Here's today's chapter. I won't be updating because of Thanksgiving Break and plus I need to take a vacation from this fic for a while. My brain has been fried and needs to rest for a few days. But expect updates as soon as I get back.

I no own the stuff in this story.

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The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass...

What will be, and what is, may still yet fall under Shadow...

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...

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Jack stared in shock, his eyes wide. "S…Sam?" he whispered softly.

"It's really me," she reassured. "A bit worse for wear though."

"It is good to see you again Major Carter," Teal'c said with a smile. Hailey nodded in agreement, a smile on her face.

"An honor to meet you Major Carter," Jonas said, holding out his hand. "I'm Jonas Quinn."

"The guy that replaced Daniel, right?" she asked, shaking his hand.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

She smiled. "I know lots of things." She winced and eased herself back down.

"You can speak more with Samantha later. She needs to rest now. Out," the Wise One commanded.

"We're not leaving her side," Jack said. He folded his arms and glared at the white haired Wise One.

"Very well," she said. "But if you harm her, you will be sorry." The Aiel left the room, leaving Sulin and SG-1 alone with Sam.

"She speaks very highly of you," Sulin said, sitting easily on the floor.

"What was that thing that stabbed her?" Hailey asked.

"Their actual name is Myrddraal, but we call them Eyeless. They are fierce warriors with cursed swords. If we had delayed in getting Sam here she would be dead," Sulin said. "A tiny nick from their blade can kill."

"Some sort of poison covers the sword?" Jonas asked.

Sulin shook her head. "Their swords are forged in Shayol Ghul and no mortal smith crafts them. Not much else is known about how the Eyeless' swords are made."

"How long will she be out of it?" Jack asked.

"Several days," Sulin replied. "Few survive the cut of the Eyeless' sword."

"Why's that?" Jonas asked.

"The wound will not heal and eventually kill the person. The only way to heal these wounds is with the One Power," she replied.

"One Power?" Teal'c repeated.

"You must ask the Wise Ones for more information on that. Or Sam." The five fell quiet and kept a silent vigil over Sam.

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Sam opened her eyes and painfully pushed herself up. She looked down and noticed her wound had been dressed in clean white bandages. She lifted her head and glanced around the room. Teal'c was meditating off to the side and Hailey and Jonas were sleeping near Teal'c.

She turned and saw Jack sleeping behind her, his hand on his P-90 as if he had been keeping watch over her. Unable to stop the smile on her face, she rose slowly to her feet and hobbled out of the room. On her way out she picked up her staff. She walked up a few flights of stairs and onto the roof.

She lifted her gaze to the sky and smiled as the sun caressed her face. "Thanks for showing them the way Daniel," she whispered. A breeze picked up causing Sam to smile wider. As the breeze stopped Sam began to slowly practice the various Aiel fighting styles she had learned. Avoiding some of the moves that caused too much strain on her abdomen, a small layer of sweat began to gleam on her skin.

Back downstairs, Jack opened his eyes and looked down at Sam. He frowned when he saw the pallet empty. He rose to his feet and walked out of the room. Hearing wood thud on stone above him he made his way up to the roof. He stepped out of the stairwell and came to a halt as he saw Sam moving gracefully on the rooftop.

She came to a stop with her back to him. "Aren't you going to say hello?" she asked, turning to him.

"How'd you know I was there?" he asked, walking over to her.

She smiled. "One of the things the Aiel are known for is never being surprised by their enemy."

"You're not Aiel though," Jack pointed out.

Sam lowered her gaze. "Yes, I am," she said softly. She looked back up at him, the infamous Aes Sedai mask in place. "My mother was an Aiel."

"How's that possible?" Jack demanded.

"Thirty to forty years ago Ra came and took some of the Aiel. To make a long story short, my mother escaped with two of her fellow Maidens and a Tok'ra. The two other Maidens and the Tok'ra host died, my mother became the new host for the Tok'ra, they stole a ship and wound up on Earth from the damage that the guidance system had sustained during their escape. They couldn't get back to either of their respective planets so they adapted to Earth life," Sam explained.

"I'm expected to believe that?" Jack asked.

Sam shrugged. "That's what Daniel told me."

"Daniel visited you?" Jack asked.

Sam nodded. "A few weeks before you guys came through the Gate."

"So you're half alien then, huh?" he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Sam smiled faintly. "I guess so." She looked at Jack. "How is my father?"

