What is wrong with me? Jack wondered two hours later as the sedative began to wear off. His emotions were so...disjointed. He remembered the argument, but didn't understand why he had been so angry.

Jack O'Neill was not one to be nervous. Ever. But he was now. He wiped a smear of red on his shirt. When Teal'c had hauled his ass to the infirmary, there was red all over it. At first Jack was horrified and thought he'd really hurt Daniel.

Turned out the damn ketchup bottle had been unfortunate enough to have landed in the middle of their altercation.

In his periphery, he saw Daniel sitting in the chair across from his bed. Jack closed his eyes. He felt terrible, unsure of where that rage had come from. He looked over at Daniel, and was a little disconcerted to see that Daniel had already been watching him.

Daniel was a bleeding heart, something Jack sometimes hated and sometimes was grateful for. Today he was grateful, because Daniel didn't look angry. Jack sighed. "Daniel."

"It's okay, Jack. It's not your fault."

He lifted his head and squinted at his forgiving friend. "How do you figure?"

"It's another side effect of The Joining ceremony," Daniel said as Hammond joined them. Hammond had been on the way to the cafeteria for lunch himself when he passed Teal'c in the hallway, staring straight ahead as he walked past. An irate Jack was thrown over his shoulder, screaming obscenities, ass in the air in a most undignified manner.

Lunch, at that point, had been forgotten.

Now that he had been filled in by Daniel, he was more worried than angry. "Just how dangerous is this person? And what does this mean for Col O'Neill?" he asked, wondering if this was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Based on what we do know," Daniel replied, "I'd say it could get worse. But we just don't know how much. Jack is still Jack, so his behavior is probably a watered-down version of what's typical for Jornan. We do know that Jornan is usually rude, impulsive, and crass."

Teal'c's disembodied voice floated from behind a nearby curtain. "Those are qualities O'Neill shares in abundance."

"But that impulsiveness comes in the form of making quick decisions in command, during very sticky situations," Daniel countered. "There isn't anything much stickier than a world on the brink of war. Also, Jack is very good at hiding emotions. At least from people who don't know him."

"What are you saying?" Jack cut in, tone suddenly offended. In truth he was horrified that he'd been found out.

Daniel waved his hand. "Get serious Jack. You're an open book to all of us. Always have been. But to total strangers - don't worry. Every last one of them thinks you're an ass."

"That's a relief," Jack said, and meant it.

"With Gelna on the brink of civil war," Daniel continued, trying to steer back to the whole point of the conversation, "he has to keep his cool. As we all know, he isn't very good at that. Since Jornan is a loose cannon, it makes sense that he would want to trade emotions with Jack. He could stay in better control of himself, and maybe some of Jack's leadership abilities and military knowledge would transfer over to him."

"But what about Jornan's attack on Major Carter?" Hammond interjected, hijacking the conversation back to its original purpose. Jack stiffened.

"Jornan is still Jornan, whether he has Jack's emotions or not. Maybe Jack's emotions acted as a catalyst."

Jack was indignant. "I would never hurt Sa...Carter. Jornan didn't get that from me."

"The violence, no. But he didn't seem much interested in Sam before The Joining. Afterward is when it started. So that tells me that you....." Daniel trailed off, realizing Hammond was still standing there. Jack looked away.

"Anyway," Daniel rushed on, "since Jornan attacked Sam, and that's not in Jack's character, he is also experiencing a combination of the two. What I'm trying to get at here is that you each now have some of the other's emotions and character traits in you, so that will influence you both to some degree. I'm going on theory here – we don't have much information."

Jack sat up on his bed. "Then we better go get some. I don't like my mind being screwed with."

"Before we make a return trip, we need to determine for sure why Jornan would want to do this," Hammond replied. "I can't have any more of my people put at risk."

"With all due respect, General," Daniel said, "I don't think we can find out anything more without returning to Gelna.

"I agree." Jack started to stand up.

"You're not going anywhere, Jack," Hammond said.

"Why not?"

"Why not? How about the fact that you attacked Dr. Jackson not three hours ago?"

"But that was –" Jack started to protest.

"Absolutely not," Hammond interrupted. "And that's final."

Jack opened his mouth to argue some more when he saw Sam approach the group. He caught her eye and smiled at her, but she looked away quickly. Avoiding his eyes from that point forward, she faced Hammond.

"General, Teal'c and Daniel and I will be able to go back and find out what happened."

"After what Jornan did? No way are you going back without me," Jack replied before he could stop himself. The thought of Sam going back there – even with Daniel and Teal'c, made him anxious.

"No!" Sam exclaimed, a little too loudly. "I mean," she backtracked, "it would be better if you didn't go." She had a strange look on her face that he couldn't quite decipher. He stared, trying to figure it out.

