Hey everyone, here's chapter 3! as promised, this one has arrived substantially faster than its predecessor, seeing as I half-wrote it whilst writing chapter 2.

chapter 4 is also half done, so hopefully that will be up sometime in the next week (but don't kill me if its not!)

again with the disclaimer: i don't own SG-1, merely the plot that i have created :)

AN: sorry for anyone that doesn't spell with Australian English, but by force of habit I've written everything in that format, hence the word 'jelly' replacing 'jello'

The door for the decontamination area slowly creaked open at around 12.30 at night, approximately four and a half hours after SG-1 had returned to Earth. The men almost jumped to their feet at the sound, and relief washed over the three of them when they saw a tired-looking but otherwise okay Sam step out into the main body of the infirmary. Jack suppressed the strong urge to embrace his second-in-command, instead turning to Janet, who had exited the decontamination room just after Sam.

'What's the verdict, Doc?' Janet, now having finished decontaminating patients, pulled the headpiece of her hazmat suit off, a small smile of relief washing over her features at the feeling of the fresh air. Her expression became serious once more, however, when she was handed a clipboard by one of the nurses bustling around the infirmary, restoring order after the calamity of decontamination. She examined its contents carefully and began to speak without taking her eyes off the information before her.

'In the early blood tests, we haven't detected signs of any of the three strains of the plague in any SGC staff-member's samples. Hopefully this, combined with the fact everyone has now been vaccinated against the illness, means we have contained the disease. But there is still a chance that someone may come down with it, and I'm sorry to say, but if anyone does, it'll probably be one of you three.' She gestured at Daniel, Jack and Sam as she spoke, 'I would include you Teal'c, but am I correct in saying your symbiote prevents the illness from affecting you?'

'Indeed.' Janet gave him a small smile, before assessing the clipboard in her hand once again, her eyes darting across the page as she absorbed the data written there.

'Recently an agent working for NCIS in Washington was exposed to a mutated form of the Pneumonic Plague, and I have been in contact with the doctors who were responsible for his care while he was ill, in particular a Doctor Donald Mallard. He has had all relevant information about the outbreak faxed to our offices, and has put a request into Bethesda Hospital for their isolation chamber to be ready for shipment here in case we require it. But, with any luck, we won't be needing it.' She glanced around at the four faces looking back at her, with a combination of apprehension and exhaustion shown in their expressions.

'It's late, and I don't think having you debriefed now would help anyone. I'll call General Hammond, and tell him that I've ordered that you all get a good night's sleep and something to eat, and ask him to reschedule your debriefing for some time tomorrow afternoon. I'd like you all to come and see me during the day before then, just for a check-up, and if everything still looks fine by then I'm pretty sure you'll all be in the clear. But, for now, I'd like you all to go straight to your quarters and get some rest; you all looked exhausted.'

'Thanks, Janet.' Sam's voice was small and strained with fatigue, and wavered slightly with suppressed emotions

'That's alright, Sam. If you need to talk, you know where to find me.' Janet gave her friend a supportive smile, before retreating to her office. There was a moment's silent pause as Janet walked away, but as soon as her door clicked closed, the three men of SG-1 turned to Sam with their concern written clearly across their faces.

'Are you okay, Sam?' Daniel placed a caring hand on Sam's shoulder, but she gently shrugged it off as she nodded.

'Yeah, for now. Can we go get something to eat? I'm starving.' The team moved as one towards the commissary, but if Sam had thought that her request for food was going to be enough to deter her friends' concerned questions, she was sadly mistaken.

'So what took so long? We were really worried out here, waiting for you…'

'We were indeed most concerned for your welfare, Major Carter.'

'The doctors just ran a few more tests on me than everyone else, that's all…'

'Just a few more? What kind of tests were they taking, for them to take so long?'

'Janet just wanted to be thorough…'

'But "thorough" doesn't take three hours. That's more like meticulous or obsessive compulsive…' Jack's rant was cut short by a withering glare Sam threw across the hallway to him and before he could ask her another question, or even respond, Sam stalked through the commissary doors. The men slowed to a stunned stop in the hallway, and the joking smile slid off Jack's face and was replaced with an expression of confusion and concern.

'What was that about?'

'I dunno, Jack, maybe she's just tired; it's been a long day.' Daniel's idea sounded fair enough, but there was an echo of uncertainty in his voice.

'I do not believe that it would be wise to push Major Carter for any more information at this time; she appears to not wish to talk about her medical examination presently…' Daniel nodded in agreement with Teal'c's statement, but Jack looked as though he hadn't heard a word of the suggestion.

'Yeah, maybe…' Jack muttered quietly as he entered the commissary, his sharp eyes noting exactly where Sam had seated herself within a couple of seconds. He hurriedly grabbed a tray and blindly picked food off the shelves in front of him before joining Sam at her table. Teal'c and Daniel followed at a slower pace, but before long they were all seated at the table, silently picking at their food. The silence extended longer and longer, becoming more and more awkward with each passing minute. Eventually Jack opened his mouth to speak, and turned enquiringly towards Sam.

