Chapter 2

Lam heard her medical assistant enter the lab but didn't look away from the microscope. He cleared his throat.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Doctor... Was it Colonel Carter that wanted us to retest SG-1's last blood samples?"

"Yes. She was worried they'd picked up something on their last mission and called last night to ask me to retest. Personally I think she's being a little hypochondriac."

"No, she isn't, Doctor Lam," he replied, his voice tight and strained.

Lam looked at him. "What did you find?"

"Doctor Jackson's blood has a virus in it. As soon as I found it I put it in a contamination unit."

"His blood was clean when I checked it seventy-two hours ago."

"I read your report, ma'am, but it isn't clean now. He's carrying a virus and we don't know if it's contagious to other humans or not. He needs to be put in quarantine."

Lam got up and made three steps across the room to a phone. She glanced at her watch as she reached for the receiver. Her hand froze on it.

"Is something wrong?"

Lam yanked the receiver up. "General O'Neill's wedding started ten minutes ago. Daniel will be in a church full of people." Lam dialed a number and waited. "Come on, dad, answer."

Carter slipped through the door into the room. She quietly closed the door behind her, staring at the woman in the center of the room. The woman's wedding gown fell from her golden brown shoulders and flowed down her body to the floor. Her veil sat in a chair next to her, trailing off of it to the floor. She was trying to fix two buttons on the lower part of her dress with her body turned as far as it could.

"Let me help you," Carter said, walking up.

She smiled at Carter.

"You look gorgeous," she told Carter. "I'm glad you talked me out of making you wear that dress. You look so confident in your dress uniform."


Carter smiled, but she didn't feel it. This woman, Kimberly Hurst, would be Mrs. Jack O'Neill in another forty minutes. Carter had met her four times since O'Neill had called and announced his engagement, but it wasn't until that morning that the reality of it sunk in. O'Neill was actually going to be married to a woman half his age in twenty minutes. It also meant that her unrequited feelings would forever remain unrequited.

Carter thought back to the day O'Neill called her about the engagement. He and Kim had taken a vacation to Mount Kilimanjaro and he'd proposed to her at the summit. He called Carter as soon as he got back to the States and she couldn't recall a time she had ever heard him so excited. The next thing she knew, Kim was asking her to be her aid of honor opposite Daniel – a strange request Carter thought, but she agreed anyway. Now it felt as if the last six months had passed quickly and she suddenly found herself helping O'Neill's bride button up her dress.

"Thanks," Carter replied.

With the buttons finished Kim turned to the full-length mirror. She put her hand on her stomach, smiling.

"It doesn't get easier no matter how many times you get married."

"You've been married before?" Carter asked.

She blushed, looking down. "Yes, and I still have butterflies."

"How many times before Jack?"

Kim started to reply but a knock cut her off. Both women looked at the door.

"Come in," Carter called.

The door opened and Daniel poked his head in. "Are you two about ready?"

"Almost," they answered in unison.

Daniel looked at Kim and his smile melted away. He looked down.

"Is something wrong?" Kim asked. Her voice was fragile, like she was about to cry.

"No. No. I'll go let the minister know." Daniel disappeared.

As Kim sat down a tear slid down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" Carter sat in the chair next to her.

Kim smiled at her. "It's my wedding day. Aren't I supposed to be an emotional disaster waiting to happen?"

Carter laughed. Kim was much like her soon-to-be-husband in that she could keep her humor regardless of the situation.

"Yes, but is that why?"

Kim's smile wafted away. "Two days ago was the first time I have ever met Daniel and he doesn't seem to like me. I mean, I don't expect all of Jack's friends to like me, but... I at least want to carry on a civil conversation with his closest friends."

"He hasn't been civil?"

"Yes, but... He's been avoiding me like I was diseased or something. And he keeps thinking I'm saying all these things about him but I'm not. I may have thought a few, but I would never say things about him."

"Like what things?"

"Well... Like last night at the rehearsal dinner he kept cutting me off. I thought about how rude that was, that I couldn't even finish a sentence. And he turns to me and says he wasn't being rude, he didn't realize I was trying to talk. I never said anything, Sam, I just thought it. And it wasn't the first time. It's like he's psychic or something."

