Disclaimer - Stargate: SG1 and Quantum Leap have nothing to to with me, and I worship the ground that their creators walk upon. Honest :)

Thank you so much to the people who have already reviewed, you are stars!! Phish Food all round!! And to Jumper Prime, you're right and I should have spotted that before uploading.. I shall try to do better from now on.

NB. Because this is set in the earlier days of Stargate, Sam Carter is still a Captain, Janet is alive and Daniel hasn't even thought of the word 'ascended'. Sam Beckett, on the other hand, is about as confused as a person with no sense of humour watching Monty Python.. but he does indeed have a lot of relevant doctorates to help him get up to speed as far as the Stargate is concerned.

PS. I don't know how many people have watched both Stargate and Quantum Leap, so there will a few explanatory paragraphs making an appearance. Just basic background information, hopefully correct in a quick Cliff Notes kind of way.

Sam woke up slowly to the smell of disinfectant and the throbbing pain of his right ankle. God that hurt, but it felt like it had been professionally strapped up. At least he was lying down, presumably in a bed... not a very comfortable one by all accounts, so probably a hospital gurney.

Thanks to the scientific miracle that was Project Quantum Leap, Dr Samuel Beckett – now a patient in this unknown military hospital – had spent the last year trapped in the past, 'Leaping' from life to life, setting right what originally 'went wrong' in his own timeline, thereby changing the future for the better. It hadn't meant to work that way, but the Government had threatened to cancel the Project so he had stepped into the Quantum Accelerator to prove that it worked – and by the time anyone had realised what had happened, he was trapped in this transitory existence. There was no questioning God, time, fate or whatever it was that picked his destination and mission, but his best friend Admiral Albert Calavicci – Al – and the hybrid computer Ziggy usually came up with the answers.

The strangest aspect of Leaping was that Sam essentially became another person for the duration of each Leap, looking and sounding exactly like they did thanks to an 'aura' around what was Sam's own body, but without their knowledge or personality. As a result he had not seen his own reflection for over a year, but whenever he looked down he still saw his own body. He certainly retained his immense IQ of 267 and most of the knowledge that went with his 6 doctorates, but it became a very real mission to convince the Leapee's friends and family that he was the same person each time, else he might be thrown in the nuthouse... and having Leaped into one once before, Sam was in no hurry to go back.

His unwitting host was in turn translated to the Project's 'Waiting Room', where Al would question them to get an idea of when and where Sam had Leaped, before he himself stepped into the Holographic Chamber and appeared as himself in holographic form thanks to Ziggy pinpointing and transmitting directly to Sam's neurons. Al was continually torn by interrogating a person who looked and sounded like his best friend in the Waiting Room, and identifying the outward appearance of the Leapee back in the past, who walked and talked like Dr Sam Beckett... and who didn't really know what that meant, because his mind was constantly being 'swiss-cheesed' by the Leaping process, leaving gaping holes in what he remembered of his own life. Both Sam and Al hoped that one day Sam would be able to Leap home, but until then all the staff at Project Quantum Leap funnelled their energies to getting Sam from one Leap to the next.

Now finding himself in the place of yet another Leapee, Sam caught snippets of conversation nearby, but definitely not at his bedside. The language was English and the accents were American so there could be some cause for joy in that. Then again, he still had no idea when, where or who he was, and the last thing he could remember sure as hell wasn't helping him settle in comfortably. A ramp, a giant metallic ring, and Marines firing the strangest guns he'd ever heard didn't tie up to anything he knew how to deal with. The Universal String Theory that he and his mentor, Dr LoNigro had developed suggested that he could only Leap with his own lifetime, which put a lower limit of 1953 on his time travelling. Since he had first Leaped in 1995 they had always assumed that he would never Leap farther ahead than that date, but right now Dr Beckett wasn't at all certain. Short of an injection of intelligence from Al, staying 'asleep' was the best thing he could do.

Concentrating hard, Sam tried to distinguish between the sounds around him. There was the sound of a wheeled trolley rattling past his bed, the sound of ventilation – or was it suction? – and a couple of heart rate monitors going... but it didn't sound like either were close enough to be attached to him and he couldn't feel anything touching his skin other than sheets and his ankle. Hushed voices were speaking nearby, something about a Lieutenant running into enemy fire – a war zone? A field hospital then? The Gulf War? But it couldn't be, he'd seen those weird energy bolts and that... that room with the... the Ring... no, it wasn't the Gulf War, not unless there was something the US Government wasn't letting on.

His face must have shown something, because there was another sound like a person pushing himself up from a seat right next to him... so he had a visitor already?

"Jack? Hey Janet, I think he's waking up! Jack, you scared us there – it's normally me who does the tripping remember? Jack?"

A male voice, adult, but lacking military confidence. Out of place, from what he knew of this Leap so far.

