It took them almost 10 hours before they reached P3R 2Z6, or 'Dirt Planet' as Jack now referred to it. By the time they arrived he was feeling pretty awful and he felt like he was burning up. At the same time he had the chills and kept shivering the entire way. He thought it very odd to be on fire and freezing at the same time. When she could Sam tried to warm him by curling up next to him but she had to keep checking the controls and, since they didn't have any blankets, he was pretty miserable.

As soon as they arrived at the planet she checked the surface. When it still showed no life forms she slowly landed the Teltak close to the Stargate. Someone from the SGC could return and retrieve it at a later date. She cut the controls and quickly returned to Jack, who appeared to be asleep.

"Jack, we're here." He didn't move so she reached down and gently shook him. He groaned but didn't wake up.

"Come on Jack, time to go home." Again had groaned and tried to turn over. It was only when she called, "Colonel!" that he slowly opened his eyes.

"What Carter?" he croaked. If anything he felt worse than he had earlier.

"We're here Sir. Time to go."

"Okay." He tried to sit up but was too weak. Kneeling down she helped him. "Here", she stood up and offered him her arm. Using all her strength she managed to get him to his feet where he swayed precariously. "Are you going to make it?" she asked, worried.

"Oh yeah. Don't worry – I keep thinking of a nice toasty blanket and some good drugs."

She was surprised. Usually he did everything possible to avoid (or at least pretend to avoid) the Infirmary. He must really feel rotten.

"Okay then, let's go." Pulling his arm over her shoulder she walked towards the door. Hitting the control they waited until it opened. The blast of hot, dry air hit them as soon as the door slid open.

"You have the GDO?"

"Yes Sir", she answered. Fortunately she had kept it strapped on her wrist so hadn't lost it during the stampede or capture by the Goa'uld.

She continued to help Jack as they walked towards the Gate. She was relieved they'd arrived in time although she knew he was pretty sick. She just prayed that Janet's drugs would work quickly.

They arrived at the DHD and she helped him lean up against it while she dialed. The sight of the event horizon as it 'whooshed' open sent goose bumps up her arms.

"Let's go." Reaching for Jack she again helped him as they mounted the steps. She stopped and sent their code through, hoping it hadn't been locked out. With fingers crossed she began to walk forward.

"Wait". Jack stopped and she looked up at him.

"What is it Sir?" she asked.

"Not Sir. Jack." He stepped back and reached his hand out and gently touched her cheek. He looked at her for a second, no expression on his face.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"I just wanted to spend a moment as Sam and Jack before we have to go back to being Colonel and Major." Sighing he leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. "I love you Sam. Don't ever forget that."

She kissed him back, feeling the tears begin to gather in her eyes. "I won't Jack. No matter what, we're together now. I love you too."

He gave a small, sad smile and standing back, took her hand. "Let's go home Major." They stepped through the horizon.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Daniel heard the announcement of an unauthorized gate activation but didn't even look up. He was struggling to translate a text from an artifact brought back by SG7. He wasn't really into it and his mind kept wandering. He knew he would have to get a hold of himself. It had been almost four months and the General had called off all search parties.

Daniel knew in his heart that Jack and Sam were still alive. He figured they must have been captured by whichever Goa'uld was on the planet. Unfortunately they hadn't found any evidence of who that was. When they'd returned, a couple of weeks after he and Teal'c had returned to Earth, there was no sign of them. The Tokra who had taken them back to the planet had done an intensive search but had found no human life signs.

They had tried to find some evidence of which Goa'uld had been on the planet but they could find nothing. Neither he nor Teal'c had gotten a glimpse of the Jaffa's tattoos and there was nothing left on the planet itself.

The General had finally had them declared MIA although Daniel had fought against it. They had tried everything, including getting in touch with any and all allies to see if anyone knew where their friends had been taken. There was nothing.

He suddenly stopped and put down the artifact. Wait, there were no teams off world. Who could be coming through the gate?

"Daniel Jackson." He looked up and there was Teal'c in the doorway. "I am going to the Gate Room. Do you wish to accompany me?"

"Yeaaaah", he answered slowly, a strange feeling coming over him. Standing up he headed out the door. It couldn't be. It was highly improbable – but still, it just might be. Suddenly he started to hurry, as did Teal'c. By the time they got to the Gate Room they were practically running.

"Who is it?" he shouted up to Walter and the General in the Control room.

It was Walter who answered. "We received SG1's code. It's an old one – from four months ago."

