A/N- Thanks for the reviews! I and a job interview last week, and hoping & praying I get it, so I am going to try to get this finished asap, since I may not have as much time to devote to it later on. Chapters are going to be longer also. Big hugs to Somnium for being my wonderful beta. (This chapter is not beta'd though.) If anyone sees any horrendous mistakes, please let me know. Thanks.

Disclaimer-I don't own Stargate- If I did, there would be a season 11, 12, and so on…

Chapter 11

Night time was quiet around the SGC if there wasn't some cosmic emergency to be attended to. A skeleton crew kept an eye on things for General Hammond, and Sam knew she could use that to her advantage. Stomach cramps had awoken her from a fitful sleep, along with some pain in her legs. She opened the door to find a guard posted outside. "Oh, should've known. I need to go to the infirmary."

"I have to escort you, Ma'am." The young airman replied.

"I know." Sam sighed. The two made their way to the infirmary, and Sam found a nurse at the desk. The guard waited outside as Sam went in, closing the door behind her.

"Uh, hi. Janet's not around is she?" Sam asked, knowing Janet had gone home earlier, but had left specific instructions to be called in the event that Sam had any other side effects or withdrawal symptoms.

"No, ma'am. She did tell me to call her if you weren't…feeling well. I'll give her a…" The nurse reached for the phone and Sam grabbed her wrist.

"Look, you don't need to call her. I just need something for stomach cramps, okay?" Sam spoke a bit too forcefully for the nurse's liking. "And my legs, they hurt."

"I am under strict orders from Dr. Frasier." Nurse Collins pulled her arm from Sam's grasp and continued nervously. "Please have a seat. It won't take her long to get here."

Letting out a loud "Fine." Sam turned to sit on a gurney, but changed her mind. Spotting the nurse with her back turned, obviously not wanting her to hear the conversation, Sam took two strides toward her and cracked the back of nurse Collin's head with an x-ray tray that had been left out on the desk. Looking towards the door to make sure the guard hadn't heard anything; she grabbed a set of keys from the unconscious woman's pocket and made her way to the pharmacy closet.

Sam noticed her hands had begun to shake, and she fumbled trying to find the right key. "Dammit, come on already!" After what seemed like forever and constantly looking over her shoulder, she made her way in. Rifling through the various drugs, which some even she couldn't pronounce, she came across some Demerol and Valium. The first being a very strong pain medication for her legs, and the second being a tranquilizer for her shaking hands. Sam downed two of each, placed the bottles in her pocket and left.

Straightening her clothes, she opened the door to the infirmary. "All set."

Her mind was racing as she tried to make her way back to her quarters before the alarms went off. The guard would have to hold her there until reinforcements arrived. Sam decided her next course of action, and it would have to be carried out as quickly as possible. She stopped walking and bent over as if in pain. "Ahhhh, damn…"

The airman leaned over to check on her. "Are you okay ma'am?"

Sam's body flew up, elbow first, which landed squarely between the eyes of the unsuspecting soldier who crumpled to the ground. Sam reached down and took the sidearm from the still body.

Feeling the meds kicking in, but not enough to hinder her abilities, Sam took off running for the control room. Images of Shaylon ran through her mind. Finally, after all this time, she could have everything she ever dreamed of having. There would be no one to give her orders, no one she would have to answer to, no unreal expectations to live up to. Every choice, every decision would be hers.

She slowed to a walk as she arrived at the control room, so not to give anything away. Sam quietly made her way up the stairs to find Sergeant Harriman at the controls. "Doesn't this guy have a life?" Creeping up behind him, she placed him in a choke hold just until he was rendered unconscious. Sam lowered him to the floor and sat at the computer. Quickly inputting the address to Shaylon's planet, she then set the controls to lock anyone else out. Just as the gate started to dial, alarms began blaring.

Sam raced down to the gateroom, and waited for the wormhole to open. "Come on, come on!" The vortex whooshed open and she went up the ramp.

Just as she was about to step through, Colonel O'Neill's voice came from behind. "Carter! What the hell are you doing?"

Sam slowly turned as she pulled the gun from her belt and aimed at Jack. "Sorry, sir. I have to go…I have to..."

Back in control room, Daniel and Teal'c arrived to see the commotion as Hammond tried to shut down the gate. "She locked us out! Get someone down here to override her commands!" They could do nothing but wait and watch the interaction between O'Neill and Carter. More security forces entered the gate area and raised their weapons at Sam.

"Stand down!" Jack ordered the men. The last thing he wanted was to have one of his team shot by friendly fire. "Sam, you don't have to. He lied to you! You know that!" Jack yelled.

"No…he needs me…I need…I need to go back." There was desperation in her voice, something Jack had heard many times before.

"Carter, you don't want to shoot me. Look at you…Sam, I know what it's like!"

Sam very slowly took a step back, the gun still raised. She fought back tears; she didn't want to hurt her friends, most of all she didn't want to hurt him. She knew there was something more between herself and Jack, but it was something that would never be. Sam felt like she was being torn into pieces. A part of her wanted Jack, a part of her wanted Shaylon, and a part of her wanted power and control.

"No. No. You don't!" Sam shouted back.

"Sam please…just come down here." Jack pleaded as he took a step forward on the ramp.

"Don't Jack…" Sam tightened her grip on the pistol. She watched Jack's eyes as they quickly glanced at her legs, and she knew what was about to happen.

Jack took a breath and began to come forward. The part of Sam that longed for power and control took over. A loud crack rang out in the gateroom, and as a wounded Jack fell on the ramp, another shot was fired and slammed into Sam, pushing her through the shimmering blue puddle.