. Not again." Sam grew more hysterical with each word. She was screaming and breathing hard by the time she finished. Daniel's eyes were wide with shock and worry. Sam turned back to the box. Her eyes widened in surprise as she picked up a small wooden box that had been hidden by the stuffed animal. Sam caressed the box.

"What is it?" Daniel took a small step closer as he tried to decide what to do.

"It can't be." Sam opened the box and smiled the biggest smile Daniel had seen in days. "It is." Sam took a ring out of the box and placed it on her right middle finger.

"Sam, I don't think it's safe to put that on." Daniel reached out but she slapped his hand and spun away.

"Don't be ridiculous. I wore this ring for forty-two years without any problem, except for when I was pregnant, but then I wore it around my neck on a chain. See the green gem?" Daniel peered around her and down at the ring.

"Uh-huh." Daniel nodded. The green gem was in the shape of a figure eight lying on its side.

"To the Atonians it symbolizes the joined arms of a newly mated couple as they complete their testimonies of affection. I told Timor it looked like infinity, which was how long we'd be together." Daniel's brow creased in concern. "I wear it on my middle finger because it symbolizes our joining being the center of our lives." Daniel nodded and moved towards the phone. Sam was so absorbed in the ring she didn't pay attention to Daniel requesting a medical team with sedatives. Daniel finished the call quickly and moved back to Sam.

"Ok Sam, why don't you pack everything back in the box and let's get it up to the labs to be examined." Sam turned on Daniel.

"No, these are mine and I have no intention of letting a bunch of tests be run on them." Sam stood between Daniel and the box.

"Sam, something strange is going on and I need your help to figure it out." Sam shook her head.

"I won't let you take this from me. I loved my life and I want it back. If I can't have it back I'm damn well going to hang on to every shred of it I find." The tears were freely flowing down Sam's cheeks; more from anger then memories or sorrow. The medical team arrived as Sam screamed. The doctor asked her to come to the infirmary for a check-up but Sam refused. In a supremely sly move the doctor asked to look at her beautiful ring. Sam held out her hand, proud of her joining ring. As soon as the doctor was close enough she injected Sam and backed away. Sam clutched her arm and cursed before succumbing to the sedative.