Disclaimer: I own neither Stargate nor Quantum Leap. The only thing of any value that I do own is an outrageously turquoise Kia Pride, and even that is shared with my hubby (who is the registered owner, so technically I really do have nothing!).

Reviewers' treat of the day: chocolate digestive biscuits and a nice mug of hot tea for dunking :)

NB. The two Sams are very confusing, but I'm trying to stick to one person's POV per chapter. As such this chapter's Sam = Sam Carter.

PS. To my fellow Poms: rejoice!! For it will soon be the long weekend, and Michael Fish (infallible weatherman™) has declared that a warm High will be swirling above the British Isles in honour of the Summer Bank Holiday. The endless rain will clear! May your barbeques burn brightly, and let us all hail the insane bravery of those who dare venture into our coastal waters for a spot of swimming!! (what do you mean he got it horrendously wrong once? no...)

It didn't make any difference what Daniel said, Sam was worried about Colonel O'Neill. About Jack.

She found it hard to think of her superior officer as anything other than 'Colonel O'Neill', but she did – more and more frequently. Maybe it was because SG1 were such a close-knit team, depending on each other in what were very literally 'alien' environments. It had only been a couple of years, but she had through more with Daniel, Teal'c and... Jack... than she had with any other group other than her squadron during the 1992 Gulf War. She'd been flying F16s back then though, and while they were important missions in enemy airspace it had never held her heart and mind like Stargate Command did – only her duty. Even so, she wanted to keep a line between friendship and rank. The two didn't mix very well in the wrong situation.

Daniel was different, and so was Teal'c. They both had an innate sense of duty and honour, but neither was in military service. With service came rank, and it was a part of her duty to uphold the chain of command. Even Daniel was shaping up these days though – the Goa'uld had helped him over his allergy to guns anyway. Teal'c's military experience went far beyond that of anyone on the base, but as an alien he could barely leave Cheyenne Mountain let alone join up.

The thought of Teal'c in a cadet's uniform made her chuckle, causing her... passenger?... to turn around.

"Something funny, Carter?"

"Sorry sir," she replied to her CO with a straight-ish face. "For a moment I imagined the thought of Teal'c at the Academy."

Daniel, walking beside them, snorted. "Riiiiight. Though I suppose he would tighten things up in there, even as a cadet. Those drill sergeants wouldn't stand a chance!"

There it was again. Jack O'Neill, sat in a wheelchair, not laughing at a joke that he'd normally find hilarious. Maybe Daniel just didn't notice little things like that, but Sam knew that the Colonel had been unusually quiet since their return from P3X-970 and his unlucky trip down the ramp. Perhaps he'd had a sudden realisation of his mortality, or maybe it was the pain from his ankle. He had looked as white as a sheet when they'd all been roused from the lab by General Hammond just a few minutes ago, saying that he'd tried standing on it again. Daniel had acted like a mother hen, threatening to tell Janet, but Sam had stood back and observed. Something had definitely changed.

She didn't have much time to dwell on this though, since they were coming up to the entrance to the SGC's briefing room. Daniel, thoughtful as ever, jumped ahead and opened the door wide so that the others could fit through easily, then removed the chair at the Colonel's normal position so that he could take the appropriate place. General Hammond wasn't far behind them.

"Good morning people."

"Good morning sir," the trio responded.

"Down to business, I'm afraid," as ever, General Hammond's grandfatherly demeanour was quickly replaced by that of the business-like mentality he was promoted for. "As you know, SG1 will be stood down for the next 5 days at least. This is partly owing to the absence of Teal'c and now to Colonel O'Neill's injury – how are you doing, Colonel?"

"Fine sir, just dandy, thank you for asking."

"Good, well don't assume that this downtime is a holiday because we have a lot of work to do. Now our first item of business this morning is to continue and conclude yesterday afternoon's debrief. Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter gave a very succinct report, particularly regarding the discovery of the unknown device and subsequent attack by Hemuset's Jaffa – do you have anything to add?"

The Colonel had been focussing directly on General Hammond, but the question seemed to come as a surprise, Sam noted. His thoughts were obviously elsewhere.

"Er, no General," the leader of SG1 began, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I don't have any particular details for your attention, however here is a written report and I know that Captain Carter and Daniel have been studying the device further."

"Excellent," General Hammond acknowledged. "Any progress you two?"

Sam looked at Daniel, who returned her look with a near-shrug.

'I guess this one's up to me then!' she decided, both thanking and despising her fate for bringing her here. On the one hand the Stargate project allowed her genius to run free, working on theories and technology that most scientists would sell their souls to lay their hands on, but on the other there was almost always the extremely frustrating period of stagnation before discovery. Daniel had said that archaeology could be much the same, digging the same site for years before finding something tangible. It was the scientists' curse.