Oh God. Let it be them. They all turned back to the gate, which was active, and watched. Quietly, with no fanfare, two bodies came through. Everyone froze as they looked at Sam standing there, Jack beside her, his arm over her shoulder.

"Hi kids. Happy to see us?"

"O'Neill/Sam." Daniel and Teal'c rushed up the ramp to where their friends were standing. Hammond turned and hurried towards the stairs and Walter stood with a big grin on his face.

"Jack, where have you been?" Daniel rushed up and threw his arms around his friends. It was only as stepped back that he realized something was wrong.

"Daniel Jackson, I believe O'Neill is hurt."

"Hiya Teal'c" Jack muttered. "Yeah – just a little hurt. Sam."

"Yes Colonel."

"Can you … tell Danny … and Teal'c … I'm about to …" with that his eyes rolled up and he collapsed. Fortunately Teal'c was close enough to catch him and keep him from falling to the ground.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything Walter had called for a medical team.

"Major, what happened?" The General hurried up the ramp and looked down at the pale face of his 2IC.

"He was gored Sir, by a wild pig. The wounds are infected." Just then the doors opened and in rushed the medical team with Doc Frasier in the lead.

"What do we have Gen – Sam! Oh my goodness, it's good to see you!" She immediately looked down at O'Neill who was being held in Teal'c's arms.

"What happened?" she was suddenly all business.

Sam briefly repeated what had happened and soon Jack was on the gurney and being raced to the Infirmary. As she left the Gate Room Janet turned back. "Someone accompany Major Carter to the Infirmary. She needs to get checked out."

"Come Major Carter, Daniel Jackson and I will accompany you."

"Major, it's good to have you back. Once you've been checked out I'd like to hear where you've been and what happened." General Hammond reached out and touched her arm. He needed to actually feel to believe she was real.

"Of course Sir. And it's good to be back." She tried to pay attention to General Hammond but she was dying to follow Jack. She was desperately worried about him.

"So Sam, where did you guys go and how did you get away?" Daniel asked as they walked to the Infirmary.

"Go? We didn't go anywhere. We've been on the planet the whole time." She wasn't paying attention, focused on finding out how Jack was doing, so she didn't notice that Daniel stopped and stared at her.

"What?" he finally said, hurrying to catch up to her. "But we checked. We went back and you weren't there."

"Yes we were Daniel. The Jaffa destroyed the gate so we couldn't go anywhere. We were there the whole time."

"But –"

"Later Dr. Jackson", Teal'c held Daniel's arm. "Let the doctors check to make sure she is all right. We can find out more later."

Daniel stopped again and watched as one of the nurses escorted Samantha to an examination room. They could hear her ask about Jack as she disappeared behind a curtain.

"What do you think happened?" he asked Teal'c.

"I do not know. I am sure we will find out shortly." The two friends sat and waited to find out how their friends were doing.

"Janet!" Sam looked up from the examination table as the Doctor walked into the room, pulling off her gloves. "How is he?"

"Well, he's got a bad infection – it's gone septic so we have him on a strong, broad-based antibiotic. The orderlies are just settling him into bed and then you can see him. He's very sick Sam, but he should be okay now that we've got him on medication." She went over and sat beside her friend. "How are you doing?"

"Me? I'm fine Janet. Dr. Warner says I'm a bit underweight but otherwise I'm good. Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Janet was surprised at how panicky Sam sounded.

"Well, I guess we won't know for sure until the medicine takes affect but you know the Colonel, he has the constitution of an ox. I'm sure he'll begin responding soon." She turned to look at her friend, noticing how long Sam's hair had grown and how 'unmilitary' she looked, even in her tattered BDU's. There was something different about her friend, although she couldn't put her finger on it. There was something she needed to ask however.

"Sam?"

"Yes Janet?"

"The Colonel – he has a lot more scars than when he left here and some of them look pretty bad. What happened to him?"

Sam spent the next few minutes telling Janet a shortened version of their time on the planet. She didn't want to tell everything as she knew she'd have to repeat it all to the General soon enough.

"Wow, so you're telling me he was attacked by a Sabre Tooth Tiger?"

"Yes. It was huge – the most frightening thing I've ever seen. I thought for sure he was dead. Actually, he almost did die – it was awful Janet."

"I'm sure it was Sam. But from what you've told me you saved his life!"

"Well, I didn't want to end up all alone! And anyway, you said it yourself, the Colonel is tough. He was in terrible pain though!"

"I'm sure he was. Those wounds look like they were deep. The scars are pretty dramatic."

"I know. I didn't do a very good job of sewing him up." Sam sounded guilty.

