AN: You may note that from here on out there are significant differences in events between my fic and the episode Brief Candle. This is deliberate. Despite this, in the last chapter and in future chapters I will be recycling lines from the episode in question. They will not all happen in the same scene as in the episode, or even necessarily spoken by the same person, but they will be there for those familiar with the episode. This was made ever so much easier by the archive of episode transcripts which were made by the Sg1 Transcript group on Yahoogroups. They have all my thanks for their excellent work. If I could paste a link I would, but will not let me; their site is at www (dot) moon-catchin (dot) net (slash) gaitnoise (slash) index (dot) htm.

The click of heels announced Janet's presence in the room. Her frown was … not reassuring.

"We have the preliminary analysis of that pastry you asked for, Doctor Jackson," she said.

"And?" Daniel asked.

"There were indeed narcotic substances in it." Janet opened the file and flipped through it. "Some we can't identify, but one was a close analogue to ketamine hydrochloride. Without further testing, we can't tell exactly what they would all do to a human, precisely, but the Ketamine-analogue would probably act much the same."

"Ketamine, that sounds familiar," I said, trying to place it.

"It's an anaesthetic that can be used for humans but is more commonly used for animals," Janet said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Veterinary offices are frequently robbed for it, though, because it is one of the three major date-rape drugs. That's probably why you've heard of it."

I could feel the blood drain from my face, putting the pieces together. No wonder Daniel couldn't look me in the eye.

"What are the symptoms?" Daniel asked. He looked slightly pale. Damn right, he should be, Sam told herself. To let someone drug Jack, then take him off somewhere and … She couldn't finish the thought.

Janet shrugged. "Again, without further testing, there's no way of knowing just how similarly this thing affects humans. But Ketamine can cause hallucinations, memory problems, distorted perceptions of sense, time, and identity; impaired motor control, problems breathing, lack of self-control, slurred speech, aggressive behavior, etc." She turned to Daniel. "Doctor Jackson, is there any particular reason you wanted me to analyze this?"

Daniel looked miserable. "One of the Argosian women gave that cake to Jack. She said it was only for him. A little later she took him inside one of their buildings. Teal'c and I thought he might be acting kind of odd, but it wasn't anything too obvious."

Sam listened to all this, feeling sick to her stomach. Oh, God. Since the meeting with the Shavadai, she'd had to think long and hard about the risks she took, as a woman, going through the Gate. Risks that (she thought) her male co-workers didn't share. Now … that wasn't a safe assumption to make. And Jack … she cringed to think of what he must be going through.

Even from the back, Sam could tell that General Hammond was about to blow a fuse. "Do you mean to tell me that you allowed those people to drug and kidnap one of my men? And after that, you don't think they're hostile?"

"General, it wasn't exactly like that," Daniel protested. "It wasn't obvious at all that Jack had been drugged. In fact, if it weren't for a comment he made just prior to being given the cake, I wouldn't have thought anything of it. He was talking and walking just fine. Second, the Argosians have no contact with anyone outside their own culture, and they all seemed to know what was going on. They spend a great deal of time partying, from what we could see, and we were trying to be courteous. It may not have occurred to them that none of us would know what was in that pastry." Daniel shook his head. "I have to get back to Teal'c, tell him what's happened."

"That's right," General Hammond snapped. "And you're taking SG-3 with you."

The archaeologist blinked. "I don't know if the Marines are really necessary, General; from what we saw, these people don't do much besides party. They didn't even seem to work. Even if they do become hostile, I doubt we'd have trouble dealing with them."

"Hostile, Doctor Jackson? I'd say they're already hostile. And if, as you say, they don't think anything's wrong with their behavior, then maybe they need to be told otherwise. And I think the Marines will give the message a certain point, even if they don't have to do anything."

"Daniel, it can't hurt and it might be a very good thing," Sam said, heading him off. "Better safe than sorry when someone's safety is at stake." That came out a little harsher than she intended, but under the circumstances she thought she was entitled to it. Sam would take anger over fear any day; experience had taught her it was less likely to paralyze you. And Daniel saw the world through rose-colored glasses, sometimes ignoring harsh realities. If he weren't so idealistic, so convinced that everyone was good until proven otherwise, maybe Jack wouldn't have been hurt.

"Well, whoever's going, I want Colonel O'Neill brought back to base as soon as possible," Janet said. "I'm not familiar with the effects the Ketamine-analogue would have, much less any of the other unidentified substances. If they're consumed regularly by these people they probably aren't too toxic, but it never hurts to be sure."

Hammond nodded. "Of course, Doctor."

Daniel shrugged and nodded. "Okay, but I want to leave as soon as possible. How long to get them briefed and geared up?"