Hammond turned to the rest of SG1. "Be ready to leave in half an hour."

Daniel nodded. "Will do. And Jack, don't worry. We'll figure it out." He slapped Jack on the back before leaving the room, followed by the rest of the group. Sam seemed to be especially anxious to leave.

"Sam. Wait," Jack said.

She turned around, her face still unreadable. "Yes, Sir?"

What was up with her? She was almost as far away from him as she could be and still be in the same room.

"See if you can hold off for a couple hours – I can probably convince Hammond to let me go."

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?" he snapped back, anxiety increasing. "I don't want you to go. Not at all, but if you are, I need to be with you." He flinched inwardly. Jack hadn't intended to blurt that out.

"No." Her voice shook a little.

"Dammit!" Jack growled, hauling himself out of the bed.

He was shocked when Sam jumped back. Jack stopped and stared at her, still not sure what her problem was. Then, as recognition dawned, he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Sam," he whispered in horror. "Are you afraid of me?"

She looked like the wall was trying to suck her in. "No."

Jack felt sick, quelling a wave of nausea. "Liar."

Sam didn't respond. She just stared at him with wide, blue, fearful eyes. Jack couldn't bear to see it. He turned away from her, rubbing his temples. "Don't be afraid of me," he said hoarsely, back still to her. "I would rather you feel anything else in the world about me, just please, please don't be afraid of me."

Silence answered him. Then a split second later he could feel her against his back, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Jack."

This was a powerful weapon, and she knew it. He turned around to face her, hurt evident in his face. "I'm sorry." His voice shook a little.

Sam's arms encircled his waist and leaned her head on his chest. "No. I'm sorry. I know you better than that."

Jack put his arms around her shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers. They stood there for several minutes when Jack finally spoke again. "Sam, about before. I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't handle it. I just..." How could he say it without saying it?

"Just what?"

Damn. "Just…I don't want anything to happen to you." He paused and looked even more uncomfortable. He stared at the floor. "I couldn't stand it."

Sam stared up at him. "You couldn't stand it?" She looked surprised - to say the least.

"I care about you...a lot more than I'm supposed to."

Sam closed her eyes briefly. Jack watched her face.

Without warning, Sam swiftly freed herself from his grasp. Jack was so startled he couldn't move, and Sam made it several feet away from him before she stopped. But she didn't turn around.

"Sam?"

"Why are you doing this to me?" she sobbed, anguish think in her voice.

Jack was startled. "Sam, I don't think you understand - "

"You're right! I don't understand. I don't understand why you're doing this now. I don't understand if this is you or him. And I don't understand what the hell I'm supposed to do with…with how I feel."

"How do you feel?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

Sam shook her head, as if trying to clear her mind. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters a hell of a lot to me."

"You may really believe what you're feeling is real. But how do we know for sure you're not experiencing them as a side effect of The Joining?"

"It's not a side effect."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

"How?"

"Because - " Jack leaned against his bed, his head swimming.

Now Sam's eyes were closed. They stood there in silence for a full minute, Jack very unsure of what to do. Tears slipped out from underneath her eyes and trailed down her cheeks.

"Oh God. Sam - " Jack stepped forward.

Sam stepped back. "Please -" she choked, stopping him dead in his tracks.

Jack had always regarded women as life's greatest and most grand of mysteries. For all his sarcasm and bravado, he always regarded women with reverence.

This did not, however, make it any less uncomfortable when they cried. The gene that could've assisted him had been removed from men's genetic code as some sort of cosmic joke. He was still desperately trying to figure out what to do when she spoke again, eyes still closed.

"Jack...You don't know - you don't know - how hard it's been to try to move on." She sobbed. "I've been trying so hard not – not to – and I keep giving in – and I hate it - " she broke off, her voice shaking too hard.

Moving on? In one sickening moment of clarity, he realized she meant moving on from him. Ice ran in his veins. He'd waited too long. Feeling dizzy, he stumbled forward and tried to regain his footing.

"Are you alright, Sir?"

Jack tried to see her through feverish eyes. "Dammit, Carter. If you can't call me Jack, at least don't call me Sir. You're not the only one who – "

The words died in his throat as his legs gave out on him. Then the fever hit him full force, and his vision clouded. It seemed as if his strength deserted him in an instant, and he couldn't hold himself up.

Small, strong arms caught him before he hit the floor. Through the haze he was vaguely aware that someone was trying to talk to him. A gentle hand rested on his forehead.

"You're hot," said the voice.

"Thank you."

"Smart ass," Sam replied, smiling in spite of herself. "I meant your temperature. How do you feel?"

Jack felt himself being pulled away. Sam's voice was getting harder and harder to hear. Blackness reached up and enveloped him. He tried to struggle away from it.

I love you, he thought, trying to form the words, and lost the fight with the blackness.