Author's Note: Hello Lovelies! Very big changes coming very very soon. All of what is to come has been a part of my plans since I began writing this story about six years ago. If you have any questions or ideas feel free to comment of PM me. I'm really going to try to focus on character development as well as tightening up the plot and brining in much needed new blood to this story. I thank you in advance for sticking with me through this process.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Lost, Out of Time

My mind felt like someone had poured acid inside. All my thoughts, memories were jumbled together.

Jaffa. There were too many jaffa. They were everywhere. I saw Jack, Skaara, and Sam go down in a few seconds. Suddenly I felt the distinctive electrical jolt of a zat gun hit me in the chest.

Then coldness. So cold. Why was I freezing? Make it stop, it hurts too much.

Then blessed numbness. Darkness.

Light. Dull at first. Then blinding, like a lance through my skull.

A hand on my shoulder shaking me awake. Just let me sleep.

"Erin, can you hear me?" A voice asked me. Daniel?

My mind found my eyelids and pried them open. I had to blink several times to get my eyes to adjust to the bright light above me. "Wha…wh..uh" I tried to ask what was going on but I couldn't get my mouth to work.

"It's ok Erin." Another familiar voice said, this time the voice was female. I turned my head toward the source of the sound and saw the comforting face of Janet at my bedside. Only her face seemed different, older. But that didn't make sense.

I opened my mouth to ask again what was going on but nothing came out.

"Shh everything's alright." Janet quickly placed her hand on my arm to calm me. "It's alright, you're in the infirmary, you're going to be fine."

I couldn't catch my breath. Hyperventilation, the scientist part of my head told me. The light over head was to bright so I shut my eyes tight. I felt as if I was spinning on a roller coaster, it reminded me of the one time I got really really drunk and couldn't stand up straight.

Sudden sleepiness hit me.

A red head with glowing eyes held her hand over my forehead, a blistering line of red light bored into my skin. Her smirk filled my vision. Sweaty, meaty hands roughly dragged me and held me down in a pod-like metal contraption. I surged against the hands holding me down. The woman's glowing eyes hovered over my face gleefully. Her hand spread out like a spider about to attack, the jewel in her palm lit up sending a wave of needles through me nervous system.

The hands holding me down suddenly became hands soothingly rubbing my face and arms. I fought against them none the less. My eyes shot open and I sat up ramrod straight. Ripping the oxygen mask off my face I moved onto all the sensors and just managed to pull the IV out of my arm before to familiar hands grabbed mine in theirs.

"Hathor!" I coughed hard.

"Just try to calm down and take some deep breaths." Daniel said.

I turned my head to look at him. He was different to. Daniel's long hair was gone, in its place he had a close cut like Jack's. Was that grey I saw in his hair? He was also bulkier, like he had put on muscle since last I saw him, which was this morning.

This wasn't right. I scooted up in, my hospital bed? I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Even doing this felt wrong. My limbs felt like they were being weighed down by lead.

I guess my sudden movement startled Janet and Daniel because they took a quick step back and put their hands up as if to show me they meant me no harm.

"So..som… something's wrong." I finally managed to blurt out.

Daniel nodded and tentatively sat down on the edge of my bed while Janet took up position at the foot of the bed. This didn't feel right. I watched Daniel closely and realized what it was. He took up so much more space now. Gone was my scrawny, lanky brother. He really had packed on a lot of muscle. But all in one day?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked, placing his hand on my forearm. I had to resist the urge to pull away.

I was so disoriented. With a groan I leaned my head on my crossed arms. "There were jaffa coming at us from all sides, and I saw… oh my God." My eyes flew wide and my head snapped up to see Daniel's startled gaze. "Skaara! Jack! Sam! I saw them get hit by zats. They must have been taken prisoner! We have to help them!" I tore my arm free of Daniel's grasp and jumped off the bed. The cold infirmary floor was enough of a jolt to clear up some of fogginess from my brain.

In my hurry I brushed past Daniel to get to the infirmary exit, only to be stopped by Janet. "No Erin, you need to stay in bed, you're in no condition to be walking around right now." She took hold of my shoulders and turned me around. Then she began to half lead, half drag me back.