"Oh, for heavens sake Sam, I'm sure the Colonel doesn't care about that! Anyway, if he wants we can get a plastic surgeon to repair some of the scars so they look better."

"Doctor, Colonel O'Neill is settled." Nurse Madson peaked her head in as instructed.

"Come on Sam, let's go see how he's doing." Sam didn't need anymore prompting. Jumping down from the examination table she hurried into the room where Jack lay sleeping. He was hooked up, as usual, to all sorts of IV's and monitors.

"Does he really need all this stuff?" she asked the Doctor. It made him look so weak and sick.

"Well, it's just a precaution. Mainly he just needs the IV but we're monitoring him closely in case we need to change the antibiotics."

"Is that likely?"

"Probably not, but we are dealing with an alien bacteria so we won't know for a while. You can stay for now Sam, but then I want you to go take a shower and change. It'll make you feel a lot better and then you can rest. The Colonel isn't going to wake up for a long time. I've given him a pretty strong sedative so he should be out for the night.

Once Janet had left she walked up to the bed and took Jack's hand. "You get better now! Don't you dare let this take you down. You're stronger than any older Porku Oneill. You come back to me." She whispered quietly. Bending down she gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

Daniel was startled to see Sam lean down and kiss the man in the bed. He never thought he would ever see the day when she would show such open affection for the Colonel. He started to back out again, to give Sam some privacy, when she turned and caught him standing there. He could see her face flush, knowing she'd been caught.

"Daniel", she whispered.

"It's okay Sam. I know you're worried about him. We all are."

"Yeah", she laughed softly. "Just as long as you don't show your worry by kissing him!"

"Ewww Sam. Don't even say such a thing." He then laughed, relieved that she was able to joke about it. "How's he doing?" He looked at the man in the bed. He looked so ill! Daniel prayed they wouldn't lose him after just getting him back.

"He's resting. Janet has him on all sorts of drugs so hopefully it'll kick the infection."

At that moment Teal'c walked in. "Major Carter. How is O'Neill?" She repeated what Janet had told her. Now that the guys were here she thought she would go take a quick shower. She couldn't believe how much she was looking forward to it – that and clean clothes.

"Guys, can you watch him for a while? I'm going to go clean up."

"Of course Sam. Go – we'll let you know if anything changes." With a smile she walked to the door. Just before leaving the room she stopped and looked back at Jack. "I'll be back Colonel."

By the time she had showered, washed her hair and changed into clean clothes she felt human again. She immediately hurried back to Jack's room. When she entered she saw that all three of the male members of SG1 were present and accounted for. Jack was still asleep – although the steady beep of the monitors was encouraging. Teal'c and Daniel sat quietly, watching their friend.

"How is he?" She asked quietly.

Daniel answered. "Janet was just in and said his fever has gone done a bit. She thinks the drugs are working and are beginning to kick the infection."

"Thank God!" She suddenly collapsed into a chair, mentally and physically exhausted after the long and stressful day they'd had.

"It's so good to see you Sam", Daniel looked over at her and smiled. "We missed you."

"Thank you Daniel – and we missed you too, so much!"

" It has not been the same here without you and O'Neill", Teal'c added.

"No, it's certainly been a lot quieter with Jack gone!" Daniel smiled. "He's right Sam, we really missed you both."

Shortly after that Janet made her way into the room. "Okay guys, times up. Sam, you need to sleep. Daniel, Teal'c, you can come back in the morning. The Colonel isn't going to wake up for a while and you all need your strength for when he starts to recuperate!"

"Janet, I want to stay." The Doc started to protest but then looked at the face of her friend. She knew there was no way Sam would get any rest away from the Colonel. Hell, they'd been together, going through God knows what, for the last four months. She shouldn't expect the Major to just walk away and leave him.

"Okay Sam. I'll have the nurse make up the other bed. But you will lie down and try and sleep. There's no way I'm going to let you get sick too. I'll have nurse Madson stay in the room and watch him so you can rest easy. We'll wake you if there's any change."

Sam nodded and smiled in thanks at her friend. Saying goodnight to Daniel and Teal'c she waited until the nurse made up her bed. When the nurse left to check on something Sam pushed her bed a little closer to the Colonel's. She hated not being right next to him but she was grateful Janet was allowing her to stay. As she curled up under the blankets (not furs thank goodness!) she looked at Jack until slowly her eyes closed and she slept.