Sam suddenly wished that Al were here, but he could tell that the Admiral wasn't simply by the lack of handset-like bleeping sounds – and his best friend's smoker's voice definitely wasn't one of those in the background. The hushed conversation in the background ended and footsteps came close to his bed – he could almost feel the doctor's eyes probing for signs of consciousness.

"Thanks Daniel. Now, let's take a look here. Colonel? Can you open your eyes for me please, Colonel?"

This voice was female, self-assured, but concerned. Janet, presumably. The doctor? At least Sam was getting an idea of who he 'was' now – someone named Jack who was a Colonel. Someone who merited a hospital visitor when all he'd done was twist his ankle. Nice, but he sure hoped that Jack wasn't short for Jacqueline!

"Daniel, what made you think he was waking up?"

'Thank God,' though Sam, 'I'm a man!'

"He looked like he was thinking about something nasty, but he didn't really move," the man named Daniel replied, sounding a little worried. "Maybe he was dreaming, but still –Jack would normally be up and away by now."

Well at least they wanted him to wake up, but Sam wasn't sure if he wanted to himself – not after what he'd seen when he Leaped in!

"Hmm... you're right," the doctor mused. Her voice sounded like she was moving around the bed. "He shouldn't be out for this long – it was only a quick sprain, though he might have gained a concussion when he fell off the ramp."

Suddenly Sam felt his right wrist being lifted and, surprised, he flinched involuntarily. Presumably 'Janet' had been about to measure his pulse, but now she had confirmation that her patient was somewhat aware of his surroundings.

'Damn!' he swore internally, before making waking-up noises to try to fool the lady doctor and Daniel into thinking he'd just overslept. Not much point in hiding now, but he still wished that Al was here – and he was sure that between his Leap and the time spent in this bed, Ziggy should have narrowed him down by now! He really wanted to know why God, time, fate or whatever had sent him here – so he could do what needed doing and get out without too much physical or mental scarring.

"Welcome back, Colonel."

"Hey, Jack."

The two voices greeted his re-entry into this nightmare military world. Voices belonging to a pair of normal looking people from what he could tell as he blinked his eyes and focussed. A short woman with tied-back reddish hair and a doctor's lab coat – bingo! – probably in her early forties, and a younger man wearing military style clothing. This didn't fit the voice of 'Daniel', but a more thorough glance showed that this man was definitely not a soldier. He looked scruffy despite the regulation gear, was wearing a pair of glasses that looked like they'd been sat on a few times, and had pens and a notebook hanging out of his pockets. A civilian scientist on a military base?

'Janet and Daniel, I presume,' Sam named them in his own mind, committing their faces to his photographic, yet swiss-cheesed, memory.

"Um, morning guys," he said, not sure what this Colonel Jack guy would say in his shoes, but thinking that it reflected the mood of these two people – concerned yet cheerful. "What did I miss?"

His observers breathed a visible sigh of relief.

"Colonel, it's still the same evening that you and SG1 returned from P3X-970 under fire. You took a fall down and then off the ramp as you came into the Gate room – do you remember?" Doctor Janet was brisk in her appraisal of the patient. Definitely military then, and certainly not a nice private hospital with a TV and pot plants from what Sam could see.

"Erm, yeh – I was trying to get out of the Marines' way, out of the firing line. My ankle feels sprained though; I must have landed on it badly," Sam replied, confused by the reference to P3X-something but sticking to what he knew. "It's a bit fuzzy from there on in. Did I bang my head?"

Any chance to seem rightfully confused was worth a shot when this out of depth, he figured. Thankfully the doctor – Fraiser, by the name on her tag – was inclined to agree.

Nodding, Janet continued. "I think so Colonel, you fell unconscious when you fell off the ramp, but there was no external bruising and you seemed to be, erm, sleeping normally."

Her slight smile as she finished made Sam think that she was having a little joke with the man she thought was Colonel Jack. Time to play along.

"Are you accusing me of sleeping on the job, Dr Fraiser?"

This time it was Daniel who chuckled. "Well you earned it, Jack – you took two watches last night. I'll bet you only got 3 hours sleep – and then those Jaffa... let's just say General Hammond isn't altogether worried."

Janet smiled and took his wrist in her hand, feeling for the pulse again. "Yes, I'd say you're only a little worse for wear this time Colonel – no hostile wounds to any member of your team, and a mere sprained ankle that will keep you in crutches for a few days. The General has declared SG1 as off-duty for 5 days anyhow, so you have plenty of time to recover."

This time the pair really seemed to angling for a response, but Sam had no idea what to say. Was it to do with the crutches, or the off-duty part, the General maybe? Instead he clutched at something unrelated and half-remembered from the Leap to Vietnam where he'd saved his brother, Tom.

"When do we debrief?"

Daniel's eyes flickered to Dr Fraiser for just a moment before he answered.

"Erm, Sam already debriefed while you were asleep – I came by straight after. General Hammond would still like to see you when you're able and he'd prefer the written report to come from you, but I think he's gone home for the evening now – his granddaughters are coming round."

