Author's notes: italics denote dreamstate or person on other end of phone/radio conversation; also there is some language and violence

He was terrified! He had no idea what he was really getting himself into! Only he was a soldier. He had to be strong and brave and not allow his fear to consume him or be reflected in his demeanor.

Looking down at an elderly woman with white hair, he couldn't understand why he was so afraid. She appeared frail and near death as she lay on the table before him. Nothing of a threat towards a man like him. Yet, he was terrified.

Despite his fears, he felt compelled to do what she asked of him.

He lay down beside her. She asked him to kiss her. He thought she was joking. But the look in her ancient eyes told him she was serious, so he leaned in to kiss her.

Something jumped out of her mouth and wiggled down his throat! He couldn't breathe! Shit…he couldn't even cry out for help!

Jake woke up gasping for air and clutching his throat! The sensation was still there, as if something was trying to force its way through the back of his throat. He choked and gagged, scrambling to get out of the car. Air…he need air! The feeling of not being able to breathe scared him and being inside the car made him feellike he was being suffocated.

Frantically he tore at the door handle until the door finally opened and Jake fell out of the car into a large puddle. He lay there for a few moments, gasping for air, not caring that the rain or the puddle was soaking his clothing. In those moments, the strange sensation at the back of his throat went away and his heart rate slowly decreased.

When he finally got to his feet, Jake stood with his face towards the sky. The rain poured down so hard that it stung his skin on impact but it felt good. Glancing around, he saw the rest area was deserted and his was the only car. Only he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone. He was being watched. Jake's dark eyes narrowed and he took in his surroundings more slowly.

"Relax Jacob. You have nothing to fear," an almost angelic voice said to him.

He whirled around to see who was talking to him. Only no one was there. He was completely alone. There was only the sound of the rain.

"Nope…try again!" the voice teased.

Jake whirled around again only to find the same result…he was still alone. This time distant thunder rumbled through the sky.

Laughter! Mischievous laughter! And it sounded very much like a woman's laugh too! Only Jake couldn't figure out where it was coming from.

"Jacob…you always could make me laugh!" she giggled.

"Who are you?" he asked even though he felt like he was losing his mind.

"Jacob, you know who I am!"

"No…I don't!"

More devilish laughter!

"Jacob…I'm Selmak!"

Now Jake knew he was losing his mind. What kind of name was Selmak? It wasn't human, Jake was certain of that much.

"You're not crazy," Selmak told him.

"SHUT UP!" he shouted covering his ears.

"You know better than anyone that I can't be shut up!"

"You're a figment of my imagination brought on by exhaustion!" he countered, running into the men's restroom.

"No, I'm not…"

"My mind's playing tricks on me," he told himself as he quickly grabbed some paper towels to dry his face.

"Jacob…your mind isn't playing tricks on you…I'm in your head. Or more accurately, I'm inside your brain."

Jake ignored the voice staring down at the sink drain.

"YOU'RE NOT REAL!" he shouted gripping onto the sink.

Again, the woman's laughter filled his mind.

"You cannot ignore me forever," she teased in a playful tone.

That may be true, but Jake was one stubborn son of bitch. One tired son of a bitch too. He slowly looked up into the mirror and saw the dark circles under his eyes. His hair had gotten thicker and his beard was in desperate need of a trim. And he really could use a shower.

"Peek a boo!" Selmak hooted as Jake's eyes suddenly glowed. "I can SEE you!"

"Holy Shit!" he shouted stumbling backwards.

A horn sounded!

Jake snapped his eyes open.

"That was weird," he laughed to himself, shaking off the remnants of his dream.

Yawning and stretching, Jake's senses quickly became attuned to his surroundings. He felt a chill in the air from the winter cold, even inside the car, and was glad he covered up with the sleeping bag. Although he had wished for a bed because then he could have at least stretched his long legs instead them being cramped as he lay on the back seat of the car. The sound of the cars flying by on the highway was more frequent than before. Sitting up, Jake could see that the sun was going to make its appearance soon with the first signs of dawn on the horizon. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he had slept for only three hours.

He had to sleep. Especially when he had almost dozed off while driving. His body had finally reached a point where the coffee wasn't helping. He had needed rest and he didn't want to risk injuring himself or others. So he had pulled into the rest area in the middle of the night.

