Chapter 9
"So this thing is going to take the memories of the other timeline out of their heads?" Mitchell asked Sam.
"Essentially, yes. Bill and I modified one of the pods from the Stromos to extract the other personalities."
"So, when this is all over, they won't remember any of that?" Cam asked, pointing through the window to the scene below. Jackson and Vala were in the middle of a heart to heart, and Cam was pretty sure he just heard Jackson proclaim his love for her.
"None of it. It's too much for them to have in their heads."
"I don't know, Sam. What if they don't want to lose these memories? What if they'd rather have them for whatever time they've got left; you know, they'd have each other. They might-"
He was interrupted by Vala's shouting. Jackson was curled up on the floor, head in his hands, yelling. Vala was shouting for the doctor. A medical team raced in and started caring for Daniel.
Sam eyed him. "You really think they would rather live in agony for a day or two, just so they wouldn't have to forget?"
"No," he said, defeated. "I guess not."
They watched in momentary silence as the medical team managed to get Jackson into the bed. One of the nurses stuck him with a syringe that Cam hoped was pain medication. Or a sedative. Or both.
"You know, maybe we could just tell them about all of this. They wouldn't remember it, but if we told them what happened, maybe-"
"We can't tell them, Cam," Carter insisted. "That's what started this mess. If we tell them what happened, they could end up remembering, and then this will all start again!"
"Is that even possible? If we get these memories, these other personalities, out of them, shouldn't that be the end of it?"
"I honestly don't know, Cam. None of this should be possible. But I'm not about to take the risk that this could happen again."
Mitchell crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, we don't tell them. But they've done this twice now, right? Ended up together? Chances are, it'll happen again. If we let things run their natural course, then-"
"We have to try to prevent that too."
"Oh, come on! Sam, this is ridiculous!"
"We can't risk it, Cam! Vala said she thought the reason this was affecting them and not the rest of us was because of their emotional ties to the other timeline. From what we've seen, she's probably right. This all started because they started getting close again. If we can, we have to try to stop that from happening."
"Sam, don't you think those two deserve a happy ending?"
Sam looked down into the med lab at Daniel's prone form on the bed. "Of course I do. I was with Daniel when he lost Sharé. And I know what Vala's been through. But I'd rather have them alive and well."
"And what if they'd rather take the risk?" Cam challenged. "What if they'd rather be happy than be safe?"
"If it was one or the other of them, maybe. But both of them? Cam, we can't let this happen to them. We have to keep them apart."
Cam sighed heavily. "Fine, but I don't like it."
"Neither do I," Sam admitted.
"This stays between us and Teal'c. No one else needs to be prying into their personal lives. It's bad enough that we're doing it."
Sam nodded. "Let's talk to Dr. Lam. If we're going to do this, we need to do it soon. I don't think Daniel has much time left."