Chapter Seven

She awoke to the sound of hushed whispers and scratchy sheets that seemed to claw at her. Groaning, she shifted in the bed and opened her eyes wearily. The sight that greeted her was two pairs of concerned eyes gazing down at her. "What happened?" Nicole asked her boyfriend and their doctor groggily.

"You collapsed in the hallway," Dr. Carolyn Lam told the woman as she checked Nicole's eyes for a concussion. "How have you been sleeping lately?"

Nicole coughed as she waved the doctor's efforts away with one hand and ripped the sheets off with the other. "I'm fine, Dr. Lam, really. It was just an emotional morning is all."

The doctor folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. "At least answer the sleep question before you go."

Rolling her eyes, the red head replied, "Yeah, so I've been having some trouble sleeping lately. Satisfied?"

"No. I've ordered a full set of blood tests to be done, and I'd like to do an MRI, if that's all right with you."

"An MRI? Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"

Dr. Lam accepted a clipboard from a nurse and shook her head no as she read the contents. "Before you came to the SGC, did you ever see a doctor?"

Nicole shook her head no. "Didn't need to. Besides, when your family is exploring deep space and there's hardly anyone else around, a doctor is a rare commodity to come by. My mother had a pretty good grasp on medicine, though. We were rarely ever sick."

"A pretty good grasp on medicine doesn't always cut it."

"I don't see what you're getting at. That was over a century ago. Qs don't get sick and they don't die. Why would I need a doctor?"

Sighing, the doctor placed the clipboard onto the bed and answered slowly, "You're not a Q right now, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. And anyway, Colonel Mitchell told me you were in contact with the new aliens today. I don't want to rule anything out."

Nicole turned to Cameron, her eyes pleading with him to get her out of a full day of medical tests. He smiled sadly and squeezed her arm affectionately. "We usually listen to our doctor around here. Please just humor her?" Sighing, she sullenly nodded in response.

After a full day of tests, Dr. Lam finally allowed Nicole to leave the infirmary until the test results came in. However, the woman gave Nicole strict orders not to return to work before it could be determined nothing was wrong with her.

As she walked along the corridor to the women's locker room, she was joined by a comforting presence. Feeling his hand slip into her hers, they fell into a an easy rhythm of walking side-by-side and silently enjoyed each other's company for a while. Finally she stopped by the door to the women's locker room and smiled sadly.

"Can't take you with me," she murmured softly.

He nodded as his hand slowly dropped out of hers. "I know. But I need to tell you something – something kind of secret. Can we go somewhere private?"

Surprised, she nodded and opened the door to the locker room gently, glancing inside. Finding it empty, she hurried her boyfriend in the door before she closed it softly behind them. "Okay, so I better not have done this just so we could make out," she told him sternly before they sat down on the bench in the middle of the room.

He shook his head no. "I wouldn't want to get you in trouble just for that. No, this is pretty big."

"Big?" she asked, confusion highlighting her features.

"Yeah, I need to ask you a favor. See, I think Sam has been compromised."

"Compromised? By who?"

"I don't know, but she's been acting very weird lately."

Nicole shook her head and replied, "I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary about how she's been acting."

"Just trust me on this one, okay?" he answered, anger creeping into his voice, and the look he was giving his girlfriend was unlike any she had seen before. "Even the general agrees with me."

"The general?"

"Yes. He asked me to get him a file off of Sam's computer. But I can't possibly crack the security code she had on it."

"Whoa, hold on a minute there, buddy," Nicole interrupted, placing a soft hand on her boyfriend's chest. "You want me to steal a file from Sam's computer?"

"The general wants you to."

She let out her breath slowly – she hadn't even realized she had been holding it, but the gravity of the situation had caught her completely off-guard. Standing, she went to her locker and leaned against the wall, letting it support her weight. Sighing, she covered her face in her hands and rubbed her closed eyes gently with her fingertips. "Dammit, Cameron, what is this about? Why is the file so important?"

He was beside her before she even realized he had left the bench and drew her into his arms. "I know this is hard, but I'm not allowed to disclose any more about the mission than I have already told you. Trust me when I say it is very important, otherwise you know I would never ask you to betray Sam like this. I just don't think we can trust her right now."

"Is she under alien influence?"

"I think so."

She took a few minutes to consider her options, but in the end she knew she was the only one capable to completing the mission that was presented to her. Coming to a decision, she replied softly, "Fine, I'll do it. Now get out so I can get changed."

The laptop sat on the desk humming quietly in its own little way. Nicole opened it slowly and quietly, wondering to herself why it intimidated her so much. It was, after all, just a machine, and she was good with machines. Still, it was so important to Sam that it was like an extension of the woman's body, an extension that Nicole felt like she was violating just by turning it on.