Jake slowly got out of the car, putting his jacket and his boots on. He didn't feel like lacing the boots up yet, so he didn't. After another good stretch and yawn his body was more awake. The need to answer the call of nature was more demanding. He made his way to the restroom the rest area had provided. Only two other vehicles were parked, a camper and a pickup truck. There were no signs that the occupants had awakened. And when he entered the restroom, it was deserted, so he quickly went about his business.

Once his bladder was emptied, Jake started to wash up at the sink. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He suddenly was overcome by the feeling that he wasn't alone.

"Hello!" he called out, after he turned around.

There was no response. Bending down, Jake saw that no one was in the toilet stalls. He even pushed each door open to make sure.

"It must have been that dream," he whispered to himself as he returned to the sink.

After washing and drying his hands and face, Jake took a long look at himself in the mirror. He still felt like he was staring at a stranger. The bruise on his cheek had a nice purplish shade to it and the area was only little swollen. The cut on his left eyebrow had sealed nicely so he didn't bother replacing the bandage. Lifting up his shirt, he saw that his ribs were a dark shade of black and blue. At least they were only bruises and the pain reliever Mark had given Jake helped with the aches. His hair was getting thicker and his beard did need a trim to make it look neater but he didn't feel like dealing with either one right now.

Leaning closer, he stared directly into his own dark eyes. He had circles under them. But his eyes didn't glow. He half expected them to just like in his dream. It was almost like…they were supposed too, like it was a normal thing to do.

That was a strange feeling. It was normal for his eyes to glow?

"Why would they do a thing like that?" he asked, laughing at himself for thinking of such nonsense.

His stomach gurgled bringing him back to the task at hand. He had only been asleep for three hours. Those three hours were more than enough. He was refreshed. He still had some time before it was suitable to go knocking onGeorge's door. Plus, his stomach was begging for some real food and his body was craving for some coffee!

So, Jake drove around until he found a breakfast diner about twenty minutes from his intended destination. During his meal, Jake went over what he was going to say to this George when he saw him. Everything he thought of sounded so ridiculous.

How do you ask a good friend for help when you can't remember him and when he probably wouldn't recognize you?

"Another refill?" the waitress asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. Can I also have some coffee to go please?" he asked, looking up at the waitress.

"Sure thing, Mister," she smiled.

Jake smiled politely back before returning to his internal thoughts. In a way, Mark gave Jake a good cover story. He could use the idea of being Jake Carter, Jacob's son to at least get his foot in the door with this George fellow. If not, Jake did have a number of weapons at his disposal that could prove useful. But he was hoping it wouldn't come to that.

At some unknown location, in a major metropolitan city in the United States, a tank was occupied by full-grown symbiote. It was swimming lazily around while a man wearing a white lab coat stood nearby, observing and reading the instrument gages for the tank.

Behind him was a hospital gurney with restraints on it. The gurney was vacant and appeared ready for occupancy. And it was the only other item in the room other that the tank, the symbiote and the man.

A door to the room opened and a middle-aged gentleman wearing a charcoal gray business suit slowly strode in. There was a confidence or arrogance in his steps as he walked over to the tank.

"How is our guest?" he asked without even acknowledging the man in the lab coat.

"Anxiously awaiting its new host," the man smiled gleefully.

"Well, that shouldn't be too much longer. Our team has located General Carter. He should be picked up momentarily."

"Do you want me to begin preparation for implantation?"

"No," the business said as he turned to face the man in the lab coat. "Carter is in Houston, at one of Hammond's old addresses. Seems Carter still hasn't regained all of his memories yet."

"The symbiote should have no difficulties accessing all Carter's memories once the implantation is complete. However, the less damage to the host's body the better. The symbiote hasn't fully recovered from the extraction process from its previous host."

"Yes…an unfortunate sacrifice," the businessman sighed. "But we need the information contain within Carter's head. This will all be for not, if he didn't retain any of his symbiotes memories. The secrets that Tok'ra held could help us greatly."

A cell phone rang.

"Ah!" the businessman smiled, quickly reaching inside his coat. "That should be our team now! I told them to inform me immediately after Carter was secured."