Then again, Sam had been a part of the SGC before it had existed. As a brilliant cadet back in 1982 she'd been assigned to the team whose brief was to build (or rather, jury-rig) a dialling system for the Stargate. At first it had a been a resume-filler – Sam had been set on a career as an astronaut up until the Challenger disaster in 1986 – but even when the project was cancelled she'd kept working on the theories in her spare time. When Dr Catherine Langford had managed to convince the new Administration to revive the Stargate program in 1994 she'd pulled Sam back onto the research team, and apart from a 1-year spell in the Pentagon she'd been there ever since – and intended to stay.

'...even if it is frustrating now and then,' she concluded, thanking her blessings.

"Sir, I'm afraid that our only progress has been to discover some microscopic writing on the base. Daniel is currently working on translating those markings, which are in a Goa'uld dialect and we're hoping that it will give us a clue as to the artefact's purpose."

Sam stopped for a drink of water, took a deep breath and chose her next words carefully.

"General, I have tried every trick that has helped us... unlock... the artefacts that we've brought back so far, but none have worked. It has no apparent buttons, levers or switches – not even handholds. It has withstood every kind of radiation I'm able to throw at it, and doesn't give off any at all. It's not like anything we've studied before, even though it is made from naquadah, but more importantly it doesn't seem to be a weapon."

Even Jack looked interested now, which made a nice change since he usually switched off during this bit.

"All right Captain Carter," the General nodded. "Keep working on it. I want another report at 1700 hours – and incidentally while I am keen to know what that artefact is, I would also prefer it if you went home before midnight tonight."

Damn that man, he really did know everything that went on at the SGC.

After receiving Sam's nod of assent, General Hammond looked askance at Daniel.

"And what do you make of all this, Dr Jackson?"

Daniel looked up sheepishly. He had several papers in front of him, all relating to either the artefact or the markings upon it.

"Sir, I wish I could say that this makes sense but it doesn't. It's not a very long piece of text and it is in a dialect that I should be able to translate, but somehow I don't think I have it right just yet. It's a bit like we used to think that the Stargate was called the "Doorway to Heaven" – the words are essentially correct, but the direct translation doesn't convey what it's intended to."

Sam smiled softly. Daniel was far too modest to point out that he was the one who'd pointed out the mistake within hours of joining the project, as well as cracking the mystery of the 39 glyphs that represented star systems. She hadn't spotted it despite 15 years working on this project, on and off, and she was an astrophysicist!

"What does it say, literally?"

"Literally? 'Bear this token behind the Stargate to ensure quick return and continued future'. It sounds like something from a fortune cookie, so I'm going to keep working on it."

"And I'm assuming that neither of you have tried carrying it behind the Stargate, am I correct?" Sam and Daniel nodded. "Good, the last thing I need right now is for an experiment to potentially disable our systems. I want all possible effects to be evaluated prior to any such action. Do we know anything about Hemuset?" The General probed further.

Daniel shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Hemuset, or Hemsut, is remembered as a minor deity and it doesn't look like she's anywhere close to being a System Lord even now. She seems to use P3X-970 as a base, though the MAPL didn't register any sign of a Ha'tak in orbit – she's effectively grounded. Also, Hemuset's Jaffa wear a brand of crossed arrows, which is recorded as being her sigil in the past – so at least we remembered one thing right – and her mythological responsibilities centred on fate, protection and the ka or soul. I might be able to get some more information from Teal'c when he returns."

General Hammond nodded, and Sam shot a quick look at the Colonel. He looked somewhat confused, and though that wasn't exactly a rarity during such meetings he didn't normally have the grace to look guilty when he caught her noticing. Normally it was a sarcastically raised eyebrow, as if to say "can I help you?"

"On that matter," Sam said, to cover up her momentary confusion. "Have we heard when Teal'c is due back yet?"

"Yes, Captain we have," the General replied with a knowing smile. "The fourth member of SG1 will be returning from Chulak this afternoon. I know you've all missed him. Both he and Colonel O'Neill are then due at the Alpha site tomorrow morning to help train some new recruits."

"Sir?!" Jack seemed surprised... as was Sam, suddenly finding herself calling him 'Jack' again.

The commander of the SGC leaned forward. "Colonel, I know that your current position isn't exactly ideal, however with the majority of SGs 6 and 8 in the infirmary I cannot allow us to get behind on our training schedule. The joint forces give us their best, but we have to bring them up to speed as quickly as possible if we're to increase the effectiveness of the Stargate Command in this galaxy. Some hard words and direct answers could help knock them into shape."

