"Dr. Jackson? There's a Samantha Carter here, saying that she has clearance to be here."
"Let her down to my office." Daniel said, taking a deep breath.
"Sir?"
"You heard me."
"Okay. Should we send an escort with her?"
"Sure…but even if you don't, she'll be fine. She was one of the original members of SG-1."
Daniel could only imagine the shocked look on the airman's face. It was the same look he'd gotten every time he went down to the archaeology labs. It was still hard for him to believe that he, along with the rest of his teammates, was a living legend. Of course, it had been that way almost since he had returned from Abydos…
He forced the thought of the Abydonians and Sha're from his mind. Even nearly thirty years after that first trip through the Gate, he still felt deep feelings for the place, and a twinge of sadness passed over him.
But right now was not a time for his own sadness. He was dealing with Sam and Jack's past. And somehow, it had deeply affected their daughter.
"Daniel!" Sam greeted, a tense smile on her face.
"Sam!" He said, giving her a hug without a second thought.
She pulled away, a worried look on her face. "Where's Grace?"
"In the infirmary."
"Can I go…?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks."
--
They arrived into the infirmary to see Grace doodling on a pad, trying to forget everything that was going through her head. She was filled with mixed emotions about this room. She was in an isolation room because of her nightmares. Visions of her mother lying lifeless on the bed and her father's feelings of guilt and hopelessness as well as his flashbacks to Charlie's death running over her.
The image shifted and now, she could feel her mother's panic as she struggled to get into this very room. "Carter, what's up?"
"Can we have a moment alone, please?" She asked, pleading Teal'c with her eyes to clear the room. He nodded and did so.
"Carter, undo this." As she did so, with trembling fingers, he looked up at her. "What's going on?"
"We're not za'tarcs." She said, almost hoping that would be all that she had to say.
"How do you know?"
"The machine thinks we have false memories, but we don't. We were lying."
"I wasn't lying."
Have patience, she reminded herself. "Okay, you were leaving something out."
"No, I didn't."
"Sir, when you wouldn't leave me, are you sure there wasn't something else that you're not admitting?"
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Something neither one of us can admit, given our working relationship, our military ranks..." She said, trying to help him get a clue without having to say anything out right.
"Oh!" He exclaimed softly before sobering. "Oh, that."
"Sir, we weren't telling the whole truth, and that's why the machine thinks the memories are false."
"Really?"
Sam approached the bed, carefully. "Grace, honey…it's me."
"We lied…we didn't know we were lying!"
Sam tensed. "Honey, you're dreaming."
Daniel looked at Sam, confused. She shook her head, indicating that she wasn't ready to discuss the situation.
Grace's eyes fluttered open. "Mom? What are you doing here?"
"They called me because they were worried about you."
She looked confused at Daniel for a moment and then back at her mom. "Really?"
Sam nodded as Jack O'Neill walked into the room. Grace stiffened, forcing Daniel and Sam to look behind them. Sam stiffened as well, and she stood. "Sir…may I speak to you in the hall for a moment?"
"You're the mother of my daughter, you're going to call me sir?"
All the activity in the isolation room stopped for a moment. Sam looked down at the ground, collecting her wits. "I would rather not discuss this in this public place."
"Where the hell would you like to discuss it, Sam? Eighteen years…eighteen YEARS stolen from me!"
"STOP IT!" Grace screamed, grabbing her hair. "STOP FIGHTING! I know it's my fault, but…"
The beeping of the heart monitor accelerated until Grace collapsed, at which point she flatlined. "No…" Sam and Jack breathed at the same time.