'Great, another Sam to deal with – but if I'm supposedly off-duty for a few days I should have some time to figure out what's going on with this place.'

"Fine thing, Daniel – remind me to thank Sam later. So, Doc – when can I get out of here?"

It seemed to be the right thing to say, because Doc Janet and Daniel were grinning again.

"Not just yet Colonel – you still have a suspected concussion, remember?" The doctor seemed to take some strange form of glee in this announcement. "But don't worry, there no needles required for a sprained ankle so long as you don't try to stand on it too soon. You have to rest and let the swelling go down."

"Unless I use crutches, right?" Sam queried.

"That's right – unless you use crutches." That grin was still there, but Sam couldn't think why for the life of him. "I know, I know, no self-respecting O'Neill would be seen dead with a pair of crutches. The infirmary is blessedly quiet at the moment though, so we can spare this bed overnight – Daniel can even bring down your paperwork in case you get bored."

So that's what it was. This Jack... O'Neill... hated crutches and he had something against paperwork. Maybe he was a soldier's soldier then, but one who'd been promoted enough to warrant forms in triplicate for every action he took. Hoping against hope that he could role-play this man until he Leaped out of here, Sam grabbed the bull by its horns.

"Crutches? Paperwork? Man, this spell off-duty gets better and better! Forget it Doc, just give me a good book and I'll send myself to sleep, ok?"

By the look on their faces, he'd hit bullseye – thank the Lord. He may have even bought himself some time to think all of this over, wait for Al to turn up and eavesdrop on enough conversations to understand this place a bit better.

Daniel laughed, "I can bring you that translation from PX7-418 if you like, Jack."

There it was again – a 6-digit sequence of letters and numbers that could refer to anything, but probably a place. Top-secret code? A designation, like Area 51? Sam wasn't sure, but he decided to take the chance that this might give him some useful information. He was dead certain that Daniel wasn't military by now though – this guy had used 'his' first name, not his rank. A team mate, by the sound of it – maybe a good friend too, since he'd sat by his bedside.

"Yeh sure, Daniel –"The other man's expression became what could only be described as 'gobsmacked', so Sam decided to take a different tack. "It's better than one of the Doc's sleeping potions any day!"

Looking at him quizzically, Janet picked up the conversation again. "Maybe I should run an MRI before I head home, Colonel, just to check you didn't bang your head harder than we thought."

Sam gulped and thought quickly. He was very definitely in the near present if a doctor could mention an MRI so off-handedly... and if they were common enough that one might be run on a patient with minor head trauma... Trying not to appear too stricken, Sam took another look around this infirmary – and to his sudden concern, it had familiar gadgets everywhere. There was no doubt about it – this was modern hospital, close enough to the one he trained years ago. And being military, he was sure that they knew all about the body of Colonel Jack O'Neill... the body that might look like it was sat on the bed, but was actually sat in the Waiting Room at Project Quantum Leap, not too far in the future.

Whatever the case, Sam wanted to get away from the possibility that Dr Fraiser might run an MRI on him. He didn't want to risk the possibility that while they saw him as 'Jack', an external machine would almost certainly reveal his brainwaves to be those of someone else. He was probably lucky that his 'accident' hadn't required a blood transfusion – if Jack had a different blood type, Sam would be revealed as a fraud and suffering a real medical emergency!

"Don't trouble yourself Doctor, I'm fine and I'll be out of here in no time," Sam offered with an easy grin. "Go home, have a nice evening, enjoy yourself – no need to worry yourself over me."

Janet hesitated, then nodded. "Ok Colonel, your call – just have a good night's sleep and I'll check you over in the morning."

"Sounds great," Sam replied, with a trace of finality in his voice. A cop-out reply, he knew, but going through the motions was the best way to survive until he knew what he was up against. Hopefully they would take the hint and leave him alone for a while, and Dr Fraiser certainly did. Daniel, the civilian, didn't take orders from a 'Colonel' so lightly it seemed.

"If you need anything, just ring ok?" Daniel indicated the phone on the wall nearby. "I'll be in for most of the night going over that translation."

"Fine, Danny, fine. Just keep burning that midnight oil."

Sam just wanted to curl up and think, so he sounded like the impatient, grumpy patient he was. Daniel, on the other hand, looked somewhat hurt at his words.

Trying to make it up, Sam carried on. "Sorry, that was unfair. I just don't like being cooped up in here with a sprained ankle, ok?"

"That's ok Jack," Daniel replied looking a little chirpier, but still concerned. "I get stuck in here often enough that I know how you feel. Just don't forget to ring if you need anything, ok?"

"Will do Danny, will do," Sam responded to Daniel's retreating back, suddenly struck by another thought.

To all intents and purposes, Daniel seemed like a normal guy. A civilian in a military installation that had obviously been on the sharp end of a hostile attack that same evening, but still normal. So why on earth would he spend much time laid up in the infirmary?

"Where the hell are you, Al?" Sam whispered, unnerved.

Next chapter: Jack in the Waiting Room.