Sam stormed into the women's locker room. It was the one place where there were no cameras watching her and no-one would bother her. She checked it was completely empty – there were more women assigned to the SGC than ever before but still few compared with the male officers – and to be doubly sure she locked the doors. She stripped and hit the shower. It was only when she was fully under the hot stream of water that she let her façade drop; let herself contemplate the horrible and irrefutable fact: the Replicator had Jack.

She bowed her head and braced her hands against the white tiled wall as her body shook with sob after sob. Count them. She could hear Jack's voice as clearly as if he was standing beside her.

Six days.

There was only six days…she should have gone with Thor, she thought wretchedly. She should have gone with Thor and gotten him back. Instead she had left him with her Replicator double who was probably torturing him the same way the Replicator Fifth had tortured her…this was the reason why the regulations existed; no-one should have to decide between saving the planet and saving someone they loved.

She had been so sure Landry would have listened to her. Wrong again, Sam, she thought bitterly and swiped at her nose. And now she was stuck; ordered to work on the counter-measure while Jack was in the clutches of the enemy who was on her way to Dakara and who was undoubtedly going after the weapon.

'You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears, you play by the rules, you do what you're told and you deny yourself your own desires.' The Replicator's words taunted her.

Well, screw that, she thought harshly. She was done playing by the rules and she was done denying how she felt about Jack. Her lips firmed. Six days. It wasn't time to stop counting. Not yet.

She switched the water off and reached for a towel. Her double was probably depending on Sam reverting to type; playing by the rules and denying her desire to go after Jack. After all, that's what she usually did. But her father had once told her she could have everything she wanted and she intended to. The more efficient mind Orlin had gifted her with was already formulating a plan; she would do the counter-measure and make sure Earth was safe but as soon as it was done, she would go after Jack herself – orders be damned.

When she left the locker room her throat felt stripped raw and her eyes were sore but her face was set in a determined calm. She walked into her lab and froze at the sight of Mitchell standing by the central workbench. She was stunned at the sight of the tray beside him; a sundae dish filled with blue jello and a mug of tea.

'Hey.' He said sticking his hands in the pockets of the blue BDU pants. 'How're you doing?'

She rubbed a hand over her face and through her hair uncaring at the way the blonde strands poked out at odd angles. 'I'm fine.'

'I thought you might want something to eat.' Mitchell settled on the stool next to her as she sat and took a spoonful of the dessert.

She swallowed the gelatinous sweet with difficulty. 'Thanks.' She managed.

Mitchell nodded. 'Daniel…uh…told me…'

Sam's blue eyes flashed back to him worriedly.

'About you and the General…' Mitchell continued determinedly.

'Cam,' she interrupted him hurriedly, 'nothing has ever…'

'I know, Sam.' Mitchell held her slightly panicked gaze. 'I know you.'

Sam sighed and smiled apologetically. 'I'm sorry. I should have told you.' She shrugged awkwardly and pushed her spoon back into the jello. 'I just didn't know how and it's not really something we all talk about much.' She paused. 'Ever, really.'

'Well, I promise I won't mention it again.' Mitchell smiled seeing how uncomfortable she was talking about it at all. 'And you should go easy on Daniel; I kinda forced him into telling me.'

She gave him a pained smile.

'Daniel's fixing it with Landry.' Mitchell said.

She looked at him sharply.

Mitchell shrugged. 'It's what he does isn't it?'

Daniel was fixing it. The thought turned over in her head and Sam felt a weight lift off her shoulders. If anyone could convince Landry, it was Daniel. Maybe she wouldn't have to risk getting court-martialled after all. She nodded at Mitchell. 'Yeah. It's what he does.'

'I'll leave you to it.' Mitchell said jumping off the stool. 'I'd better get started on base security.'

'I'd better get on with…' she waved at her workbench and the counter-measure. 'And Cam?'

'What?' He asked.

'Thanks.' She smiled ruefully.

'No problem.' Mitchell took a step towards the door and found the doorway blocked by the arrival of General Landry and Daniel.

'Good.' Landry said breezily. 'You're both here.'

Both Sam and Mitchell straightened their postures into some semblance of 'at attention' as Landry entered with Daniel moving swiftly across the room to stand by his team-mates.

'At ease, Colonels.' Landry said. His eyes landed on the blonde Air Force officer in front of him. 'Doctor Jackson has convinced me that I may have been too hasty in discounting your opinion about the Replicator's strategy, Colonel Carter.'

'Sir.' Sam sent Daniel a questioning glance and he smiled back reassuringly.

'However, I do still have to consider Earth's security as my priority.' Landry pointed out. 'So I need to ask you a question, Colonel Carter; when do you think the Replicator will make her move for the weapon at Dakara?'

'During the battle, sir.' Sam responded immediately. 'Earth will be busy with the Replicators, the Jaffa and the Tok'ra will be busy with Ba'al; she'll have a clear run at the weapon.'

