Chapter 23. Evolution

Sam descended the Gate ramp with her father at her side, Teal'c and Bra'tac following close behind. She cradled her right arm close to her, trying to ease the ache of a dislocated shoulder. Her father had popped it back into place on the Tel'tak, but it would be sore for quite a while, she knew from experience.

The Stargate shut off behind them with a whoosh as they approached the other two members of their team and the General.

"Miss me?" Jack deadpanned, his hands in his pockets.

"Of course, sir." Sam humoured his quip, keeping her expression carefully blank. She could feel her father's eyes on her.

"Well it couldn't have been that bad. You're all still alive."

"As are you and Daniel Jackson." Teal'c drew her attention to the archaeologist. The tight band around her heart had loosened as soon as she saw him, despite the crutches and bandaged leg he now sported, but Sam was well aware of what could happen to those who were captured, and she was afraid to ask about the extent of his injuries she couldn't see.

"Daniel?" She asked softly, tilting her head to meet his gaze, searching his face for any sign of the truth.

"I'm fine." He nodded, a brief smile curling at his lips that she was sure was meant to be reassuring, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. "We got the device from Telchak."

"Good!" Her father interjected loudly, "Hopefully we can engineer a weapon from it."

"You must." Bra'tac bowed his head, his hands clasped in front of him. "Or we will be left helpless to combat these new warriors."

A sense of foreboding unfurled in Sam's chest, and she sucked in a quick breath before addressing General Hammond. "We have some bad news, sir. Anubis has an entire army of these Super Soldiers. There are thousands of them. The best we were able to do was delay his ability to manufacture more."

"We'll debrief fully in one hour." The General nodded, dismissing them with a sweep of his head. "Welcome home." He exited the Gateroom, and Sam exchanged a glance with her father before the others began to follow suit, shuffling out of the room in various states of injury.

"Hey." Jack called out to her and she paused, turning to him. "So, nice command."

Sam smiled briefly at the Colonel's backhanded way of complimenting. "We did manage to make it out alive, sir." She said pointedly; this wasn't exactly her first rodeo.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "There's that... Lunch?"

He strode out of the room and she followed, falling into step beside him as they lapsed into silence. By the time they reached the mess hall, Sam's palms were itching from the lack of conversation. She was glad to spot Teal'c and Daniel at their usual table.

"Hey guys." She smiled, taking her usual seat next to Daniel. Teal'c bowed his head in her direction from across the table. Daniel was hunched over a mound of food nearly as big as Teal'c's, wolfing it down like a starving bear, but he mumbled a greeting from around his mouthful of spaghetti.

"I'm starving. You want anything, Carter?" Jack offered, pointing to the cafeteria line.

"Just coffee, thanks." She smiled up at him, and he trotted off in the direction of the food.

"You're not hungry?" Daniel asked when he finally swallowed his mouthful. She shook her head, watching as he picked the olives off his pizza and stacked them on the side of his plate closest to her.

"Nah." She said, even as she reached for one of his olives and popped it in her mouth. It is what they had always done, and Sam hadn't even been able to look at a slice of pizza in the year Daniel had been gone.

"Is it not important for you to consume nutrients prior to or soon after taking pain-relieving medications, Major Carter?" Sam eyed the Jaffa, who was well aware that he had just dobbed her in, if the smug raise of his eyebrow was any indication.

Daniel's eyes whipped from Teal'c to Sam, and she could feel his accusing stare boring into the side of her head. "You took morphine on an empty stomach? Sam, you know that always makes you sick." He fussed like a mother hen, trying to shove his pizza under her nose.

"And you know it also makes me queasy." She firmly pushed his plate of food back towards him, trying to look stern.

Daniel sighed, suddenly taking on a very forlorn expression. "Well, I guess that means you don't want this jello then. I snagged it for you because it was the last one, but if you're not hungry..." He picked up the glass of neon-blue gelatine, staring down at it morosely. Sam pursed her lips, trying her hardest not to laugh. "Fine," she sighed loudly, rolling her eyes, "I'll eat the damn jello, jeez."

He slid the glass of wobbling sugar towards her, grinning; the first real smile she had seen on him since he left for Honduras, and she mirrored his expression. Both scientists missed the way the corners of Teal'c's mouth lifted.

"One black coffee comin' up." Jack set the mug down in front of her as he rejoined them.

"Thank you, sir." She said with a nod, smiling up at her commander as he took his seat at the head of the table with his own plate. He only eyed the two items in front of her, his eyebrow raised. "That's...healthy."

Sam shrugged, sneaking a glance at Daniel before turning her attention back to the Colonel. "What? This is a complete meal in my books." She grinned.

O - O - O - O - O

After the debriefing, Sam and Daniel headed for the elevator, having been ordered off base by General Hammond. Sam walked slowly, patiently matching her pace to Daniel's hobble. "How's your leg?" She reached out with her good arm to press the elevator button, the doors sliding open almost immediately.

Daniel leant back against the inside of the lift and shrugged. "It's my first actual bullet wound so...that's a nice change, I guess." Sam smirked, shaking her head at his reflex sarcasm. The Colonel was rubbing off on him. She stood next to him, leaning back against the wall as the red numbers on the display above the door counted down.

"How's the shoulder?" He nodded to the sling around her right arm, studying the way she held it close to her body, before his eyes roamed back up to meet her gaze.
She smiled. "It'll be fine. It's definitely not my first dislocation." Daniel didn't return her smile; his frown only deepened, his cool eyes boring into hers. He reached out, his fingertips brushing across her cheek where she knew a dark bruise was forming when she hadn't been able to get out of the way of the Supersoldier's fist fast enough.
Sam swallowed hard, her heart suddenly doubling its normal rhythm. She stepped away, moving to the centre of the elevator and trying to will away the burning in her cheeks.

She turned to face him once she had carefully reconstructed her defences. "Hey, listen. I was thinking since, you know, it'll be pretty hard for you be up and around for a while, if you want, you could stay with me for a couple days?" She tried to mention it as casually as possible, forcing her face into a nonchalant expression.
He looked surprised, his eyebrows raising before he dropped his gaze to his shoes. "Oh, uh, that's okay, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. You're injured, Sam, you should be taking it easy."

Sam's face softened. Only Daniel would be more concerned about her after everything he'd just been through. Against her better judgement, Sam moved to stand before him, reaching out to gently lay her hand on his arm. "Daniel, you and I both know sleep doesn't come easy after something like that. At least let me be there for you – you don't have to be alone." She said softly, knowing all too well what was to come.

Daniel met her gaze with a fleeting smile, before his eyes fell to a point somewhere around her knees. "Thank you, Sam." He all but whispered. She smiled at him, but he was too busy staring at her knees to notice it was stained with sadness.

"Hey, what are friends for?"