Janet walked in a while later and smiled as she watched her two friends. Both of them had turned towards each other in sleep and Sam's arm was flung out towards the other bed. She wondered for a moment what had happened between the two of them while they were gone. Shaking her head she realized she'd probably never know. Now that they were back in the SGC they would have to revert to their former relationship. Sighing, all she could think was how sad that was.

"Aaargh" Sam heard a groan coming from somewhere beside her. It took her a moment to remember where she was when she woke up but, when she did, she immediately leapt out of bed to check on Jack.

"Colonel" she cried. He was looking a bit better although he was still flushed and his skin felt hot. He was tossing and turning a bit so she called for the nurse. Where was she, thought Sam? I thought she was supposed to be here. Just then the Lieutenant walked back in carrying a bowl of water and a cloth.

"Sorry Major", she said, "I went to get some water to help cool the Colonel down. He's a bit uncomfortable and I thought this would help." Setting the bowl down she wet the cloth and rung it out.

"May I Lieutenant?" Sam was standing beside her.

"Certainly Ma'am, if you're sure?" Sam nodded and took the cloth. For the next few minutes she wiped Jack's face and neck, trying to cool him down.

"Feels nice", he murmured.

"You're awake!"

"Nope, still sleepin'."

"Jack!"

"Yeah, okay, I'm awake – but that feels good so don't stop."

"How are you?"

His eyes opened and he looked at her. With a small smile he shrugged, which was clearly a bad idea – made evident by his grimace. "Okay – a little hot but I feel much better than – when was it?"

"Yesterday. It's morning. You slept about 16 hours."

"Must've been tired."

"Yeah, getting gored and then running after a herd of stampeding animals and fighting Jaffa can do that do you."

"Well, technically we didn't fight any Jaffa – that was Chewi."

"Chewi! God, that was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I thought he was going to eat you."

"Yeah, if you think you were scared – try lying under one of those things and feel its breath on you – and its tongue – yech!"

"That was pretty cute actually."

"Cute! I'm sorry – there is no way a two ton tiger is ever gonna be cute! He was terrifying Carter." Just then the door opened and Janet walked in.

"Colonel. How are you this morning Sir?" She walked up and put her hand on his forehead. With pursed lips she then checked his pulse.

"I don't know Doc, you tell me. You're the one checking out all my vitals."

She put his hand down and tried to look fierce, although the smile soon broke through.

"Well, you're still pretty sick Colonel. You have a fever and we haven't gotten rid of the infection yet – but it looks like you're getting better. How are you feeling …. and before you say anything, please, I want the truth Sir."

"Hey, you two must have a pact or something – always doubting me." They both raised their eyebrows at him, looking totally skeptical.

"Okay fine – I don't feel too bad – just hot and tired."

"And the pain."

"The pain is just fine, thank you."

"What does that mean Colonel?" Does it hurt"?

"Well of course it hurts! You'd hurt too if a 1000 lb wild animal gored you." Janet shook her head and walked over to the nurse's table. Taking out a syringe she filled it from a small bottle and walked back to Jack. Taking the IV tube she proceeded to inject the medication into the IV port.

"Hey – what was that?"

"Just a little pain killer Colonel. It'll help take the edge off the pain. Tell me again – what kind of wild animal was it that gored you?"

"It was a HUGE vicious beast. It had these tusks – they must have been three feet long each – and it- "

"It was a pig."

"A pig?" Janet asked

"Come on Carter. It wasn't just a pig – it was a HUGE be-"

"It was a big pig Colonel", she said grinning. Turning to Janet she continued. "It was called a Proku and it was very tasty. In fact, Jack killed one and brought it back to the tribe."

"Tribe?" This was the first Janet had heard of a tribe.

"Yeah – I'll explain everything during the briefing."

"Oh yes, speaking of which the General is expecting us in about 45 minutes." She turned to look at the Colonel who was beginning to look very sleepy. She hadn't told him that the painkiller also had a strong sedative effect. He should sleep for quite a few hours.

"Colonel, you go to sleep. Sam will be back when you wake up."

"Kay", he murmured groggily. He was beginning to feel the drug's effects. "Sam" he said. "Come 'ere'" She walked over to the bed and leaned down. "Don't say anything – yet – kay. Have ta figure it out." He was having trouble getting the words out. Sam was just staring down at him, a sad expression on her face.

"Don't worry Sir. I won't." She watched for a few more seconds until he was sound asleep.

It was almost an hour later by the time they were all seated in the briefing room, anxious to hear Sam's story.

Sam began by telling them of the Jaffa's destruction of the gate and their certainty that there was something of import on the planet. The General looked intrigued but didn't interrupt her story. She then went on to tell them about the first couple of weeks on the planet.

