Though weeks had passed, Jack still felt squirrely looking at Carter. Not… not that kind of squirrely. He'd put those dangerous thoughts away a while ago now. He watched her sit at the briefing room table, smirking into her coffee as Teal'c said something possibly drole at what looked to be Daniel's expense. She was quiet alright, but she was always pretty quiet unless heading off whatever monster-of-the-week they had managed to piss off or bump into – and even then she wasn't rude. He smiled inwardly as he glanced at his team from his briefing sheet: he would rather these three people watching his back than anyone else; okay, maybe Ferretti. The inward smile grew sombre as he recalled Kawalsky.

Still, he thought, Carter. She'd lost a kid. When he'd lost… him. He mentally checked himself. Charlie. When he had lost Charlie, he had been in a really dark place: he was willing to kill himself on another world, so far away from home. But he didn't recognise that same darkness in Carter. She seemed at peace. That's what made him squirrely. He wasn't the best with emotions, but he expected more from her. He had experienced loss before – personally and through others, and it unnerved him to see her so calm. So different from how she had been on the day it happened.

He briefly met Tealc's gaze, the Jaffa almost imperceptibly inclining his head towards him, not conspiratorially but as though he knew the way his thoughts had taken him, and he was reassuring him. Well, if Teal'c wasn't squirrelled out, Jack thought he must be getting paranoid in his old age. Maybe this being 'the man' was long overdue if his spidey senses were out. Still, Carter had been reviewed by Brightman and two Shrinks. She'd accompanied a science team to P9X… something. She'd even been supervised by Reynolds. So, unless everyone here was under the influence of something, Carter must be fit for duty. She really wasn't that good at hiding how she felt, even after eight years of 'gating through the ol' orifice.

He casually turned his briefing paper the right way up, blankly staring at a sceptical Daniel who had unfortunately noticed. He was not looking forward to that razor sharp wit again. He gradually became aware of Carter speaking. Dammit, he was going to have to wing it again if there were questions or comments about the first part of what she'd said. He wasn't about to have Teal'c and Daniel ripping into him again. No-one had done that to Hammond. He briefly smirked, more inwardly than outwardly, as he recalled that what they did to him was perhaps a more refined version of what he had done to Hammond in the past. Yeah, they could try all they want but they'd never be that good.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Some time after the briefing, Teal'c purposefully strolled along a corridor. He had been much concerned for a long time regarding an old friend who had suffered greatly; who had suffered in a way that he could not imagine. His internal monologue paused as he smiled politely and inclined his head towards several SG-personnel who greeted him in passing: Doctor Brightman, Sergeant Bates, and Colonel Feretti to name a few. His stroll eventually led him to Colonel Carter's laboratory. There he stood – or loomed as Daniel Jackson had once said while inebriated – and watched his friend alone. In the confines of her laboratory, he noticed her expression not be quite as peaceful as it had been earlier; perhaps she had become accustomed to concealing her true emotions, something which he was aware was not a healthy thing to do. Perhaps she did not want to concern their friends. However, they had grown closer particularly when Daniel Jackson had joined the ranks of the Ancients, and he sought to comfort her, though he was unsure how.

Sam noticed him watching her and she appeared wistful, knowing that Teal'c always noticed more than he would let on. She silently inclined her head for him to come in and he stood by her workspace, watching her, waiting. The silence was almost palpable, though she knew he would not force her to say anything. She met his gaze and held it for a moment, some anguish evident in her eyes, faded anguish but anguish nonetheless. As though sensing his concern, she spoke, her gaze dropping to her lap.

"I'm okay, Teal'c." She shook her head a little and met his gaze again albeit briefly. "I am. I… I had a chance to become a mother." She chuckled humourlessly. "Not in the way I would have chosen, but it happened." She took her beaded bracelet from her wrist and began to fiddle with it. "And I know that people say they would do it all over again." She met his gaze again, tears in her eyes as her voice wavered with emotion. "… but I wouldn't. I honestly wouldn't."

Teal'c sighed silently, ruminating, searching for the right thing to say. It was not often that he found himself speechless. Often, he would choose not to dignify remarks with a verbal reply – usually attempts of humour by Jack O'Neill – but seldom would he be unable to find appropriate words to say especially in emotional situations. His inner monologue was interrupted as Sam continued to speak.

"He tried to take my pain away but there are some things that can't be forgotten." She smiled wistfully. "I don't need any more time off. I just need to get back to work and concentrate on what really matters."

He gazed at her softly and said, "Jacob was of consequence and he will not be forgotten."

Tears still in her eyes, she replied, "But as long as I think of him, I can't do my job; there is so much more out there."

"But he will always be a part of you." He paused. "And he is indeed out there." He smiled slightly as he gazed at his friend. "Perhaps we will encounter him in time." He inclined his head. "Or perhaps we may not, but if his species learn through experiential learning, you may have changed him beyond measure."

Teal'c enveloped a sobbing Sam in his arms, feeling that words would not suffice. DoctorFrasier had once told him that grief was a process, and ColonelCarter would need time and space to work through the process. Though it was a process, it affected him significantly to see his friend in this manner. And so he remained, letting his normally reserved friend express her grief.