The house was in his sights and Jake had a tingly feeling at the back of his neck. Only it wasn't some warm and fuzzy feeling. This feeling was what one gets when the hairs stand on end much like a dog's hackles when sensing danger. It was such a strong feeling that he almost pulled the gun out from inside his jacket.

He had left the car about three blocks south of his intended destination before making a round about jaunt for an hour or so. The idea being that no one would know from what direction he actually came from. At the time, Jake thought he was being too paranoid. But as he got closer to the house that gut feeling of his kicked in and he was glad for taking such precautions. And glad he did have the gun within his reach.

With a slight turn of his head, to confirm what he heard, his peripheral vision caught sight of a black four door sedan with no visible plates on its front bumper. They must have only arrived because he didn't walk past it and it didn't show up until he was about six houses from George's house. Whoever was in the vehicle was after him because they continued to slowly follow him down the street.

As Jake had walked the surrounding neighborhood, he did recognize some things. However, there were too many changes. All of which led him to believe that he and George had once lived in this area long ago.

But, if George didn't live here now, how did these people know where Jake would be?

Even before Jake finished asking himself the question, the answer became very clear. They, whoever they are, figured out that he was looking for George! This put Jake at a disadvantage because he couldn't remember all of the places George had lived. Which in turn, meant that if they knew Jake would possible be coming here then…

Jake heard the distinct click of a car door being opened. Without hesitation, he took off running down the nearest driveway. The backyard didn't have a gate to hinder him from sprinting towards the back wooden fence. He just prayed as he scrambled up the fence that the alleyway was still there!

It was! There were even trashcans lined up like he remembered! They were different looking trashcans but still served the same basic purpose. Luckily Jake was nimble enough to quickly push off the fence and avoid the row of cans below him. As he raced down the alley he heard those same trashcans getting knocked around.

After daring a quick glance, Jake saw a man a black business suit struggling to get to his feet. At the same time, another man appeared at the top of the fence. He quickly climbed over and avoided his partner's mistake. With two men chasing him Jake knew he might not be able to out run them both but he was going to try!

This time, he used the top of a closed trashcan to jump over the next fence. The sight of a dog's house made Jake run a little fast. There was no need. He was already going so fast that the dog barely had a chance to react to Jake's presence. However, the dog didn't miss his chance with the other guys because Jake could hear it barking and growling, along with a lot of cursing and shouting, as he tore across the front yard.

Not waiting to find out if he was still being followed or not, Jake hurried as fast as he could down the street. He made it about two blocks before he realized that he made a mistake. Only it was too late to do anything about it when he heard the sound of brakes screeching!

Bryce prided himself on being one of the best and most experienced drivers the Company employed. He could stick to a target like a fly on shit during a high-speed pursuit or he could elude anyone trying to follow him. He always preferred having his hands on the steering wheel instead of the handle of a gun. Guns made him nervous whenever he had to handle one. But a car…he loved cars, trucks…whatever.

So the Company paid him for his driving skills and sent him on their most important tasks. This task was a routing snatch and grab. It was Bryce who first spotted the target having studied many photographs of the man. He didn't see anything special about this guy. But then Bryce wasn't paid to think.

That was Vince's job. He was in command of this operation and had been on several others. Bryce trusted him like a brother, as did many of the Companies men. He sat shotgun and had quickly used his cell phone the moment they spotted the target.

"Bryce, slow down," Vince ordered and Bryce immediately did as he was told.

"Did you see that!" Bryce said, after noticing the target turn his head just a tad.

"See what?" Owen asked from the passenger seat in the back.

"Shit! He knows where here!" Vince said. "Let's go!"

Before Vince even had he door opened an inch the target took off running!

"Owen! Go! Bryce, stay in radio contact!" Vince ordered, as he jumped out of the car.

After Vince and Owen left the vehicle, Bryce made a quick U-turn. In his experience when a target was on the run they usually ran in the opposite direction the car was facing. His intuition was confirmed when Owen informed the team that the target was running Northwest down an alleyway.

Bryce slowed to await further information but kept going on a Northwest heading.

"Target's continuing Northwest on Prairie St!" came Vince's voice over the radio and in the background Bryce heard what sounded like a dog barking and Owen's cursing.