"He's good. A bit closed off since your disappearance. Selmak mostly does the talking nowadays. As for Janet and Cassie they're both good. Cass ran into some trouble with Nirrti a month after you vanished, but it got worked out in the end," Jack said.

"I've missed so much," Sam murmured, easing herself down to sit.

Jack plopped down next to her. "Not all of its been good though," he said. "The Goa'uld have been kicking our asses…well…one Goa'uld in particular."

"Who?"

"Anubis. He's always one step ahead of us, clearing out his bases before we can target them."

"Maybe you have a spy in your midst," Sam suggested.

"We figured as much, but we don't know who. And to make matters even worse, Kinsey's running for President."

"Ouch," Sam said. "I can't believe someone hasn't killed him yet."

"Oh the rogue NID people tried. Even tried to implicate me in the process as well," Jack said.

"How?"

Jack smiled. "Remember those duplicator things? The rogue agents got a hold of them and duplicated the duplicators. One of them masqueraded as me while he tried to assassinate Kinsey. But thanks to Hailey, Teal'c, Jonas, and Barret they managed to catch the ones responsible."

"At least we don't lead dull lives," Sam said. She absently stifled a yawn.

"You tired?" Jack asked.

"Not so much, just worn out. How long was I asleep?" she queried.

"Three days. Hailey took your horse and went to the Gate with that Sulin woman to let Hammond know we found you. The Doc might be coming to make sure everything's cool with your injury," Jack said.

Sam smiled but it held no humor. "That hurt worse than any torture or test I've endured," she said softly.

"So, what's this One Power thing? Sulin mentioned that the wound you got wouldn't have healed without it."

"The One Power is magic," Sam said. "There are two parts to it."

"Lightside and Darkside?" Jack asked with a grin.

Sam giggled a little. "Almost, but neither side is good or evil. The One Power is most often represented with a yin-yang. The white half is called saidar; it's the half the women use. The male half is called saidin. There are few, if any male channelers though," she said.

"Why's that?"

"Many believe the male half to still be tainted from the Dark One. Men, and everyone else, are afraid that if they use saidin they will go insane and kill the ones they care about. So to be safe, no male channels."

"What about women?"

"There's a decent amount of them. Most known women channelers go to the White Tower and train to become Aes Sedai. Others, called wilders by the Aes Sedai, are looked down upon and are usually brought back to the Tower to be trained. There's at least one set of women channelers who don't go to the Tower to be trained."

"The Wise Ones, right?" Jack figured.

Sam nodded. "They teach themselves."

Jack chuckled. "This is something I never thought I'd hear."

"What?" Sam asked defensively.

"You talking about magic. What happened to science and practicality?" Jack asked her.

"I still believe in them, but magic is real too," she said.

"Oh really?" he asked.

Sam smiled suddenly and before Jack could blink he was upside in the air. "Really," Sam giggled.

"No giggling Carter and put me down! Gently!" he ordered.

Sam, still laughing, set him back down on the rooftop. "Believe me now?"

Jack made a face at her and rose to his feet, brushing himself off. "And here I thought you were injured," he grumbled.

Sam began to rise to her feet, but her wound spasmed and she doubled over, almost falling back down. Jack was suddenly there, pulling her to her feet. She looked up into his soft brown eyes and the dreams that she had of him came flooding back.

Jack stared into the blue depths of Sam's eyes, the carefully constructed barriers he had placed around his emotions for her crashing down. Without thinking he was suddenly kissing her passionately on the lips.

After a moment, he realized what he was doing and tried to pull away, only to become aware of Sam's arms wrapped tightly around him, as if she were afraid to let go. He lifted a hand and gently pushed her head away.

"Carter I…" he began.

"Say sorry and I'll dangle you upside down again," she threatened.

"We're officers in the same command Carter. We can't do this," Jack whispered.

"I'm not Air Force anymore Jack," she whispered softly. "I never reapplied to retain my position. Besides, I have a life here too now. I can't just abandon that. Even if I were still military, I'd have to be the liaison between Earth and this planet."

"I'm not leaving you here Samantha," he said.

"Then stay with me," she suggested. "For as long as you can." Jack looked into her eyes and could do nothing but hug her. Sam rested her head against his chest, a smile of contentment forming on her face.

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Hope you enjoyed it. Now please be kind and review. And Happy Thanksgiving/Holidays to everyone.