They reached the nuclear facility with just under five minutes to spare. As they opened the door of the suburban, Jack's temperature spiked and he fell to the floor, unconscious.
Teal'c gathered the limp colonel into his arms and raced into the building, Dr. Fraiser alongside him. Just then, something hit her as Sam ran up.
"Sam, your blood has naquadah in it."
Sam didn't even stop to react. She raced down the hall and was about to get onto the elevator.
"Major Carter! Don't you dare get on that elevator! Colonel O'Neill is sensitive to even traces of naquadah. You're one of those traces. I can guarantee that if you get on that elevator and go into that room, the bomb will detonate."
Sam stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"
"We don't know everything that Ba'al did to Jack in the couple of times that he had him in custody…he might have used a mind probe…he might have other technology…" Daniel said, trying to defend Janet's perspective.
"Get to the point, Daniel." Sam ordered.
"He probably found out how much you and Jack care for one another…and he made you the perfect catalyst."
"That's insane." She retorted.
"Is it? Think about it, Sam. When did Jack's temperature spike? When did he pass out? It was after you and he had been in close contact for over a half an hour." Daniel finished.
She took a deep breath, and as she did so, Teal'c stepped into the elevator. "I will stay with him. If he awakens, I shall be able to explain the precariousness of the situation to him."
"But, Teal'c, you have a symbiote…you can't stay with him anymore than Sam can." Daniel said, quickly.
"Then who's going to carry the Colonel?" Janet asked.
"Teal'c can carry him…he hasn't been in contact with Jack as long as Sam, and I'll stay with him in the chamber." Daniel finished.
Sam was crying as she looked at the limp Jack in Teal'c's arms, then she walked over to him and tenderly kissed his cheek. "Jack, if you can hear me…I love you."
She stepped out of the elevator. "I'm sorry!" She screamed as the elevator doors closed.
She kicked them over and over again until she turned around, and slid down to the floor, running her hands through her hair in frustration.
Janet was at a loss of how to help her friend, and it tore her apart to see Sam so distraught. "Sam, I'm sorry…"
Her words fell on deaf ears. Teal'c got on the intercom to announce that he was at that time on the elevator, and Janet breathed a small prayer of relief, but Sam showed no change beyond that of her grief and shattered dreams. Then, Sam just covered her face with her hands.
Suddenly, her watch beeped. Everything stood still for a moment. She stared at Janet who in turn stared at the intercom. Sam stood up, her tears abruptly stopped and went to the intercom.
"Daniel?" She asked, hoping that he was alive…that Jack was…
A lump caught in her throat when she received no answer, and she felt her face flush with repressed emotion.
"Daniel Jackson! If you can hear me, please respond!" She continued.
"Sam, we're still here." Came the breathy response of the archaeologist.
She started laughing with relief when she heard Jack's voice in the background. "Danny boy, I have to admit…I was expecting someone a little better looking."