"We knew we had to go in search of more food. There was not a lot of anything around where the gate had been so we decided to head towards mountains. The Colonel thought there might be more game there." She continued on to tell them about finding the cave and then about the attack of the tiger. All of them except Janet looked shocked when she told them what had happened. They hadn't known of his other injuries.

As she proceeded with her story they became more and more shocked – and startled – by what she had to say. Daniel was practically salivating in excitement.

"You mean they were really cavemen? As in ancient, stone age people?"

"Yes, in fact they kind of looked like a cross between modern homo sapiens and Neanderthals."

"Wow! That's amazing. What was their culture like?" Normally Colonel O'Neill, or even the General, would stop him at this point – to try and keep him focused on the mission, but in this case Hammond actually wanted to hear what she had to say.

She spent some time telling them about the tribe, how they lived and their culture. They were all fascinated at this glimpse into the past.

"How did you fit in Sam? Usually society's like these were completely male-dominated and women were either daughters or wives."

"Yeah." She stopped wondering how to continue. "Well, that's definitely the way it was in the tribe. One of the men – a big mean guy by the name of Boobu - yes Janet, that was really his name!" she said as the Doctor giggled, "decided he wanted me as his 'mate'."

"God, what happened?" Daniel asked, worried. The others all sat up straight, concerned as well.

"Jack fought him and won. He then told everyone we were together. We pretended to be 'mated' so the men would stay away. Any single woman was considered tribe property and would be given to one of the men. Their purpose was pretty much to cook and have babies."

"Oh Sam", Janet cried. "That must have been difficult!"

"Yeah, pretending to be mated to Jack would be hard!"

"Dr. Jackson!" the General scolded.

"I meant living in such a male-dominant society Daniel – I wasn't talking about Colonel O'Neill!" Still, Janet had to grin – as did Daniel. Both Teal'c and the General looked solemn, although Sam could swear she could see both of them holding back grins!

"So, you pretended to be 'mated'. How did that work Major?" She knew the General was asking an innocent question but she could feel herself start to feel nauseous. God, she was afraid her guilt was written all over her face.

"Oh, we just had to stick together Sir. Once he'd fought Boobu we were left pretty much alone." She hoped that would satisfy the General. Fortunately, it appeared to do so. Either he was sure of their obedience to the regs – or he was going to turn a blind eye – either way she breathed a sigh of relief.

She then went on and told the rest of the story – right up until the time of their escape. It was only as she finished that she referred back to Daniel's words of the day before.

"You said you came to find us?" She looked at the people around the table.

"Yes. We contacted the Tokra as soon as it became obvious we weren't going to re-establish a connection to the gate. They sent a Tokra by the name of Bak'tor with a ship and he took us back to the planet. We were there for days, circling around, checking things out. Teal'c and I even ringed down to the planet but didn't see any evidence of life. How come you didn't leave us a note or anything?"

"We were afraid the Jaffa would discover any message we left. We were sure that if you returned you would check for our life signs. I can't figure out why you didn't find us."

"No, it's very strange."

"I wonder if that's what the Jaffa were mining?" she asked, almost to herself.

"What is that Major?" The General asked.

"Well, we know they must have found something important. We figured it wasn't Naquada – because why would they have blown the gate just for that? They have lots of Naquada mines all over. No, we were sure it was something else. We wanted to get a sample but with Jack hurt we just concentrated on getting out of there. I wondered if whatever is on that planet acts as some kind of cloaking device or something. I do think we should return Sir."

The General nodded. "I'll think about it Major, once I've had a chance to speak with Colonel O'Neill as well."

"Sam, what did you say the name of that Goa'uld was?" Daniel asked in interest.

"He called himself Ptah."

"Ptah? Hmmm." Daniel thought for a moment, obviously pulling out his great mental store of Eygyptian gods. "Ptah – the God of time." He looked pleased with himself.

"Yes, that's what he said. He also said", she stopped and thought. "He said he 'controlled the present and future and soon he would control the past'. I didn't know what he meant."

They all sat quietly, trying to figure it out.

"Well, I guess that's all for now people." The General finally spoke and then stood up. "Once Jack is better we'll go through all the facts again. I know you must be tired Major. Why don't you take a few days off – just stay close. Hopefully the Colonel will be feeling better soon." He turned to his office, then stopped. "Again Major, it's good to have you both back." He gave her a big smile which she returned.

"Thank you General. It's good to be back."