She could feel the guilt rip through her as she began to sift through its files, noticing several locked ones she didn't dare try to open. Until she came to the one she was searching for. It took several attempts to decipher the code the brilliant astrophysicist had used to lock it, but finally the former Q succeeded and began to download the file onto a disc, the guilt still eating away at her.

Just as the disc drive popped open and Nicole was telling the computer to shut down, there was the telltale sound of the door opening. Panicking, the red haired woman grabbed the disc and stuffed it into her pocket before the door opened, revealing a face she had grown accustomed to seeing every day. But instead of the usual cheer in seeing her friend, Nicole was filled with fear that her mission would be discovered.

Glancing up from her report, Sam noticed the other woman standing in her office and frowned slightly. "Nicole? What's going on? Do you need something?"

"Uh . . . no, I was just . . . um, wondering if Jack was coming for a visit this weekend. See, Dr. Lam told me to take some time off of work, I thought the four of us should do something together. But if he's not coming, then I mean, I suppose Cameron and I could do something or you and I could. Whatever's fine with me."

Sam smiled and placed the file onto her desk. "You're rambling again. Is everything all right?"

"What? Oh, sure, yeah, everything's fine. Just had medical tests done today. Not really thrilled at that sort of thing, you know?"

"I know," Sam replied, sitting on her stool and pressing the button to turn on the laptop computer.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going. It looks like you've got a lot of work to do. I'll just leave you to it," Nicole said, backing away toward the door.

The Air Force colonel raised her eyebrows at the red head and looked at her quizzically. "But you didn't even get your answer about Jack yet."

"Oh, that's okay. I can just catch you later."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Just then, the computer beeped, causing Sam to glance down at it and frown deeply. Nicole cursed mentally to herself, realizing the brilliant woman probably had a failsafe built into her computer, one that told her whenever a file had been downloaded and copied onto a disc. The former Q chastised herself for not thinking of it sooner.

"Nicole, were you looking for something on my computer?" Sam asked, her blue eyes staring coldly into Nicole's green ones. "Did you . . . take something?"

"She knows," a voice whispered in Nicole's ears. Startled, the woman turned to see her boyfriend standing behind her, his arms crossed and his expression stern. "You have to shoot her."

"What?" The redhead replied in a shocked tone, even though she had prepared for this possibility, the proof in the zat gun strapped to her ankle. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do that," she whispered through clenched teeth.

"Nicole?" Sam asked, obviously waiting for a response.

Bending down and ripping the velco as quietly as she could, Nicole replied as casually as she could, "Yeah, I was going to play a game while I waited for you, but couldn't crack your password to get on, so I just gave up and shut it down."

Disbelief in her voice, Sam answered, "You couldn't crack the password?"

"I'm sorry, Sam," the red head said simply.

"For what?"

"For this," Nicole answered as she hit the button to open the zat gun and fired before Sam could answer. As she watched the woman slump the ground, a tear escaped her eye and ran down her cheek. Brushing it away, she moved to the other side of the desk where Sam was lying on the ground unconscious. Squatting down next to the still form of her friend, Nicole brushed a few blonde hairs away from the woman's face and whispered hoarsely, "I am so sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Cameron asked as he came up behind her. "I don't even think that's the real Sam."

"What?"

"I think you should shoot her again, just to be sure."

Her eyes wide, Nicole stood up and quickly and backed away from the sight of her boyfriend leaning over the prone form of their friend. Gasping for breath, the woman raised the zat gun again, this time pointing it at the man in front of her. Her hands were shaking so badly from fear, panic, and guilt that she wondered if she could even pull the trigger again, but she kept the weapon trained on the man anyway. "Who the hell are you?"

"Come on, Nicci, it's me, Cameron. You wouldn't shoot the man you love, would you?" he asked, a cold smile settling on his features.

"You're not Cameron Mitchell."

"Oh, I'm not, am I?"

"Get away from me," Nicole hissed before running out the open office door, heading for the infirmary as fast as her legs would carry her.

Dr. Lam looked up when the red head came racing into the room, the zat gun still held precariously in her left hand. Standing up from her desk chair, she told the woman lightly, "You don't need to threaten me, Nicole. You can see your lab results."

The former Q collapsed into the chair opposite the doctor's desk and handed Dr. Lam her weapon. "Take it. I don't want to threaten you, Doc. I just want to know what's wrong with me."

"Wrong with you?"

"Yeah, please tell me there's something wrong with me."

Dr. Lam shook her head and sat down again, glancing at the open files before her. "The lab results came back negative. You're perfectly healthy. But we're still waiting on the MRI." Her eyes narrowed on the out of breath woman before her. "Why don't you tell me what you think is wrong with you?"

"I'm hallucinating. At least I think I am. That's the only explanation for Cameron's strange behavior."