He didn't hesitate and sped up. After making a left turn, he realized the length of the block was longer than expected causing him to speed up even more. If he was going to cut off the target's route Bryce needed to be at the intersection.

Only problem was that the target was faster than Bryce anticipated. By the time Jacob Carter came flying out from the row of parked cars, Bryce knew he wasn't going to be able to stop in time. But he pressed hard on the brakes anyway. He had no choice! His job depended on it.

They were given specific instructions to not harm this Jacob Carter. Not even one scratch! Bryce simply cringed in his seat and watched helplessly as Carter's body cracked the windshield then tumbled over the roof of the car.

The moment the car stopped Bryce jumped, praying he didn't inflict too much damage. As he neared the back of the car he pulled out his gun. He was quite aware how Carter single-handedly incapacitated a Special Forces team. So he wasn't taking any chances, despite the fact that Carter was face down and not moving on the street.

Bryce had that sinking feeling in his gut. He knew he was in big trouble.

"What the hell were you doing?" Vince demanded breathlessly as he arrived to the scene.

"He just came out of no where!" Bryce replied as Vince hurried to the body. "Is he alive?"

"How the fuck should I know! I'm not a doctor!" Vince snapped, reaching to check Carter's pulse.

One look on Vince's face and Bryce knew he was a dead man. The Company he worked for didn't tolerate failure on this level. For other companies, failure meant termination of employment or a reprimand. For the Company, this kind of a screw up meant termination of one's life. And it wouldn't be a quick and painless death. Bryce had been witness to a few of his colleagues' executions. Nothing more painful than getting your brain slowly scrambled by a golden ray of light from a hand device!

The fever hadn't dropped any, despite all of Brightman's efforts. It wasn't at any dangerous level but it had been constant since her last seizure. All Sam could do was sit with Selmak. It was all any of them could do until Sam's father showed up.

But all this waiting only made Sam worry more. Worry for her father because no one knew where he was. And worry for Selmak. Through Selmak, Sam not only learned more about her father but also about her mother. Selmak seemed desperate to share the knowledge she contained in her head and she was desperate to reiterate how sorry she was.

Sam took it upon herself to remain with Selmak as much as possible. She even brought Mark in to see her while the girl had been sleeping. Sam didn't tell Mark who the girl actually was. He just seemed so excited about the idea of having a baby sister that Sam didn't want to take that away from him. Besides, technically, Selmak was their sister and still would be when all her memories were gone, so Sam didn't feel bad for keeping all of the truth from him.

"Jacob!" Selmak suddenly shouted, waking from a deep sleep.

"Shh, it's alright," Sam cooed, quickly sitting on the bed beside her. "You were having a bad dream."

"You have to find him. He's in trouble. I know it! The man can't stay out of trouble for more than two minutes without me!" Selmak said as Sam gently laid her back down.

"We're doing the best we can right now," Sam smiled. "We will find him. Plus, my father did survive all those years before he blended with you. Just have a little faith in his abilities."

"I'm just so worried about him," the girl sighed, turning onto her side, facing away from Sam.

"You loved him, didn't you?"

Selmak turned to look at Sam.

"Of course. I loved all my hosts," Selmak said earnestly. "I was their protector, their teacher. I gave them guidance and nurturing when they needed it while they provided me with a warm place to live comfortably," she turned away, speaking more softly. "Only with Jacob…I have never caused so much harm to any of my previous hosts or their families as I did to him. I deserve my punishment."

"Is it really so bad being his daughter?" Sam countered. "I can understand being upset about losing your memories. But my father is a responsible man. He takes care of his family. He never struck Mark or myself no matter how bad we were. Hell, he didn't have too. He could just sit there and give me that stare without saying a word and I would confess everything before he sent me to bed without supper. But then later on he would always bring me a light snack before I fell asleep. You have made me take a long look and realize that, while my father wasn't the most affectionate man, he was always there for my brother and me. I had forgotten about all those times I was sick and he was there. When I needed money for those science books or magazines I wanted to read he always gave it to me. He even got me into NASA!"

"Yes, I recall how hurt he was when you turned his offer down," Selmak said sadly.

"I couldn't tell him about…"

"Yes, Sam. You could have told him. He knew how top secret your work was. He wouldn't have told a soul if you had told him about the Stargate program then. He was your father and you should have told him something."