"He's not psychic." Carter sat back, her mind adding, 'But that explains why he's been so distant the last two days and I'm sure whatever happened to him on PX9 3G5 may have made him psychic.'

"Sure acts it."

Someone knocked and this time General Hammond poked his head in.

"We're ready when you are."

"Well meet you there, George."

He winked at her and left. Kim stood, placed her hands on her stomach and drew a breath.

"Well, Sam, let's get this show on the road. Go join Daniel and I'll be right behind you."

Carter stood and helped Kim put on her veil, pulling it over her face. Kim suddenly hugged her.

"Thank you for all your help."

Carter forced her smile to stay. She turned away, leaving the room. In the hall she paused to collect herself, and then headed toward the doors of the chapel. Daniel was waiting in the hall outside the doors, fidgeting with nervousness.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked.

"Yes." He smiled, but years had taught her that particular smile meant he was lying.

"When this is over we're on the first plane back to Colorado Springs and you're going straight the infirmary and telling Doctor Lam the truth... Right?"

Daniel swallowed. "Why--"

"Daniel, are you hearing people's thoughts?"

He stared at her for a moment. "Yes."

"Then don't argue with me."

He smiled, and this time it was relief.

"Okay." Daniel looked into the chapel, wincing. His headache was so bad it was making his stomach swim. "Maybe we'll go after they cut the cake. I'm not feeling good, Sam."

"I'm fine with that too."

They heard the rustle of fabric and looked back down the hall. General Hammond and Kim were coming toward them. Carter turned back to Daniel, sliding her hand around his arm and turning to face the aisle leading toward the front of chapel. Two rows from the front Landry suddenly stood and hurried toward a side door, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. She wondered which team had done something stupid.

The minister stood at the front of the chapel before the alter. O'Neill stood on a step below him. His nervousness didn't show one bit, but she knew him too well. Underneath that calm he was probably asking himself what he was doing, why he was doing it, and if what he was doing was the right thing. It dawned on her that Daniel could probably tell her.

"Is Jack nervous?" Carter asked.

The wedding march began playing and Daniel pulled her into a walk.

"More love than nerves going through his mind," Daniel answered.

Carter looked through the door, staring at him. 'That's not what I wanted to hear,' she thought to herself.

"Then you shouldn't have asked the question," Daniel joked.

Carter looked at him with a smile. It dropped when she saw a drop of blood oozing from his nose. Daniel must have felt it because he pulled his handkerchief from his coat pocket and quickly wiped it away.

He pasted a smile to his face before they passed the first row of pews and Carter imitated it. O'Neill looked up at them. He didn't smile, but there was a look of peace on his face. He was content about the event. Daniel and Carter parted at the stairs, Daniel taking his place next to Jack. Carter standing opposite them, waiting for Kim. The music changed again and Hammond and Kim entered.

'You are absolutely gorgeous, Kimberly,' Daniel heard O'Neill thought.

He whispered to him. "She looks great, Jack,"

O'Neill smiled. "Right down to the glowing eyes."

Daniel didn't pursue the comment, not really sure he wanted to. Since he'd met Kim three days ago he kept seeing her with glowing eyes like a goa'uld and when she spoke he heard her voice resonate. But the way everyone around him was accepting of her, Daniel was sure it had something to do with whatever was wrong with him. It made him keep his distance from her because he didn't want to slip up and tell her something about the Stargate project.

Hammond placed Kim's hand in O'Neill's and moved away to his seat in the front pew. The two turned to the minister and he began the ceremony. Daniel winced. A barrage of voices hit him. People were thinking about mundane things like considering what was going to be made for dinner, to someone thinking about the mission into Iraq he was assigned to leave for that night. Daniel swallowed, looking at the floor. All petty thoughts people had to occupy their mind. Simple, harmless--

'This is a small step forward between the thu'lo and Tau'ri relations,' someone thought.

Daniel's mouth dried. He slowly lifted his head, hearing Kim say, "I do."

Someone thought, 'A thu'lo in the home of a military officer... God, I hope she knows what she's doing.'