Her teammates and Janet headed back with her towards the Infirmary to see how Jack was doing. Daniel was still thinking about everything he'd heard. There was something niggling at the back of his mind but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Sam, I have to go check a few things." Janet said after she'd looked at Jack. He was looking much better but was sound asleep. "You take it easy and make sure and get yourself something to eat and some fresh air." She walked up to Sam and gave her a quick hug. "I'm so happy you're home." With that she turned and headed to her office.

"I will go and get us something to eat", Teal'c offered. That left her with Daniel, who continued to look puzzled.

"Sam?" he asked.

"Yes?" She was watching Jack and so missed Daniel's strange expression.

"Uh, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Still she didn't look at him.

"You said you all lived in a cave?"

"Yes."

"Was it communal living?"

"Mmmm hmmm."

"So you didn't have your own houses or rooms or anything?"

"No – we all had our own little fire pit and place in the cave but that was all." She reached out with the damp cloth the nurse had left, along with a bowl of water, and began to wipe Jack's forehead. He still had a fever.

"So, you kind of knew what was going on with everyone?"

"Oh yeah", she laughed softly, remembering how shocked she'd been those first few weeks.

"Uh Sam. In my study of these kind of cultures", he stopped, not sure how to continue. She finally caught something strange in his voice and turned to look at him.

"In your study - ?" she asked.

"Yes, well, as you said earlier, procreation was one of the prime activities of these primitive cultures. The future of the tribe depended on enough healthy children living to adulthood and contributing to the food and safety of the community."

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, a 'marriage' between a man and woman – was usually", he stopped again.

"Was usually -?" Damn! She was beginning to get an idea as to where this was going.

"Well, the consummation was usually witnessed. It was considered a sign that the couple were together and ensured that the rest of the tribe – and especially the other men – knew the woman was taken."

"Really?" she tried to act surprised.

"Yes. Sam?"

"What Daniel?"

"You said you had to pretend to be 'mated'?"

"Yes."

"Uh, how did you 'pretend'?"

"Daniel, for heavens sake, what are you asking me?" she figured indignation was the way to go.

"I'm sorry Sam! I just – this it – it's just in the cultures I studied -" He finished in confusion, feeling terrible.

"How would you know these kind of things about dead cultures?"

"Dead? Oh no, there are still these kind of societies in existence. Not many, but I've read of a few. Mating rituals are pretty common in these kinds of tribes. I just was worried that maybe you and Jack –"

"That Jack and I - what?"

"Well, that you'd have to do more than pretend." There, he'd said it. Looking at Sam he could see her begin to turn red. He felt badly, and went to apologize for even suggesting something so stupid, when she turned away. Catching a glimpse of her expression it suddenly hit him. She was embarrassed – not because of what he'd implied – but because of what they'd done. Oh my God – he was right. They must have had to really – Wow – that put the cat amongst the pigeons.

He didn't know what to say and Sam clearly wasn't saying anything at all. He cleared his throat.

"Sam, you know if you need anything – anything at all, I'm here for you."

"Thank you Daniel", she said quietly. After a short pause she spoke again. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell others your – theories – about stone-age societies."

"No! No, of course not. I won't say a thing." There was an uncomfortable silence, finally broken when Janet walked back into the room carrying a file folder.

"Hi guys – he still sleeping?" She went and checked on the Colonel, appearing satisfied with what she saw. "His fever is still coming down. It looks like the antibiotics are working."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief and smiled down at the sleeping Colonel. Everything was going to be all right.

"I just got your blood tests back Sam. I'm sure everything is fine – I was just going to check them out and if they're okay you're free to leave the base anytime." Janet knew she'd stay until the Colonel was better but at least she wouldn't feel so much like a prisoner.

Just as Janet was going to take a look the claxons went off. "Medical Team to the Gate Room – Medical Team to the Gate Room."

Janet tossed the file down and headed to the door. "Damn – Teams 4 and 6 went on a reconnaissance mission. I hope this isn't serious."

For the next few hours there was pandemonium in the Infirmary as two teams came back with multiple and serious injuries. Janet, Dr. Warner and the rest of the team were swamped trying to deal with everything. A nurse still came in regularly to check on Jack but Sam didn't see either doctor for the rest of the day.

At one point the nurse picked up her folder with the test results and glancing at it told Sam she would file it in her file. Sam nodded and went back to sitting with Jack. Daniel and Teal'c visited her throughout the day but she stayed the whole time. She wasn't going to leave until he was completely better. Resting her head on the bed beside him she closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.