Sorry to keep you folks hanging on so long. I've been a little under the weather lately, but here is the next chapter for you to enjoy.

Thanks for all the reviews, and keep them coming…pretty please!

Danger Zone.

By Lingren.

Previously:-

"Oh!" Jack sighed with regret. There was something deep down inside him that sparked just a little flash of memory, Something that said he and this Sam were something more than team-mates, and more than they should be. But he must have been wrong, because she obviously meant more to this Daniel than she did to him.

Chapter 13

Jack sighed and shifted awkwardly in the bed. He was still sore and every movement was still hampered by stiffness and pain. He'd refused to be pumped full of drugs, even if they numbed the pain; he hated the effect they had on him. Right now he was still trying to figure out who exactly he was and what had happened to him. Yes, they, these Air Force people, had explained things to a certain point, but they weren't telling him everything he needed to know.

The door opened and he glanced up, scowling to see who it was that had dared to disturb his peace and his ruminating.

The woman stood on the threshold, hesitating to enter when she saw him scowl. As he took note of her blonde hair and her bright blue eyes, his scowl changed automatically into a small smile. Whomever she was she looked perfectly stunning, right from her long jean clad legs, up her slim curvaceous body to her beautiful face. She wore a white coat, but he couldn't see the obligatory stethoscope round her neck, so he gathered that she wasn't a doctor.

Her own smile broadened at the sight of him and she closed the door behind her as she stepped into the room and then walked up to the bed.

Jack watched her approach, trying to calm his body's reactions. She seemed to have an affect on him he couldn't explain. Was she his wife or something? he wondered. Girlfriend? He wished. There was something about her that drew him in like a fish on a hook. He hoped that they would get to know each other if they didn't already.

He pushed himself upright with an effort, grimacing with pain.

"Easy sir," she said, stunning him with her words.

"Sir?" he gaped. She was Air Force too?

Everyone so far had either called him Jack or Colonel, and now Sir. What was she to him and why did he feel attracted to her?

"You really should let Janet give you something for the pain Colonel."

"Nope. I'm okay," he gasped, fighting to push the pain away to the back of his mind. "So," he said, "and you are...?"

"Oh sorry sir. Major Samantha Carter, Colonel. I'm your second in command."

"Oh," Jack sighed. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She looked gorgeous but apparently, she and this Daniel had something between them, so she was spoken for.

"I won't ask how you are feeling sir. I can see for myself you are still very sore."

"Ya think?" he quipped, making Sam gulp rather sadly on hearing the normal and sarcastic words tumble from his lips so easily. He was still Jack after all, even if he didn't remember it.

A tense silence fell over them, neither of them knowing what to say.

She sat down in the chair and clenched her fists. She was angry with whomever did this to Jack. He obviously didn't know her, and it stung just a little bit. Sam forced the tears back and swallowed her emotions. Now wasn't the time to give anything away. Janet was adamant that he recall it all for himself. All she wanted to do was take him in her arms and kiss away the pain, but after the initial smile, he had seemed to back off with the revelation of who she was. Did he recall the regulations rather than their relationship? For now she would have to work with that until his memories came back, therefore she became Major Carter, rather than Sam Carter.

Her cell phone chose that moment to vibrate against her hip and she pulled it from her pocket, sending Jack a shy, apologetic smile.

"Sorry sir," she said, then put the phone to her ear. "Carter!"

Sam, I think I found something!

"Janet?"

Sam, you have to see this. I'm in the lab.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Sam snapped the phone shut and stood. She longed to take his hand in hers, or brush that silver hair from his brow, and place a kiss over those warm lips but she couldn't. He didn't remember her.

She bit her bottom lip and blinked away a tear, dropping her gaze from his and apologised for having to rush off.

"I'm sorry sir. I have to go. Something's come up. I'll be back later though." With that she hurried to the door, yanking it open. She hesitated in the opening, looking back; her eyes sad with longing.