'Hmmm.' Landry glanced at the archaeologist. 'Doctor Jackson agrees with you.' He straightened a little and held her gaze. 'I'm amending your orders, Colonel. As Thor is estimating it will be tomorrow before the battle gets underway, your priority right now is building the counter-measure. However, as soon as you are done, you and Doctor Jackson will go to Dakara. You will try and find the Replicator and stop her by any means necessary.'

'Sir, what about Colonel Mitchell?'

'What about Mitchell?'

Sam and Daniel looked at each other wryly having both spoken at the same time and missed Mitchell's slightly stunned look at the way they had both spoken up for him.

'I'll need the Colonel here looking after base security.' Landry said firmly.

'With respect, sir,' Sam said firmly, 'Colonel Reynolds of SG3 has better knowledge of the base and Colonel Mitchell is a member of my team, sir. If SG1 is going on a mission, he should come with us.'

Landry sighed and looked over three sets of resolute and hopeful eyes. 'OK. Colonel Mitchell work with Colonel Reynolds and make sure he is fully briefed on all aspects of the security before you ship out to Dakara with your team.'

Mitchell had to work hard to keep the grin off his face. 'Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.'

Landry turned to leave and stopped; he turned back. 'And Colonel Carter?'

'Yes, sir?' Sam asked.

'You also have permission to recover General O'Neill,' he held up a hand, 'but only if it's possible.'

'Understood, sir.' Sam said her blue eyes sparkling with renewed hope.

'Carry on.' Landry left and wondered how Hammond and Jack had managed to cope with the astrophysicist and archaeologist for eight years; it was no wonder one man was bald and the other's hair was grey. He ran a hand through his own brown brush of hair worriedly as he headed back to the control room.

Back in the lab, Sam hugged Daniel tightly. 'Thank you.' She said when she finally released him.

Daniel adjusted his glasses and grinned at her happily. 'You should really thank Mitchell.' He admitted.

Sam looked over at the other air force officer in surprise.

Mitchell shrugged and was surprised himself when she crossed the room to envelope him in a brief hug.

'I should be the one thanking you.' He said as she took a step back.

'What for?' Sam asked.

Mitchell gestured. 'Making sure I didn't miss out on the fun.' He said grinning.

Daniel grinned back at him. 'Well, you are part of the family now.'

Mitchell felt a warm glow suffuse all the way through him.

'OK,' Sam said, 'we should get to it. The sooner we get things straight here, the sooner we can get to Dakara. Mitchell, you get to work on base security…'

'Yes, ma'am.' Mitchell snapped off a sloppy salute and left.

Sam turned to Daniel. 'I'm going to need you to contact Dakara and brief Teal'c. We're going to need a spacecraft, something like a cargo ship or a scout ship ready for us. And can you work with Thor and go over his sensor readings? We need to find someway of finding the Replicator's cloaked ship.'

'I'm on it.' Daniel said striding for the door. He stopped in the doorway. 'Sam?'

She looked over at him.

'We're going to get him back.' He said confidently.

'Damn right we will.' Sam responded. She sighed and set to work; ignored everything to focus on the counter-measure. She worked through the night and into the early hours of the morning occasionally leaving her lab to consult with Daniel and Thor via the radio. As dawn broke over the mountain there was a second device sitting next to the first on the bench. It would create a series of layered disruptor waves. When the bug hit the first wave, the device would calculate the correct frequency and modify the other layers hopefully destroying the bug. It only needed to be tested but she knew its only real test would be the instant the first metal bug came through the Stargate. She blinked at the machine tiredly.

It would protect Earth, she thought and because she figured the bugs might take to 'beaming' themselves down to the SGC once they figured the Stargate was protected she had talked with Thor and he had prepared a jamming programme for the transportation technology. A copy was already on its way to Prometheus to be uploaded in case the Replicators tried to beam on board them too. She pillowed her head on her arms resting them on the bench. She closed her eyes falling into a restless sleep.

An image on a computer screen from a MALP feed; herself looking back at her. She remembered thinking it would be easier if the copy looked less like her as stupid as that sounded. An idea to ask her copy to help them against Fifth…the mental sharing of a memory where Fifth had trained her copy to kill her team-mates; to kill Jack…the betrayal as she realised her copy had used her to kill Fifth and create an immunity to the disruptor weapon.

A dark room in her mind and her arm held firmly by the Replicator that wore her face; 'You have untapped greatness inside you, Sam. But you're limited by your own fears, you play by the rules, you do what you're told and you deny yourself your own desires.'

Jack's hand in her hair; 'Don't you dare die on me now.' His brown eyes searching hers. 'Not when there's only one week and four days before I tell you I love you, Sam and before you tell me you love me back.'

Orlin as he cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand. 'I have to leave now but I will give you all I can to help you in the coming days.' His hand turning into energy and a bright, white light filled her vision and a warm, healing wave washing away her pain…

Cold. Jack was cold on the Replicator ship and in pain but he was alive…she could feel the hard Replicator blocks that formed the floor beneath her as though she were there with him. Fragments of thoughts…the Replicator was invading his mind…but he was resisting, fighting back…

'Don't let her win, Jack.' Sam thought hard at him. 'Not with only five days to go before you tell me you love me and I tell you I love you back…'

'Carter?' His surprised response alarmed her…how could he hear her? How could she feel him?