Sam could have sworn that Jack O'Neill looked not annoyed at the prospect of 'babysitting' as he usually termed it, but scared. Something was definitely up, and General Hammond obviously caught a whiff of it too.

"You're an experienced officer, even in a wheelchair, and you have more strategic knowledge of the Goa'uld than anyone else on this planet. Teal'c has his own special talents and understanding of the Goa'uld from both sides of the fence. Between the two of you I'm hoping that you can convince those youngsters that this is not a glorified game of Space Invaders. I don't want any more adolescent fools rushing on in and getting themselves slaughtered."

"Yessir!" Well at least he'd woken up a bit now.

"All right. You can pick up a copy of the updated curriculum from Major Stubbs later on, and feel free to talk around the subject so long as you cover every single point."

"Every single point sir, gotcha."

The General nodded wryly, and the Colonel looked down at his hands. Sam decided that she was going to have to stop picking at his every move, because at this rate if she ever said anything the whole SGC would think that Captain Carter was obsessed with Colonel O'Neill. That would do no good for her career, no way. Time to chill. No looking at Jack – no, Colonel O'Neill damn it!

"Finally, one last thing before you can all go on your way." General Hammond wasn't done yet. "Dr Jackson, have you come up with anything on the plaque from P2Q-198 yet?"

"No sir, I'm afraid not. I'm sure that it is the same language as the mural on PX7-418, but other than seeing a correlation between Asgard and Oannes symbols I'm a little stuck." Daniel screwed his face up in concentration in that funny way he had, then continued. "Would you prefer me to focus on the translation from P3X-970 or this one sir?"

"Dr Jackson, since I don't think we'll be receiving a visit from the Ancients any time soon it should be safe to focus on this new project with Captain Carter," General Hammond turned back into a grandfather for a moment. "Ok people, you are dismissed. Go have some breakfast."

Just then, Colonel O'Neill's belly growled. Sam and Daniel looked at each other, eyes twinkling, and even General Hammond smiled a little.

"It's good to see that your injury hasn't dampened all your spirits, Colonel. Good day."

As one, Sam and Daniel rose. Colonel O'Neill – nice one Carter, you remembered – of course, could not. The General took his leave, and Daniel breathed a sigh of nervousness.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm shattered. There's no way I can do a full day's work on 2 hours' sleep today – not even if you feed me power bars from dawn to dusk!" The archaeologist ran his fingers through his hair in embarrassment. "I'm going to play catch up for a few hours ok? Jack – would you mind waking me up around 11?"

"Sure thing, Daniel – 11 o'clock. Go get some sleep, you deserve it."

Sam nodded and waved. "Get along, Daniel. And no more of that sludge you call coffee till midday, all right?"

Daniel grinned and opened the door for the pair of them, Sam pushing the Colonel's wheelchair again. "Yeh, yeh. See you both later."

The group split, one heading to his office and the remaining two turning towards the canteen. With any luck there'd be some food left, though at 0800 that was a slim chance. It would probably be toast and orange juice.

Trundling along, Sam noticed that the Colonel was paying an unusual level of attention to his surroundings – though he did return a hello to anyone who greeted him, including a young Airman who looked amazed that a Colonel would pay him any notice at all.

"What's the view like down there, Colonel?" she asked. An innocent enough question.

"Surprisingly different," came the reply. "It's strange what you notice when your eyes are at waist-level!" A pause. "I think that came out a bit wrong, don't you Carter?"

Trying hard to keep a giggle out of her voice, she affirmed the comment before turning left into the canteen – unusually empty now that the kitchens had closed.

"Damn, and there I was hoping for some bacon and eggs."

That comment was pure Jack O'Neill, and for a moment Sam felt heartened – and a little wary of herself. She hadn't realised that his sarcastic personality was such a cornerstone in her life these days.

Telling herself that it was merely respect for a senior officer, not emotional attachment, she pointed the wheelchair in the direction of the cereal barrels. "They still have Fruit Loops sir, all is not yet lost."

"That's affirmative Captain, and an excellent choice." Straining his head around to see her, the Colonel winked. "Full speed ahead!"

Shaking her head in amusement, Sam decided to just drop the nit picking. The man had a sprained ankle and was being pushed around in a wheelchair because he couldn't even handle crutches. Was it any wonder that he was out of sorts? And even if he had tripped up, everyone was allowed a mistake now and then.

It was time to eat breakfast, get back to the lab and continue working on Hemuset's artefact, and that was all there was to it.

Definitely.

Next chapter: The Imaging Chamber (!!!)