His stomach knotted. Daniel looked at the audience. On the side with Kim's friends he saw dozens of glowing eyes. Where they goa'uld? Thu'lo? Tok'ra?

The world spun. He heard O'Neill say in a warm voice, "I do."

Something warm began to run from Daniel's nose.

"You may kiss the bride," the minister said.

Daniel touched his nose and pulled his hand away with bright red blood.

"Daniel?" Carter said.

Daniel looked up. O'Neill was leaning in to kiss his new wife. Was she a thu'lo? O'Neill turned around, a movement that looked like slow motion to Daniel. Their eyes met.

'What the hell?' O'Neill thought and asked, "Daniel, what's wrong?"

"We're moving him. Teal'c, help Daniel outside," Daniel heard Landry order, followed by the thought, 'If he's contagious we have a serious problem on our hands!'

The world swirled and he felt himself fall. Someone caught him and he saw O'Neill's face blur past.

"Danny?" O'Neill said. "Hang on. Hang on, Danny."

As blackness crept over his vision, sounds faded out.


O'Neill stared at the parking lot. Fans whispered deep from within the five-story building as they pushed air through it. People hurried past, talking in whispers not much louder than their clothing. All the noises seemed to make the waiting room have an even heavier silence than it did.

O'Neill looked down at the leg of his dress uniform, spotted some lint and picked it off. Carter sat beside him, arms wrapped around her abdomen with her eyes glued to the floor. Teal'c sat next to her looking, a shrewd, dark sentient prepared to go into action at a moment's notice.

"Teal'c and I can wait, sir," Carter said.

"I know."

She sat back, dropping her hands to her lap. She began smoothing her already smooth skirt. It was a nervous habit that she only did when she was wearing her dress uniform. O'Neill wondered if it was the situation or the uniform that made her nervous?

"Kim is probably wondering where you are," Carter said.

He heard something in the comment, a hint of coldness or accusation. "Trying to get rid of me?" he teased, hoping it would lighten her mood a little.

"No. I'd just..." Carter's hands grew still and she let out a soft, exasperated sigh. "If I were Kim, I'd--"

"Yes, but you're not. She understands. I asked Landry to explain things before we left the church."

Teal'c and Carter both looked at him.

"General Landry, sir? He has the tact of a... a..."

"Tree?"

Carter smiled. She looked away. "I've missed your sense of humor when things get rough."

O'Neill reached out, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. She pulled away, returning it to smoothing her skirt. O'Neill looked away. Something else was eating at her.

"How long did you know Daniel was sick?" O'Neill asked.

From the corner of his eye, he saw her hands stop moving.

"How sick was he before he collapsed?" O'Neill asked.

"It didn't appear that bad. He was hearing voices. No. Not voices. He was hearing... Other people's thoughts. Before we came down the aisle his nose bled a little."

O'Neill's eyebrows drifted up as he turned his head. "And you didn't find that a little... Odd?"

"After all the ancient technology we've stumbled into, no, I didn't find that odd. You had an entire database downloaded into your head and lived."

"After the Asguard removed it! Weren't there any other symptoms that might remotely indicated he was going to collapse today?"

"To my knowledge, no. If there were any, he never mentioned them."

"Daniel Jackson is not known for expressing his illnesses," Teal'c stated.

"He should have this time."

They heard someone running in the hall and sat up, expecting a doctor or nurse to enter. Instead, Mitchell appeared.

Winded, he asked, "Is he okay?"

The three looked away.

"We don't know," Carter told him.

Mitchell walked up to O'Neill. "It's an honor to meet you in person, General."

O'Neill offered a flitting smile. "Likewise, Colonel."

Mitchell sat down in the row of chairs across from them.

"Have you been told anything about his condition?"

"No," the three answered.

Carter wrapped her arms around her abdomen again. "We haven't heard anything for four hours. How did you get here so fast?"

"I was in Florida."

Carter smiled with a slight eyebrow lift. Her casual way of pretending to be interested in something, O'Neill noted.

The room fell silent again. The four heard the soft rustle of the doctor's clothes before he entered the room. He stopped in the door and saluted. Mitchell, Carter and O'Neill returned it. He sat down, smiling at O'Neill.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, General."