"Not long," Hammond said grimly. "Is there anything else I need to know about the situation on P3X-8596?"

Daniel thought for a second, then shook his head. General Hammond nodded to her and Janet and strode over to the phone mounted on the wall. A few minutes later, Harriman's voice came over the loudspeakers, calling SG-3 to gear up for a mission.

Sam watched Daniel gather his gear. "So, you were avoiding me to spare my feelings," she said. "Jack was with another woman, and you were covering for him."

He looked up at her and blinked, as if he'd forgotten her there. "Yeah … yeah I guess so," he said, putting on his vest.

"Next time, don't," Sam said. She paused, biting her lip. It wasn't really Daniel's fault, or at least it probably not. He had come back with the cake the minute he thought something was wrong; she shouldn't be too harsh on him. "It was obvious you were trying to hide something," she said in a more even voice, "and that worried me. And I'd rather know what's going on than wonder. And be afraid."

"Right." Daniel shifted uneasily and glanced at the door. "I'd better get to the briefing room so we can leave as soon as possible."

Sam nodded. "I know."

Daniel started for the door.

"And Daniel?"

He paused, looking back at her.

"Take care of him."

About twenty minutes after SG-3 and Daniel left for Argos, they dialed back. Sam had been studying some of the raw, unprocessed read-outs from the Gate interface. They were still pretty much guessing when it came to interpreting a lot of the signals the Gate sent to the dialing computer they'd cobbled together, and Sam wasn't sure if they'd ever figure it all out. Still, every little bit helped—and it kept her in the control room while waiting for SG-1.

The iris was open, but no one stepped through. The radio crackled to life. "This is Colonel Makepeace. I need to talk with the General and Doctor Frasier."

A hundred worst-case scenarios danced through Sam's head. She bit her lip.

General Hammond waved at someone to get Janet. "Someone's getting the doctor, Colonel," he said into the mike. "What do you need?"

"Colonel O'Neill is unconscious, as are all the Argosians," Makepeace replied. "We can't wake anyone. According to Teal'c, they all went to sleep at sunset, a little over thirty minutes ago. It could be some kind of drug, or it could be some kind of virus. After our last encounter with an alien bug, I didn't want to take any chances without asking you and consulting the doc first."

Sam let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Unconscious wasn't good, but things could be a lot worse. A lot worse.

"Good thinking, Colonel," Hammond replied. He glanced aside. "Doctor Frasier's here. Could you tell her what you told me?"

Sam was startled; she'd been so intent on the radio conversation that she hadn't noticed Janet's entrance.

"When we arrived on Argos, we found everyone but Teal'c asleep," Makepeace said. "According to him, everyone lay down simultaneously either inside or outside as the sun set. We can't wake anybody by noise, shaking them, or even dumping cold water on them. We can't even get them to stir. Is it safe to bring Colonel O'Neill back, or could this be something contagious?"

"It could be," Janet replied, leaning into the mike. "Chances are it's not, however. Ketamine is a strong sedative, and if these people ate it or something like it, it's not surprising you're having trouble waking them. Doctor Jackson's blood-work when he came back through didn't show any anomalies, either. And … you said they all lay down at the same time, Teal'c?"

"That is correct, Doctor Frasier." Teal'c's bass rumble came over the speakers.

Janet shook her head. "I've never seen or heard of a virus striking with that amount of simultaneity. Or a drug, for that matter. I'd say it's probably safe enough to bring the Colonel back through the Gate. To be on the safe side I want everybody—especially Colonel O'Neill—to wear a breath mask, and I'll want you all to take a disinfectant shower immediately and put Colonel O'Neill in an isolation room." She looked over at Hammond and raised an eye-brow.

He nodded. "Agreed."

"General, I think Daniel and Teal'c should stay there and see if there's anything on the planet that could cause this, if Janet doesn't think it's strictly medical," Sam said. "There could be some kind of device or something that would explain why they all fell unconscious at the same time. It's possible the drug makes you more susceptible."

"I suppose anything's possible," Janet said dubiously. "If nothing else, I might want samples of their food and drink and other contaminants. If that turns out to be the case, it would save time and effort to have them readily available."

"That sounds reasonable," Hammond said. He leaned back over to the microphone. "SG-3 will bring Colonel O'Neill through with breath masks and full decontamination procedures. Doctor Jackson and Teal'c, I'd like you to stay behind and look for anything else that might be related to this problem. Doctor Frasier would like samples for analysis, and Captain Carter believes there might be a device hidden somewhere that could account for the concurrent collapses."

"Yes, sir."

"Well," Janet said, "sounds like I need to go prepare."