Samantha Carter seemed to have vanished without a trace. Now, nearly twenty-four hours later, Janet had called the remaining half of SG1 and the general together, claiming that she may have found a solution. Reluctantly, Jack left a very annoyed Daniel under the care of half a dozen guards to join them. Sometimes Jack thought that Daniel had no self preservation instincts; he had already suggested using himself as bait to lure Sam out and he had never stopped grumbling about the heightened security surrounding him. Now he was annoyed that he couldn't join them in their meeting, recovering as he was or not, and he resented being left with half a dozen body guards.
"Look, Daniel," Jack said in exasperation at Daniel's pouting look, "Like it or not, you're a target. Now until Carter is caught, you'll just have to accept that." Jack finished his perfectly reasonable argument and then sighed. Daniel was huddled on his bed, wrapped in a self-hug and behind the pout there was definitely hurt. Jack knew that Daniel was feeling guilty; one of his best friends was trying to kill him so of course he thought it was somehow his fault. Added to that natural inclination of Daniel's towards guilt, he was on medication that was heightening his emotions while he still recovered from his wounds. Altogether he made a rather pathetic and depressed figure.
"Come on, Danny, you're still recovering," Jack insisted, "I'll come back and tell you everything after the meeting, ok?"
"All right, Jack," Daniel answered, not really looking towards him. Jack hesitated a moment longer at the doorway before he finally tore himself away. Even without Daniel's depressed pout he was already leery of leaving him while Sam was on the loose. Half a dozen guards or not, he didn't feel comfortable unless he himself was watching over him.
"Good of you to finally join us, Colonel," Hammond said as Jack walked swiftly into the meeting room.
"Sorry sir," Jack answered as he took his seat and then he turned impatiently towards Janet, wanting this meeting to go as quickly as possible. Janet began at once, after receiving the go-ahead from Hammond, first recapping everything they knew so far. Finally, she got to the point.
"So, as you know, Major Carter seems to have developed her obsession with Colonel O'Neill. And if this phenomenon is based upon mind control technology as we all suspect, then it stands to reason that Colonel O'Neill should have some control over her."
"You mean she has to do what I say?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. Janet hesitated.
"Not exactly, sir. Though that is entirely possible, but it seems that the technology did not work as planned, it may even have mutated with the introduction of the armbands. However, I believe that Major Carter would be likely to find it difficult to go against a direct order from you. And if that order was cloaked in…say…an admission to desire on your part…I don't think she'd be as likely to question it as she would when in her normal, rational state of mind."
"So what…you saying I call her up for a date or something?" Jack asked, "And she won't suspect a trap?"
"I'm saying that even if she does suspect a trap, her irrational impulse will cause her to fall into this trap anyway." The three men considered her words.
"How is it that Colonel O'Neill will contact the major?" Hammond asked, "She hasn't exactly been answering her calls."
"Again, based upon what we know of her…obsession, I find it very unlikely that she has gone far," Janet answered, "Even if she gave up on going after Daniel, she wouldn't be able to stay away from the Colonel. If she is on base, we can use the intercom to contact her. If not…I'd guess that she would be in the vicinity of the Colonel's house."
"So if she doesn't respond here, send a search out there?" Jack asked, frowning.
"Exactly," Janet agreed, "And in the mean time, I will get back to work on a way to reverse this."
Once the meeting was over, Jack was tempted to head straight for the intercom, wanting to draw Sam out at once, but he considered how Daniel would react when he heard his message after being kept in the dark on their plans, and decided a quick trip to visit Daniel would be best.
"I don't know, Jack," Daniel answered when he heard the plan, "What if she turns psycho on you when she learns you tricked her?"
"In the first place, I won't exactly be unprotected," Jack pointed out, "And in the second place, she likes me. It's you she wants to off."
"Yeah, now," Daniel answered, "But how do you think she'll react when she finally realizes she doesn't have a chance? Maybe she'll do the whole 'if I can't have you, no one can' thing and blow you both up!"
"She won't have a chance to, Daniel," Jack answered, "We're gonna knock her out the moment she shows." Daniel was silent for a moment, not looking towards Jack as he considered this.
"Teal'c told me about the balcony," he said finally, still not looking in Jack's direction. Jack frowned.