"Colonel Mitchell? What kind of strange behavior?"

"He told me to kill Sam."

The doctor's eyebrows raised in surprise as she grabbed a pen and paper and began to jot down some notes. "Really? What makes you think there's something wrong with you? Have you considered Colonel Mitchell may have been compromised on a previous mission?"

"I'm beginning to get sick of the word compromised. First he told me Sam had been compromised and then he told me it wasn't even really her. It doesn't make any sense."

Dr. Lam considered this for a moment, chewing on the pen idly before responding, "Maybe they're working together. Have you told the general about this?"

"No, I came right here."

"Did you get the file of Colonel Carter's computer?"

When the question finally registered in Nicole's brain, her head jerked up and her green eyes were wide and fearful. "What?"

"Did you get the file?" Dr. Lam repeated, pen poised over the paper, ready to write. "It's not that difficult of a question."

"No. . ." Nicole began slowly, her eyes narrowing on the woman behind the desk. "Sam interrupted me."

"Well then don't you think you should go back and try again?"

"Is there a foothold situation I don't know about?" the red head mentally asked herself as soon as she left the doctor's office and shut the door securely behind her. "What is going on?"

Before she could react, a hard grabbed her arm and spun her around so that she was face to face with her attacker. "What do you think you're doing?" Cameron asked, his hands digging so deeply into her arms, she knew there would be bruises for weeks.

"You're hurting me," she stated with the least amount of emotion she could. "Please let go."

"Why are you questioning me? Don't you trust me?"

"Not when you ask me to kill one of my best friends, Cameron. Would you please let go of my arms?"

He released her, pushing her away from him with enough force to land her on the floor. "Where's the gun?" he asked, looking around as if it had dropped in the struggle.

"I left in Dr. Lam's office. What's going on, Cameron?"

"I already told you everything I could. Stop asking because you're not going to get anything else from me."

"Nicole?" Another voice reached her ears, this time belonging to a concerned woman. When she turned in the direction of the voice, she saw Sam coming toward her slowly, a zat gun poised in her two hands and confusion written all over her face. "Who are you talking to, Nicole?"

Looking back at the man who was standing menacingly above her, Nicole knew she had been right the first time: she was hallucinating. But in that case, who could she trust? Dr. Lam had obviously been the wrong choice. How did Nicole really know that it was Sam who was walking cautiously toward her? Or was it just another hallucination meant to trick her into a false sense of security before another bad thing happened.

But her options were limited at the moment, so Nicole made the most educated decision she could. Acting quickly, she swiped her leg out under the man before her, causing him to fall. Without a moment's delay, she jumped up and ran toward the blonde woman, hoping the gun wouldn't go off in the process.

Startled, Sam made her own split-second decision and pressed the button on the zat gun, causing the usual sound and discharge. Nicole slumped to the ground unconscious for the second time that day.

This time she awoke swearing and with a giant headache, but once again in the infirmary. Dr. Lam was by her side in moments, holding the red haired woman down and asking for a sedative. Nicole's eyes snapped open as she grabbed the doctor's arm forcefully. "No, please don't," she whispered.

"You're going to behave?" the doctor asked. "And watch your language in my infirmary?"

"Yes," the woman answered and pulled away, resting on the pillow behind her. "What happened?" she asked, desperately needing to know if the day she remembered had actually happened.

"You attacked Colonel Carter," Dr. Lam replied. "But I think I know why."

"Please don't use the word compromised."

This was met with a confused look, but the doctor shrugged and continued, "All right. You were under alien influence. The MRI we took showed unusual activity in a portion of your brain that sent up red flags to me. I think the aliens you came in contact with earlier today somehow formed a telepathic link with you and were trying to get you to fulfill some kind of mission."

"Is it still there?"

"No, everything is normal now. I think the stun from the zat gun disrupted whatever hold the aliens had over you. Do you have any idea what they wanted you to do?"

"My pants," Nicole croaked.

"What?"

Nicole took a deep breath and answered, "In my pants, there is a disc that one of my hallucinations told me to get from Sam's computer. I told another hallucination that I didn't get it, but I lied."

Dr. Lam moved to get the disc from her patient's pocket and held it in her latex covered hands. "You said you had hallucinations?" she asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, I think that's how the aliens were communicating with me."

Just then, two people walked into the infirmary and stopped by the bed occupied by a certain red haired woman. "So what's the prognosis, Doc?" Cameron asked with a smile and twinkle in his eye. Finding his girlfriend's hand, he squeezed gently in an effort to comfort her.

"Well, aside from what may feel like a massive hangover, I think she's going to be fine." Dr. Lam handed the disc to Sam and said, "I believe that's what you were looking for earlier, Colonel. Don't worry, I don't think Nicole meant any harm by taking it."