"On your last mission we were all captured by Hathor. She put us in cryo tubes and then woke us telling us that seventy years had passed and that everyone we knew was dead. It didn't take long for us to discover that it was all a lie and all of SG-1 was able to escape, except for you. Something had gone wrong with your tube. The tok'ra came to help, but there was nothing they could do for you. They said Hathor had rushed the process of putting you to sleep and that if we tried to wake you, it would kill you. We had to wait until the technology was developed enough that we could wake you and repair your injuries. And we did just that three days ago."

By this point I was shaking. "What are you saying?"

"There isn't an easy way to say this."

"Then just say it, please." I pleaded.

Daniel approached me slowly. He took a deep breath and took my hands in his. "Since your last mission in what must seem only days ago to you, it's really been six years." Daniel as always had taken up the role of protective big brother. "I know it's a lot to take in. A lot has changed but we'll help you though this."

Daniel, arms held out to me, walked closer as if to hug me.

Freaked out of my mind I reacted without thinking. I cringed back with my back to the wall, "Stay away."

The hurt expression on my brother's face brought a sick feeling to my stomach. Pain spread sharply through my abdomen. Janet pushed on my shoulders, forcing me to sit on the bed I woke up on.

Janet pressed a palm to my sweaty forehead and then with a concerned expression she felt for my pulse on my shaking hands.

I had a splitting migraine that made me want to scream. Wrenching away from Janet I clutched my head in my hands. I smashed my palms over my ears so hard I was sure I'd rip them off.

"You should go for now." Janet said to Daniel.

The sound in the room lessened. I shut my eyes tight until all I heard was silence.

Janet gently pried my hands off my head, I opened my eyes.

"I know you must have so many questions." She said.

I only had two.

"Where is Cassandra? Where is Skaara?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

All around Daniel's office were cardboard boxes full of the SGC's mission reports.

Everything about that sentence was alienating. This room was Daniel's office, not his and mine. The files I'd spent that last few days reading were full of redacted information, even SG-1's reports. I didn't have the clearance I used to. Not the same clearance an active member of the SGC had.

After a few more days of quarantine per Janet's request I was finally allowed out of the infirmary. She thought a familiar setting would make me feel better as I waited.

Skaara and Cassie were on their way to the SGC right now. Of course they'd been informed when I was taken out of stasis but had to wait until I was cleared.

So here I waited.

One by one the members of my team, or my former team I didn't know which it was, came to see me.

I was told of the final death of Apophis, replicators. The newly formed Jaffa nation in the wake of the death of the last powerful system lord, Anubis.

I sat though it all silent. Yesterday was a different world which was all the more evident when General Landry and the new leader of SG-1 Lt. Colonel Mitchel had debriefed me.

Eventually Sam, Jack, Teal'c, even Daniel, had given up trying to get me talk and left.

So there I sat, on a stool surrounded by paper.

I thought that I would be there for it all. We would take down the Goa'uld together.

I wasn't needed. I sat useless in a coffin for years, insignificant and dead for all intents and purposes.

The phone Daniel's desk rung and I picked up, "This is Clark."

"Ms. Clark." The airman on the end spoke curtly, "Cassandra Clark and Skaara have arrived on base."

When I didn't speak for a while the airman spoke again, "Ms. Clark?"

"Thank you." I swallowed numbly.

Oh Cassie. I promised her I'd never leave her. I promised her when I locked the both of us in that bunker when we thought she was going to die all the years ago. When I was lost in time I though hardly anything but getting back to her. Seeing her so old when we had traveled to far forward in time had been a shock. Who would have thought I would have gotten so lost again.

Daniel had a small framed picture of her on his wall next to Sha're. I stood up and walked slowly over to the picture. Reaching out I brushed my fingertips over her matured face. Her hair had turned a deeper shade of strawberry blond and was pin straight.

When I left for my last mission, before Hathor captured us, I had made her another promise. I promised her I would be home for her eleventh birthday.

Suddenly I felt like I was going to be sick. No, I was definitely going to be sick.

I ran from the office towards the nearest bathroom. My hand clamped over my mouth. I just made inside of a stall and locked the door before I threw up my lunch. I dry heaved until my gaging turned into sobbing.

I walked slowly out of the bathroom and slumped against the cold concrete. My whole body was shaking and my stomach churned like I was about to throw up again.

I just turned the corner to the corridor leading to Daniel's office when a voice I knew better than my own called out.

"Airen?"