'Sir?' Sam suddenly felt the darkness melt away and she was stood in the Ancient chamber on Dakara next to the control chair with Jack standing opposite her. He looked around wildly and on seeing her frowned.

'It's me, sir.' Sam said.

'How do I know it's really you?' Jack asked suspiciously.

Sam opened her mouth to reply and realised she didn't have an answer. 'I don't know, sir.' She admitted. 'I'm not even sure how I got here.' She glanced at the chamber and shivered. She turned back to Jack to find him striding across the floor to her and a moment later, his arms were solidly around her.

'She would have come up with an explanation.' He explained as he hugged her to him.

She hugged him back fiercely. The chamber shook a little.

'She's trying to get in here.' Jack said letting her ease away.

'I think I can keep her out.' Sam said a little shocked at her newfound ability.

Jack gestured at the chamber. 'Orlin?'

Sam sighed. 'Orlin. I think he connected us somehow…'

'Good for Orlin.' Jack said. 'Anything you can do about the accommodation, Carter? I'm really not too fond of this place…'

'Hold on a second.' Sam's face screwed up as she concentrated.

The chamber melted away and they were sat side by side on the dock outside Jack's cabin. They both dressed in casual clothes; jeans, sweaters.

'Better.' Jack declared taking in the lake. 'Much better.' He held out a hand to Sam and was pleased when she took it. 'So while you're here…'

'It doesn't look as though she can get to you.' Sam said. She sighed and squeezed his hand. 'I'm sorry, sir. I don't know how much longer I can stay here.'

'It's OK, Sam.' Jack said quietly. His brown eyes held hers. 'I'm OK.'

Sam flushed. 'She has to be torturing you how Fifth tortured me and…'

'And I'm OK.' Jack interrupted her. 'Earth has to be the priority. Not me.'

'We have a plan.' Sam said determinedly.

'You'd better not tell me.' Jack said before she could say anything else. 'If I don't know neither will she.'

'Yes, sir.' Sam nodded unhappily.

'You called me Jack before.' He murmured reaching out to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

She blushed. 'I didn't realise you could hear me.' Her fingers tangled around his. 'We still have five days to go before you retire.'

'Five days.' Jack said with a sigh.

'Five days.' Sam confirmed. She felt the pull toward consciousness and her blue eyes met his in a regretful apology.

'Don't stop counting, Sam.' Jack said as he felt her slipping away.

'I won't.' She promised understanding the hidden promise that they would get out of this; that they would still have their chance to dance on his roof under the stars…

'Sam?' The hand on her shoulder had her jerking awake.

'Jack?' She said automatically.

'No, it's me, Daniel.'

She stared up into Daniel's blue eyes for a long moment without really seeing him.

'Hey.' She straightened and brushed her hands through her hair.

'Are you OK?' Daniel said worriedly.

Sam swallowed hard. 'I'm OK. I just…I had a strange dream.' She frowned. 'What time is it?'

'Eight-hundred.' Daniel said. 'We're ready. Thor's estimating we only have another six hours before the Replicator ship gets here and Dakara confirms Ba'al's fleet is holding its position as though they are waiting.'

Sam nodded. 'I'm done with the counter-measure.' She patted his arm. 'Get Mitchell. Give me a half and hour. I've got a couple of more things to do and then we'll go.'

Daniel nodded. 'We'll be there.'

Thirty minutes later, they were geared up and stood ready in the gate room as Walter dialled up Dakara.

'…Thor has everything ready, sir and Doctor Lee has the full details of how to operate the new counter-measure.' Sam said to Landry as she clipped on her P90.

'Good.' Landry nodded as the wormhole engaged and the blue puddle appeared in the centre of the metal ring. 'Proceed, Colonel.' He said. He caught her eyes. 'And good luck.' He took a couple of steps back.

'Thank you, sir.' Sam nodded and SG1 progressed up the ramp. They stopped just in front of the wormhole. She glanced across at Daniel and Mitchell. 'Ready, guys?'

'I just hope we're not too late for Jack.' Daniel said without thinking adjusting his protective vest. He looked up at Sam apologetically. 'Ah…sorry….'

'It's OK, Daniel. He's OK.' Sam said trying to reassure him. 'I don't know how to explain it but I know; he's alive.'

Daniel's eyes peered at her curiously. 'Orlin linked the two of you, didn't he? That's why he knew Jack could bring you back and that's why you feel him now.'

'Maybe.' Sam said cautiously.

'Guys I don't want to break this up but shouldn't we get going before Landry changes his mind?' Mitchell said.

Daniel and Sam looked at each other with amusement.

'OK.' She said pulled her green cap on firmly. 'Let's go save the galaxy.' And more importantly, she thought determinedly, save Jack.