Sam took the disc and looked at it carefully. "Thanks," she answered before the doctor left the three friends alone. "Well, I'm headed back to my lab to find out what was so important you felt you had to zat me," Sam said as she patted Nicole's covered feet. "Get better soon so that you can show me how you bypassed my security network."

Nicole smiled and nodded before watching the blonde leave the infirmary. Cameron released his girlfriend's hand and moved to sit beside her on the bed. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he smiled as she snuggled in beside him, her arms snaking around him and pulling him closer.

She reveled in the feeling of having her real boyfriend next to her, holding her and somehow keeping the evil of the world out, even if only for a moment. Sighing, her head dropped onto his shoulder as she whispered, "I feel like crap, Cameron."

"Well, Dr. Lam said you'd feel like you have a massive hangover. Have you even had a mild one before?"

"Once, and we don't want to get into that story. But that's not the only way I feel badly."

Cameron nodded and began to stroke her hair gently, wrapping his free arm around his girlfriend, tucking her into his strong arms. "You mean you feel really guilty for shooting Sam?" She nodded into his chest, her eyes closing for a moment as she wished for the entire day to do over again.

"That's understandable," her boyfriend told her, genuinely trying to make her feel better.

She shrugged. "Did I ever tell you she reminds me of my mother?"

"Who? Sam?" Nicole nodded. "No, you haven't." They sat in silence for a few minutes before Cameron asked quietly, "Was your mom a blonde, too?"

Nicole giggled a little and shook her head. "No, actually her hair was more reddish-brown."

"Ah, is that where your red hair comes from?"

"I guess."

"Why does Sam remind you of your mom?"

"Oh, I suppose because my mom was a brilliant astrophysicist, too." Cameron looked over at her, his eyebrows raised in suspicion. "What? She was – only we don't call them astrophysicists in the 24th century. We just call them scientists usually."

"What did she study?"

"Deep space . . . actually we all kind of did. Didn't have another choice. Being stuck way out in the middle of nowhere with a spaceship that kept breaking down doesn't give anyone much of a choice. It was all my dad, brother, and I could do to keep the thing running."

"Teeny didn't help?"

"She was too young and too naïve. I started helping at a younger age because my father thought I had a knack for engineering."

Cameron smiled and nodded. "I can see that . . . so did you get along with your mom?"

Nicole nodded. "Famously. She was my role model. I wanted to be just like her."

"What happened to her?"

"She died. A few months before my father."

"I'm sorry."

Nicole shrugged. "I wouldn't have become a Q if they had lived."

"Was it a fair trade?"

She glanced up at him in surprise, but eventually let out a long breath and replied softly, "I don't know."

Cameron waited a minute before asking another question. "What were their names?"

"My parents?" He nodded. "Dr. Katelyn Roslyn and Kenneth Leah." He looked at her strangely. "What?"

"Didn't know you had last names in the future."

She laughed, the sound filling her ears and causing hope to stir in her. Nodding, she replied, "Yes, humans have last names in the future. Qs do not."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Maybe the act of removing our last name put distance between us and humanity."

He smiled down at her and leaned down to kiss her lightly. "A lot of good that did then," he said simply. "Changing the subject a little," he began, gauging her reaction before continuing, "What did you and Daniel talk about this morning?"

Losing her smile, her head dipped as she found a sudden interest in the pockets of his SGC uniform. "We talked about a lot. But if you're referring to the way I looked earlier, well, that's kind of complicated."

"He didn't say anything hurtful, did he?"

"Not really. But he did say some things that got me thinking. It's nothing you need to worry about. He just made me think, which isn't a bad thing, but what he made me think about was just unexpected."

Her boyfriend considered this for a minute before asking quietly, "He doesn't want to get back together with you, does he?"

The woman in his arms laughed a little at this, but shook her head vehemently no. "No, we've both moved on."

"Good."

"You don't have anything to worry about," she told him gently as she stretched a little to plant a small kiss on his cheek. "I'm still madly in love with you."

He looked down at her, the edges of his lips pulling upward. "You're madly in love with me?"

Rolling her eyes, she avoided meeting his gaze. "I forgot you didn't mention it earlier."

"Mention it earlier?"

"When I was hallucinating, you asked if I would really shoot the man I love. I forgot it wasn't you."

"You were hallucinating me?"

She nodded. "And you told me to kill Sam. That's when I knew it wasn't really you."

"I told you to shoot Sam?"

"Yeah, you should know better than telling me to shoot my best friend."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head sweetly. "I swear I'll never do it again. I'll just log it away with the other info you've told me. Don't ever tell Nicci to shoot your second in command, Cameron. Okay, got it."

"Thank you," she responded with a tilt of her head and a knowing smile on her face. "For making fun of me yet again."

"Oh, but you know it's done in love," he told her, once again leaning over to touch his lips to hers.