"She wasn't trying to kill me," he said, "It was a trap for you."
"But don't you see, Sam is smart. If she was in her right mind but still wanted to kill me, she never would have set up a trap like that. She knew you visited me, she knew how you sometimes leaned against the rail; she had to know it was possible that someone besides me might fall. So if this think has her so messed up that she would try to kill me with a trap that could potentially hurt you…who knows what else she might do."
"Exactly!" Jack exclaimed, "That's why it's so important to catch her." Daniel sighed, then finally nodded his head. Jack made a move as though to take hold of him but he drew back again, wary of all the extra surveillance put in place until Sam was caught. That was another reason to hurry up and catch her; they would have no privacy until they did.
An hour later, everything was ready. Jack made his announcement over the intercom.
"Carter…Sam," he said, his voice echoing down the halls of the SGC, "Look, I think we really need to talk. I was wrong to spurn you. You mean everything to me. I think…I love you. I've decided to retire so we can be together. I know it wasn't you trying to kill Daniel and I'm sorry I had you locked up. Please come meet with me. I'm in the VIP room 5." That was his message. If she looked into the computer system, everything he had just said checked out. The search for her had been called off and Jack was retired. Now all they had to do was wait.
Jack made it through twenty-six games of solitaire before she made her move. Jack never saw her. She was tranquilized and captured before she made it into the room, having been spotted walking down the hall.
Jack avoided visiting her, though he felt he had to at least once to explain his ruse. The computer files had been straightened out, listing him as un-retired once again. The guard that once surrounded Daniel at all times now surrounded Sam, and they along with restraints ensured there wouldn't be a repeat of her escape. They were still looking into how she had pulled it off in the first place, as well as how she had managed to stay hidden for so long. Jack's visit did not go well. She alternatively cursed him for his duplicity and pleaded with him, professing her undying love.
Daniel, on the other hand, was doing much better. He was healing nicely and Janet spoke of sending him home soon, so long as someone stayed with him, which was her way of saying he could go home with Jack. Though Daniel was still upset about Sam, constantly asking if there had been any breakthroughs with a cure, he was at least happy with the reduce in security. Then, three days later, Janet and her team of doctors and scientists finally worked out their cure.
She explained fervently how it worked in two parts, to attack the organic matter and it seemed to rewrite parts of the brain. Jack finally held up his hand to stop her detailed explanations, only needing to know that it would work and that it wasn't likely to harm Sam. A few hours later, the procedure was begun.
A few hours after that, everyone was waiting for her to wake up. It looked like it had been a complete success. The latest scans showed her brain to be back to normal, but Janet couldn't be sure of any affects the procedure might have had until Sam woke up. Finally, she opened her eyes.
She looked around for a moment looking confused and sleepy. Jack knew the moment the memories hit her when her eyes opened wide and she sat up very quickly.
"Oh god, Daniel! I tried to kill Daniel!" she cried, her voice high in panic.
"Easy, Carter," Jack said, happy to hear the sudden confession because it seemed to mean his 2IC was back to normal, though he knew it couldn't be so easy for her. He tried to imagine waking up one day and realizing that he had tried to kill Daniel and shuddered.
"You were under some sort of mind control," Janet explained calmly, "It wasn't you. But we do have a few questions, if you feel up to it." Sam looked white as the sheet she clutched, her eyes wide as she tried to come to term with her memories.
"Oh god, sir! Daniel…I…"
"We understand," Jack said shortly.
"No, sir, you don't, it isn't what I tried to do it's what I did…while I was hiding from everyone…you have to go to him now, before it's too late!" Jack listened to her rambling, trying to make sense of it as the first tendons of fear clutched his heart.
"Carter, what exactly are you trying to say?" he demanded. As he tried to get Sam to calm down enough to speak clearly, Teal'c made his way to a phone, demanding information on Daniel.
"Come on, Carter," Jack said, "Spit it out."
"O'Neill," Teal'c interrupted, "Did you sign a form requesting that Daniel Jackson be removed from his location?"
"What?" Jack asked, spinning around to look at Teal'c, "Why would I want to move him?"
"In that case," Teal'c said, "It seems that Daniel Jackson is missing."