"Yes. And you are?"

"I'm Doctor Macey. General Landry insisted a doctor with a high level of security to be assigned to this situation."

"This situation has a name, Doctor Macey," O'Neill growled. "His name is Doctor Daniel Jackson. He is a friend of mine and you will treat him with the dignity his doctorate has earned him. Is that clear?"

Macey paled a little and nodded. "Of course, sir. I apologize."

"And what is Doctor Jackson's status?"

"Your doctor at Stargate Command found a virus in Daniel's blood. She sent me all of her information, and stresses that the virus was not present in his blood samples forty-eight hours earlier. I find that hard to believe but--"

"I don't," Carter and O'Neill said.

Carter added, "In our line of work we come across things like this all the time. Where is he now?"

Macey's casual demeanor suddenly sharpened. "Because we haven't been able to identify the virus yet, we're moving him into quarantine at the CDC in Virginia."

"Shouldn't we take him back to Colorado?" Mitchell asked.

Carter and Macey both answered, "No."

Carter finished, "If it's contagious, the last thing we want to do is move him cross country."

"We'll see you at the CDC," O'Neill told Macey, standing. "See to it he continues getting the best care, Doctor."

Macey stood and saluted O'Neill as he turned to leave. The three somberly followed O'Neill.


O'Neill woke to a soft kiss on his brow. He looked up into Kim's puffy brown eyes. O'Neill lifted his hand, his fingertips brushing her jaw.

"Have you been crying?"

She shrugged, catching his hand to press his fingers to her cheek. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry, Kimberly," O'Neill told her. "I never planned on... On this."

"I know."

Kim turned, sitting down on his lap. She slid an arm around him, kissing his neck and cheek. O'Neill wrapped his arms around her. He stared through the window of the observation room him.

In the room beyond Daniel lay in a bed with monitors and an I.V. attached to him. He was unconscious but even in the dim light his skin glistened with sweat. O'Neill glanced at the seat next to him, expecting to see Carter still there. He'd ordered her to get some rest, but she refused to leave. She wanted to be there if anything changed with Daniel. O'Neill wondered if she was repressing some guilt, but he knew better than to ask. She'd just lie and say no, even if the answer was yes.

"I brought you some pizza and a change of clothes."

O'Neill ducked his chin, kissing his wife's forehead. "Thank you."


In the hall Carter came up to the door, hearing the two talking. She stopped at the door, watching them.

"Do they know what's wrong with him?" Kim asked.

"He has a virus."

"What's it doing to him?"

"Carter said he was hearing thoughts before he collapsed. It's alien so they really don't know what it is or what it's going to do to him."

Carter's brow dipped into worry. Why was he telling Kim that? Did she have clearance to discuss the Stargate?

"Which planet?" Kim asked.

Carter pressed close to the wall. Kim knew they traveled to other planets?

"I don't know. I'm sorry about the reception, Kimberly. And the wedding, and the honeymoon, and--"

Kim kissed him, stopping him talking. "You talk too much, Jack."

He smiled. "So people keep telling me. This isn't where I wanted to spend my wedding night."

She slid her other arm around him, staring into his eyes, nose to nose with him. "This, darling, is nothing. Shall I tell you a really sad story about a wedding night gone horribly wrong?"

"Sure."

"I once married this prominent land owner in Italy. It was in some town or another that's long gone. So, for our wedding night, he decided we would spend it in Herculeum, near Pompeii. After all the celebration we headed off to our blissful night. Do you want to know what we found when we got to Herculeum?"

"It was Atlantis and sunk into the ocean?"

She laughed, playfully slapping him. "No! Vesuvius had erupted and wiped both cites right off the map. A day earlier, and we both would have been one of those plaster casts. To say the least, we went to Rome for our honeymoon instead. Now that, dear husband, is a honeymoon gone very bad."

Carter leaned hard on the wall. She didn't remember history exactly, but she knew the last known time Vesuvius had wiped out the coast near Pompeii had been millennia ago. Was she a goa'uld? If she was...

O'Neill laid his hands on her hips, pulling his head back a little. "I stand corrected. What was it like after the eruption?"