'Carter, I still don't get your logic when we were in the gateroom about contaminating…' this small section of the question seemed to push Sam over the edge.

'Sir, just stop! I've had enough of your stupid questions and immature jokes! Today, any one of us could have gotten sick, or even may have died, and all you can do is poke holes in my logic and question Doctor Fraiser's medical expertise! Just, for once, can't you take things seriously?' Sam threw down her spoon in frustration, splattering blue jelly across the table. She thrust herself out of her seat and marched from the room, but not before the rest of her team could spot the glistening tears beginning to well in her eyes, nor before they could hear her let out a quiet sob. As the door swung shut after Sam, Jack swore under his breath and got to his feet, intending to follow his team mate and apologise. But he had barely risen out of his seat before Teal'c's large and strong hand grabbed his wrist.

'I believe it would be unwise to approach Major Carter when she is in such an emotional state.'

'Yeah, Jack, maybe you should wait until morning, once she's had a good night's sleep and calmed down a little…' Jack hovered for a moment, before nodding and mumbling something in agreement with his team mates. He shook off Teal'c's hand, but still stayed upright. He shoved his chair out from behind him and started walking towards the door. Daniel's confused voice rang out across the room.

'But I thought you said you weren't going to…' Jack cut him off in a sharp voice.

'I'm not. I just need to…think about some stuff. I'll see you guys in the morning.'

Without even bothering to wait for any type of response, Jack left the commissary. Stuffing his hands moodily into his pockets, he slowly made his way to the elevator and swiped his card. The doors opened moments later, letting out a distracted looking Sergeant Siler who was carrying a giant wrench. Jack looked after Siler with mild curiosity as the man made his way swiftly down the corridor, towards one of the research labs from which an ominous-looking cloud of white mist was floating down the corridor. Jack shook his head slightly at a situation he would otherwise have found quite humorous, before continuing on his own path and entering the elevator. He roughly punched in the floor and impatiently stood, waiting for the doors to open. As soon as they had opened wide enough for him to pass, Jack exited the elevator and walked quickly down the corridor. He soon reached the familiar door to his on-base quarters, and let himself in.

Locking the door behind him, Jack observed the room before him. It was still as he had left it before the ridiculous mission that had left his workplace in medical turmoil, and had caused estrangement between him and one of his team members. The area was relatively neat, but gained the appearance of being lived in by the small personal touches that decorated the walls and tables. The remote for the small television and a case for a Simpson's DVD lay on the bed, and as Jack flopped onto the stiff mattress he flicked the television on. But he had barely told the DVD to begin playing the opening credits before he gave up and turned the TV off. He flung the TV remote to the other end of the bed, cringing slightly when it smacked loudly against the wooden bed frame. Moments later the remote was forgotten, as a confused and concerned thought flooded through Jack's mind.

What the hell was wrong with Carter? The team had been through worse -much worse- than the Plague, and she had never reacted this badly. She seemed to have convinced herself that she was infected with the disease, and that she was dangerous to anyone and everyone that came near her. She had seemed to be less paranoid once she was out of decontamination, but that slightly lighter mood had disintegrated almost as soon as it had arrived, and Jack guiltily realised that it was mainly his fault that Sam had soured once again. Jack hadn't really taken too much of what she had said to heart at the time; it had seemed obvious that she was not in a good mood ever since they had left the infirmary, and Jack just happened to be the one that pushed her over the edge. Now, having reflected on what had happened, he could pick out everything that he did wrong, every single act that had pushed her buttons in all the wrong ways.

Jack let out a frustrated sigh, staring straight above him at the pale roof. He knew he needed to apologise to Sam and think of some way to make things up to her, but he just couldn't wrap his mind around the problem. Apologies had never been his thing even in the best of circumstances, and he certainly wasn't in the best state to think of a good way to make things up to his furious Major right then. Sleep deprived, slightly hungry and in desperate need for a visit to his chiropractor, he felt irritable and in no mood to think up the sincere apology that he truly wanted to make.

Feeling torn, the logical part of Jack still wanted to think about his conundrum, but the impatient, selfish section of his mind was washed with fatigue from being awake for far too long. After another moment of consideration, he decided that if he was honest with himself, thinking about the inner workings of the female mind was a bit beyond him while he was in this state. Flicking off the light beside him and flooding the room with darkness, Jack pulled the rough blankets over him and relaxed back into his pillows, forgetting about the fact he was still in the scrubs that he had been given in the infirmary, and fell into a deep sleep.

There you go, i hope you enjoyed it! Please don't worry Sam/Jack shippers, all will be resolved in the next chapter (kinda)...

Kudos to you if you got the NCIS reference!! If not, go visit your local video store, borrow some NCIS DVDs and watch the episode 'SWAK' (its some seriously good TV)

I'm afraid to say that, like last time, i still have this uncontrollable addiction to fan-fiction and hence any reviews i may receive (i should probably see a doctor about that...or at least, my English teacher)

anyway, please REVIEW!! Again, fairly blunt, but i thought it got the point across :)

thanks for reading!!

xedwardismyromeox