Chapter 4:

What comes next?

"She's glowing."

Jack and Jacob both jumped backward, as if they had been bitten. Jack reached over and slapped the panic button, summoning Janet to the room. "Is she doing that whole next-level thing?" Jack asked looking hesitant, even disappointed at the thought. He looked to Jacob, hoping that he would deny it.

"No." Jacob replied, "You have seen Daniel ascend; this is different."

Jack sighed in momentary relief, then tension filled his face again, "Okay, if not that, then what the heck is going on?"

Janet entered the room at that moment and stood paralyzed, powerless to act.

Jack spoke what everyone was thinking, "This is so-o out of our league!"

That comment was enough to send Janet into action. She reached for the phone and called General Hammond, "Hammond, here."

"Sir, you had better get to the infirmary. It's Sam."

Then Selmak, Jacob's symbiote, chose to intervene. "I believe Samantha is in no danger. We should not interfere."

Jack stared at him as if trying to determine his level of honesty. "I hope you're right, Selmak."

Before long, the general, Daniel and Teal'c joined the group gathered around Sam's bed. No one knew what to do, or what to expect, but Sam's vitals were steady; in fact, they were growing stronger. The glow surrounding Sam faded ever so slowly until it was completely gone. Those in the room waited with bated breath, unsure of what might come next. The silence was heavy, until Jack broke it with his customary sarcasm, "So… does anybody know what to do now?"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when Sam's eyes slowly opened. Blinking against the bright lights of the infirmary she asked, "What happened?"

"Okay, everyone needs to step into the hall," Janet ordered. "I need to check Sam out and make sure she is in no danger." Everyone but Jack began moving towards the door. "That means you too, Colonel O'Neill!"

Reluctantly, Jack began to follow the others, muttering as he went, "Napoleonic power monger!"

Janet heard him and stifled a smile, "I heard that, Colonel." Turning back to Sam, she got down to business.

"Janet, what happened?" Sam asked, confusion written on her face. "The last thing I remember was being prepped for surgery, but I'm not in any pain." She paused. "In fact, I feel good, really good."

Janet began to give Sam a thorough examination, all the while explaining to her what had transpired only moments before. Then she suddenly went quiet, "Sam," Janet said, looking at her back, "there is no sign of your injury." She shook her head, not able to comprehend what was clearly in front of her face, "Whatever happened healed you completely, and there isn't even any sign of a scar!"

"Janet, that's not possible!" Sam reached around her back, intent on feeling what she couldn't see. "It is consistent with how I'm feeling though."

Janet turned toward the door, "I'm going to call the others back in here; they'll be relieved to know that you are all right." Hammond came through first, followed by the rest of SG-1 and Jacob. "She looks fine, Sir," Janet replied to Hammond's silent question. "Whatever happened healed her completely." Janet continued. She looked at Sam as though she had suddenly sprouted wings, "I'll of course want to run some tests, and I would like to keep her twenty-four hours for observation."

"Understood," Hammond replied. "Is there any indication as to what happened to her, Doctor?"

"None whatsoever, Sir," Janet responded with a slight frown.

"All right, Doctor. Let me know immediately if there are any changes in Major Carter's condition."

Janet nodded, "Yes, Sir."

Hammond looked a Sam. "Major Carter, I am happy that you are doing so well… Let's try to keep it that way, shall we?"

Sam smiled, understanding his meaning. "Yes, sir, I'll try to behave myself."

Hammond quietly left the room, and Janet excused herself as well. "I need to check some test results, Sam. I'll check on you in a bit." This left Sam entirely at the mercy of SG-1.

Jacob walked over and reached for Sam's hand, giving it a light squeeze of reassurance. He smiled down at her and asked, "How are you feeling, Sam?"

"I'm okay, Dad, really." Sam smiled at her father, hoping to relieve some of his concerns.

Jack saw the concern on Jacob's face and tried to relieve the tension. "Well, Carter, if you keep this up you are so-o going to ruin Danny's reputation of being the glow-y one." Jack tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked slowly back on his heels.

Sam rolled her eyes. "I don't think any of us have a chance at breaking his record, Colonel. I don't understand what happened! None of this makes any sense." She paused a moment, lost in her own thoughts, "The why of me 'going glow-y' seems to have been solved . . . I'm completely healed." She looked at Daniel, thinking his experiences might help her solve the puzzle, "But how, and what caused it?"

Daniel shook his head, "Don't look at me, Sam. I'm as clueless as the rest of you." He looked at Jack and then Teal'c. They were looking at him expectantly so he continued, "Could it have something to do with the planet? We did encounter Ancient technology there. Maybe that has something to do with it?"

Sam's brows furrowed. "I guess it's possible, Daniel. I don't know, though. The only real technology we interacted with was the 'test' and the hologram." She shook her head again. "The 'test' affected you, not me, and we've encountered Ancient holograms before without this side affect." She took turns looking at each of them, hoping one would have answers that might satisfy her.

"And yet," Jack interjected, "You are healthy, while you were definitely not healthy a few hours ago." A crooked smile crossed his face. "And unless there is something you aren't telling us, you didn't have the ability to heal yourself before going to p3x-whatever." Jack looked happy to have brought such an important view to light.

"O'Neill is indeed correct, Major Carter." Teal'c tilted his head in Jack's direction, "You have been gravely injured before and have not been healed through these means. This would indicate that the planet P3X-673 does indeed have a direct impact on this situation."