He did know! He knew she was a goa'uld? A Tok'ra? Carter's breath caught. No. Neither. She was one of those thu'lo, wasn't she? He would never have fallen in love with one of the others. How long had he known?

Kim leaned back against him, laying her head on his shoulder. She stared at Daniel, even as memories of her past resurfaced. "Devastating. Chaos. They had no idea what was going on or why, and I couldn't tell them because that would make me look like a witch. Those were dangerously superstitious times."

O'Neill let his head fall forward, pressing his cheek to hers.

"I'm afraid we're going to loose him, Kim," Carter heard O'Neill mutter.

She slowly turned, leaning against the wall, watching the two again. He would have never admitted something like that to her.

Quietly Kim told him, "Have faith, Jack. Something will turn up."

O'Neill didn't reply. She moved, kissing his lips. Carter turned away. She couldn't watch this. She couldn't decide if it was jealousy or anger that was urging her to run. Carter spun and silently walked away.


Mitchell opened the hotel room door on the second set of pounding knocks. Carter stormed past him into the hotel room he was sharing with Teal'c. Teal'c stopped packing, watching her pace in the space between the bed and entertainment center. Mitchell sat down on one end of one of the double beds, watching her. She stopped suddenly, noticing their suitcases were almost packed.

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

"We've been recalled to Command. General Landry want us to go with SG-5 back to PX9 3G5 to see if we can find out what Daniel was infected with."

"Why wasn't I told?"

"I've been trying to call you, but you weren't answering your cell phone."

She pulled the phone from her pocket, staring at the face. It showed twenty-two missed calls and had been put on silent. She had planned on spending time at the CDC with Daniel, but the conversation she'd heard... She started pacing again. Mitchell and Teal'c exchanged a concerned look.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Mitchell asked.

"Kim." She stopped. "She's a thu'lo!" Carter exploded.

The two men looked at each other, confused.

"What?" Mitchell asked.

"Kim is a thu'lo!"

Mitchell's eyebrows lifted. "Oh."

"Did you know she was?"

"No. This is news to me."

Carter turned to Teal'c. "Did you?"

"I did not."

Carter sat down on the end of the other double bed. "He married a goa'uld. I can't believe he'd marry one after all..." Carter's eyes began burning. "Why... Why would he do that?"

Teal'c sat down next to her.

"Perhaps for love," he suggested.

Carter looked at him. He was serious.

"It doesn't make sense," Carter told him.

"Doesn't make much sense to me either," Mitchell told her, "but... If he loves her, who are we to tell him not to? She hasn't done anything that I know that makes her the enemy."

Carter sighed, looking at her hands. Teal'c took her hand and she looked up into his eyes.

"O'Neill does love his wife, Carter. As you love him."

Her breath caught. He knew? How did he know?

"But you have to move past what was never meant to be. He has made a choice and to dwell on it will not help Daniel Jackson. You must provide support in this time of need, just as Mitchell and I are returning to PX9 3G5 to provide what support we can."

"I should go with you." Carter pulled her hand away, standing.

Mitchell jumped up, stopping her. "No. You need to stay here."

"I--"

"I'm in command of SG-1, Sam. You're staying here with Daniel and... Get to know our new ally."

"Kim?"

He nodded.

"Are you sure you didn't know she was a thu'lo?"

"I didn't know, but now that I do, I want you to stay. Besides, of all of us, you're the only that can actually interpret what the doctor is saying."

Reluctantly she nodded.

"Thank you. Our plane leaves in an hour and twenty minutes, so we have to hurry."

She walked around him to the door.

"Sam," Mitchell said.

She turned at he door.

"About the whole O'Neill not knowing about your feelings... I suspect he still doesn't."

Her cheeks burned. "I'd appreciate--"

"Teal'c and I never heard a word of it today. If he hears about it, it'll be out of your mouth."

She smiled. "Thank you, Cameron."

He nodded. She walked out of the room, but didn't hurry away from it. She wanted to go back to PX9 3G5 because it hurt to stay here with O'Neill, but Mitchell's arguments regrettably made sense. She slowly walked down the hall, not in a hurry to get back to the CDC.