Sam sighed, turning away. A small hand grabbed hold of hers.

"But that was my opinion Sam," Selmak smiled. "Your father was proud of you no matter what kind of 'geek' you turned out to be. He loved you. I made sure he told you that whenever he was on Earth."

Sam laughed softly as someone knocked on the door and it opened.

"Hi Sam," Daniel smiled, after coming in. "I've come to sit with Selmak."

"But it's not your turn," Selmak said.

"No, but Sam is needed else where," Daniel said seriously.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, getting to her feet.

"There's an Agent Barrett here to see you in the briefing room," he replied. "He said he has information about Jacob."

"Shouldn't I be there too? Any information about Jacob directly relates to me!" Selmak said insisted and was even trying to get off the bed.

"No, sorry, Selmak," Sam ordered, making the girl lay back down. "Dr. Brightman wants you to rest. I…"

"But it's so boring in here! Not that I find your company boring, Sam or yours Dr. Jackson. But I hate being cooped up!" Selmak whined and tried to use those baby blues to get her way. "There aren't even any windows!"

"Sorry, I'm not falling for the act any more," Sam smiled. "I promise, I will be back and tell you everything!"

"You had better!" Selmak pouted. "Bring some Jell-O back too!"

With the promise of coming back with Jell-O, Sam was able to leave Selmak in Daniel's capable care. Selmak actually liked it when Daniel was there because the two would talk in Ancient Egyptian. And Sam thought it best to make Selmak feel as comfortable as possible.

On her way down to the briefing room, Sam was wondering if she should take Agent Barrett's presence as a good sign or a bad sign. The moment she saw him, Sam decided it was a bad sign because the man had his left arm in a sling and he had two black eyes that resulted from his nose having been broken. If all that wasn't enough to convince her, the look on Jack's face was.

"Colonel Carter, it's nice to see you again," Barrett smiled. "Congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you," Sam replied politely.

"Just, tell her what you told me," Jack said, sounding very much annoyed.

"Right, as you're aware Colonel. The NID tried to pick up your father…"

"Isn't 'attack' a more accurate word to describe what you did?" Jack interrupted.

"Actually, General Carter attacked my partner and me!" Barrett countered.

"But you admit you were there to take my father into custody," Sam said.

"Yes, but for his protection. We had no idea the Air Force had even sent a team in to extract him!" Barrett explained.

"What about grilling an innocent cop, the nurses, and doctors?" Jack growled. "They told our people that men in business suits already had questioned them before the Air Force had a chance."

"That wasn't us," Barrett said honestly. "My partner and I flew out to San Diego and headed straight to Mark Carter's house."

"The Trust," Sam simply stated.

"Yes, apparently they want whatever information your father has in his head. They believe he may still contain the memories of his symbiote. They're even aware that Selmak is here at the SGC."

"Selmak?" Jack replied, trying to play coy.

"General O'Neill, we are well aware of the little girl's presence here on Earth. I'm here to inform you that the Trust may go after her if they don't get their hands on General Carter."

"Wait a second…how do they even know all this and how do you do as well?" Sam asked.

"We have a operative within the Trust. His job is to identify the mole within the Joint Chiefs," Barrett answered, then added. "We're under instructions from the President to find this person so that we may eliminate any of the surviving members of the Trust once and for all."

"The kid would be useless to them anyway, she's losing all her memories," Jack said.

"That may be…" Barrett started but was interrupted by his cell phone. "This is Barrett."

After a few moments Barrett let out a short sigh then quickly hung up his phone. Sam didn't like the look on the agent's face and knew she was going to like his response even less.

"The Trust has located your father," he said sadly.

Sam simply sat down and closed her eyes.

"What do we do now?" Bryce asked nervously. "Where's Owen?"

"You'll be with him momentarily," Vince replied, getting to his feet.

"I'm deep shit!"

"Yes, you are," Vince said as shoved his gun into Bryce's chest.

He barely had a chance to be surprise before Vince pulled the trigger killing Bryce instantly. The silencer muffled the sound, so no one else heard the gun shot. After the body fell at his feet, Vince slowly pulled out his cell phone.

"This is Agent Williams, pass-code 41539 Tango Charlie Delta," he said.