Jack followed her with his eyes, holding her gaze as she turned to look at him. She offered him a small heart-rending smile. He studied her, expecting her to say something but she didn't. He did see something there though. A brief flicker of pain had clouded her eyes and there were one or two tears cascading down her face before she escaped his questions. He wanted to know why? He needed to know what had her so upset? Was there something more to her than he could recall? He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, trying hard to picture them from before.

OoOoOoOoO

"Janet? What's up?" Sam asked as soon as she entered the lab.

Janet had her lap top open and was looking at some blood samples she had stored on her files back at the SGC.

"Take a look at these Sam. Do you recall this?"

Sam stood, and looked over Janet's shoulder at the display on the screen.

"Should I?"

"You should do. Look closer," Janet urged.

Sam pulled the laptop closer and a little to the side to get a clearer view.

After a few moments she nodded.

"Yeah I remember. The Vorlex. Linea and her experiment that went wrong and screwed up the whole...community," she whispered, choosing her words carefully, so they weren't overheard by the other lab technicians.

"Exactly," Janet replied. "Now take a look at this!"

Janet jumped up from the stool and invited Sam to take a look through the microscope.

"Take a look Sam, and see if anything looks familiar to you!"

Sam settled herself on the warm stool and adjusted the focus on the lens to her eyes. She sat still for a few moments, looking hard at the sample in front of her.

"It's the same, but, there isn't the same number of micro-organisms as the other sample had." She sat upright with a puzzled frown. "Where did this come from?" she asked after a few moments.

"That's a blood sample from the Colonel. I took that when I first got here."

Sam's head shot round with surprise.

"It is?" she gasped, realising the implications.

"It's a weaker solution," Janet agreed, "but at least we know someone wanted him to forget what was going on."

"Wanted to make it look as if he was so drunk, he didn't recall raping Sharon Lloyd, or driving up here."

"Exactly! They wanted to make sure all right," Janet sighed, her anger simmering just below the surface, at what had been done to the Colonel. "No wonder he can't recall anything."

"But at least we can remedy that now Janet, can't we?"

"Damn right we can, but he may still not recall everything that went on while he was under it's influence."

"Do we have any of the antidote?"

"Just a few samples. I'll get onto General Hammond and have some flown here a.s.a.p."

"How did you know what to look for? What made you think about the Vorlex?"

"They said the Colonel couldn't recall anything about himself or what had happened around him, past or present. In a normal case of amnesia the patient can recall something, even if it's way back in the past, but the Colonel had nothing. It sort of started me thinking, so I looked this up, and hey presto!"

"It's a good thing too," Sam agreed wholeheartedly.

While Janet made the phone call, Sam peered into the microscope again, and thanked god that they had found the real problem. Once they had the cure, she only hoped the Colonel would recall what had happened to him; then they could set about getting to the bottom of this whole affair, and prove his innocence.

Sam knew full well the implications from this. There were only a handful of people that knew about the drug that Linea had created so that should narrow the field down substantially. She also knew that now would also be the most dangerous time for all concerned. With the Colonel's memory restored, would he know who it was behind his kidnapping and the rape. But then, Sharon had insisted that it was indeed the Colonel who had raped her. How? She still couldn't believe he had done it, unless they had drugged him up so much he really didn't know what he was doing.

The whole logistics of the Colonel's ordeal was a nightmare, but one which Sam hoped to put an end to as soon as she and the others could. How would he face everyone if he did actually recall raping the young woman? Knowing him for an honourable man, she knew it would devastate him to realise he was responsible for doing that to her. How would she feel towards him if it were true?

"Sam? You okay?"

Sam jumped a mile when Janet tapped her on the shoulder, her thoughts were miles away. She looked down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap.

"One way or another Sam, I know he's innocent. Colonel O'Neill would never behave in that manner. We just have to trust our own judgement and hope we can get to the bottom of this, and expose the real criminals here."

Sam nodded, and gave her friend a brief hug.

"Thanks Janet."

Janet hugged her back, happy to know they were well on their way to gaining the Colonel's freedom. Though his reputation in the eyes of the public because of all the publicity the case had generated may take a little longer to put right.

TBC