Daniel began shifting around as though he wanted to say something. All eyes turned to him. "You know, it is possible that your ability to heal does have to do with this situation." Sam looked at him expectantly, so Daniel continued. "The hologram did say that we had the knowledge we needed to complete our task. Maybe we were given information in a way we were unaware." Daniel paused long enough that Jack ordered, "Get to the point, Daniel!"

"You know how the repository of Ancient knowledge works, right?"

"Yeah, Danny-boy, we have intimate knowledge about that one." Jack did not like reminders of the time he spent controlled by the Ancient knowledge. "Somehow, I knew this was going to come back to those head suckers!" He paused in the middle of his rant. "There's just one problem with your little theory, Daniel." Jack narrowed his eyes and stared Daniel down. "We never saw one of those things on P3X-6-whatever, did we?"

"I know that, Jack." Daniel's exasperation with Jack was once again rising to the surface. "I'm not suggesting that the repository was used, merely that we were given some of the same knowledge . . . somehow." He sighed. He knew it was a stretch, but nothing else made sense. The Ancient from Antarctica had possessed the ability to heal herself—and others. It would make more sense than . . . say . . . Sam randomly and miraculously being able to heal herself, wouldn't it? "Does anybody have a better idea?"

Sam, Jack, and Teal'c looked at Daniel, each wanting a better explanation than the one Daniel had provided, but none was forthcoming. Until this moment Jacob and Selmak had remained silent, Jacob slowly nodded as if listening to a voice inside his head – in fact that was exactly what he was doing, "Selmak and I are inclined to agree with Daniel and Teal'c. I doubt the encounter with the Ancients and your situation is coincidental." Jacob looked directly at Sam.

Sam's gaze steadily held her father's, "So if we are to proceed on the notion that I—or perhaps all of us—have been given the Ancient knowledge, what comes next?" Sam frowned at the thought. "It would seem rather arbitrary for a machine to choose one of us at random to give the knowledge to, so are we all going to start speaking Ancient?" Knowing that it was a question with no answer, Sam expected none. The group fell into silence as they contemplated the possibilities of what might lie ahead.

***

The next day Sam was released from the infirmary. There had been no further incidents, and she appeared to be in perfect health. Janet was still concerned, however. She was not fond of situations with no explanation, and having something like this happen to her best friend . . .? Well, that was worse, much worse. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for Sam's good fortune, or for her miraculous healing. It was simply that as a doctor, she should be able to explain it. Maybe it rubbed her pride the wrong way. "Sam, if there is anything out of the ordinary, even if it seems insignificant, I want you to come see me straight away!"

Sam smiled at her friends and their protective behavior. "I hear you, Janet." Secretly, Sam thought, If I have to!

Jack cleared his throat in the doorway, announcing his presence to Janet and Sam. "Don't worry, Doc. Carter will be on her best behavior, or I will take away her toys." Jack gave Sam a mock scowl. "Is that understood, Major? No behavey, no doohickey!"

Sam stifled a smile, and her face took on the appearance of a soldier. "Yes, Sir, I understand, Sir!"

Jack frowned, "Are you mocking me Carter?"

Sam chuckled. "No, Sir, I would never do that, Sir."

Jack's eyes narrowed, but before he could respond Jacob entered the room, "Hi, Sammy."

Sam sat up a little straighter, "Dad, Hi!"

Jacob had worried over what he had come to say. He needed to get back to the Tokra base. He could do more back at the base to come up with the answers SG-1 needed. He knew Sam would be the good soldier and accept that he needed to leave, but he hated that it was necessary. Only yesterday they all thought she would die; now he was leaving her again. Jacob looked at Jack. At least he was leaving her in good hands. "Sam, I have to head back to the Tokra. Daniel asked me to see what information they had on this 'Well of Understanding.'" He frowned, "I'm sorry, Kiddo, but I have to go."

Sam squared her shoulders, smiled, and said, "I'm fine, Dad. You do what you need to do." She glanced at Janet and Jack, then looked back at her father with a confident grin. "I'm in good hands, Dad. You don't have to worry."

Selmak took over. "Samantha, your father and I are grateful that you have recovered so well. We will come back quickly, I assure you."

Sam smiled, "Thanks, Selmak."

Selmak disappeared into the confines of Jacob's mind, and Jacob spoke. "We'll be back soon, Sam." He bent over, kissed her lightly on the forehead, and then he was gone.

"You gonna be okay, Sam?" Jack asked softly.

The fact that he used her first name caught her attention. She gave him a hesitant smile. "Of course, Sir. Aren't I always?"

The quiet moment was broken by Daniel bursting into the room, "I've got it!" he shouted, as if they were a mile away instead of five feet, "I think I've got it!" He looked so excited that it was hard not to be swept up in his exuberance.

"Got what, Danny?" Jack was a little afraid to ask. You never knew what the space monkey was going to pull out of his hat. Daniel looked at him, and Jack was quite sure Daniel knew exactly what he'd been thinking.

Daniel continued, "I found it in some references to an Ancient that SG-6 found on P3X-411—"

"I'll ask again Daniel. What did you find?" Jack asked shortly. When would the eggheads learn that he didn't need all the scienc-y details?

Daniel grinned. "I found out what comes next!"