"Code has been verified. Please state your name for voice recognition."

"Vincent Travis Williams."

"Voice recognition confirmed. Please activate your location transmitter…now."

Vince pressed a button on his watch.

"Transmitting now."

"We're picking up the signal. Please hold while your call is being transferred," the operator told Vince.

There was a click and Vince only had to wait a moment.

"This is Harrington, how can I help you Agent Williams?"

"I need a cleanup crew," he informed his superior as he walked back towards Carter's body.

"How many victims?"

"Two dead."

"Has the informant been identified?"

"Yes, Sir. But I've done one better!" Vince smiled, as he double-checked Carter's pulse. "Something that's going to piss off those flyboys in DC…I have General Carter!"

"Excellent! Your last transmission only told us the Trust had located him."

"I made sure I was part of the team sent to pick him up, Sir," Vince replied, standing back up and glancing around the neighborhood.

"How is Carter?"

"He needs medical attention, Sir. His pulse is strong and steady but he's unconscious."

"Understood. A clean up and extraction team will be there in fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes, thank you, Sir."

As Vince was putting his cell phone away, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye…the moment before everything went dark.

He blacked out. The last thing Jake could remember was hearing the sound of screeching brakes just before he hit the windshield of a car. Then hefelt a hand on his neck while a man was talking.

Jake dared not move and actually held his breath. He didn't know who this person was. One of the men chasing him was all Jake could assume. But he found it odd that the man's voice was the only one he heard.

"Something that's going to piss off those flyboys in DC…I have General Carter!"

'DC…How could I have been so stupid?' Jake thought to himself as heard the man walk away a few steps. 'That's where George is!'

Taking a chance, Jake lifted his head to see a dead blonde haired man on the ground and a black man talking on his cell phone. His back was to Jake, so he quietly got to his feet as the man continued talking.

"He needs medical attention, Sir. His pulse is strong and steady but he's unconscious," the man said as Jake pulled the gun out of his jacket. "Fifteen minutes, thank you, Sir."

After getting two quiet steps closer, with the gun raised, Jake struck the man down before he had a chance to turn completely around. The action of swinging his arm forcibly caused a pain in Jake's shoulder and in his already sore ribs.

Only Jake didn't have the luxury of letting the pain get the better of him right now. He had fifteen minutes before more of these people would show up. He started running in the direction where he had left Mark's car. By the time he reached it, every muscle in his body ached. Even his bones felt like they were hurting. His shoulder wasn't getting any better and Jake realized that it was dislocated. It was going to have to wait until he could tend to it. Right now he had to get out of Houston. Jake quickly headed for the nearest Highway, not caring which direction it would take him.

An hour and seventy miles later, Jake finally pulled over and stopped at a gas station. He was able to lock the bathroom door so he could be alone when he removed his jacket and shirt. Looking in the mirror, he confirmed that his shoulder was out of place. He could also see more bruises beginning to show but at least nothing was broken. With no alternatives, Jake gritted his teeth as he slowly began to raise his arm.

When the joint popped back into place Jake felt so relieved. The pain didn't completely disappear but was much more bearable. He wanted so much to just lay down sleep! He was mentally and physically exhausted. Not to mention, he could really use a shower now after sweating so much!

The only thing helping Jake at the moment was that he knew exactly where he had to go. So, the bathroom's sink worked good enough to clean up in. At the car, Jake put on a clean shirt before putting his jacket back on, popped four Advil in his mouth, packed a couple of sandwiches into the backpack, grabbed as much ammo for the handgun that he could carry, and grabbed all the money Mark had given him. He even pulled a few photos from the photo album and put them in his jacket pocket. Everything else he stuffed into the trunk before he locked the car up.

With the keys in a pocket of his backpack, Jake headed down the road where he spotted truck stop near a diner. He didn't trust taking the car anymore. He was resourceful and would find another means of getting where he wanted to go.

And he did. After asking around he found a trucker who could take him to Chicago. That was fine with Jake. He had no intention of heading in a straight line to DC. Once in Chicago, Jake would pick a place to go from there. He wasn't going to allow his guard to go down at all. He didn't care if he had to stay awake for a week! He was determined to get his answers and not get caught!