"I told you, you were working too hard," Jack chastised gently, leading Sam into the living room and fluffing the cushions for her to lay down. As she sank into the velvety blue fabric, Mia bounced up beside her, snuggling in close. "Now Mia, you make sure Mommy stays right there, understand?," he said, preparing to leave the room to fetch some supplies. Mia nodded quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around Sam. Sam smiled, softly ruffling the little girl's hair. The doctor had said memory loss was common for people under a lot of stress, and Sam couldn't deny that even though her days were now free from active duty, her scientific experiments still kept her busier than most people would call healthy. Resigning herself to bed-rest until the baby came, Sam let herself relax, cuddling Mia tightly as the little girl traced slow circles around her belly.
Sam wasn't sure at what point she fell asleep again, but when she woke, Mia was gone. Scooting herself up into a seated position, Sam rubbed her bleary eyes, looking around to see what Jack had left for her to eat. Spotting a sandwich on the coffee table beside her, she was about to reach for it when she realized she wasn't entirely alone after all. There, sitting in matching arm chairs across from her, sat Daniel and Teal'c, looking almost as dazed as she felt.
Sam's face lit up. "Hey guys! Have you been sitting there long?"
Daniel blinked, facing Sam. "Uh, no. Not really," he replied, looking at Teal'c for confirmation.
"Indeed," replied the Jaffa, also shaking his daze. "I do not believe we have been here more than a few moments."
"This looks familiar," said Daniel, standing to look around.
"Well, it should," replied Sam with a half-smile, eyeing her friend curiously. "It's my house." Daniels eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Is everything okay with you two?," she asked. "You both seem a little off."
"Yeah, it's been one of those days," said Daniel slowly, taking in his friends very pregnant form. "How are you feeling?," he asked, trying to sound casual.
Sam chuckled. "Tired," she replied. "Really, really tired, actually. I've been put on bed rest until the baby comes," she added, resting a hand gently on her swollen abdomen.
Daniel grinned in spite of himself. "And how are you doing with that?"
"Not too bad so far, though it's only been a couple of hours. I may feel differently tomorrow," she replied.
"Otherwise things are good?," he asked.
"Yeah!," she replied, with an enthusiasm generally reserved for really neat experiments. "Jack and Mia have been wonderful with the whole situation. They're both really excited for the new baby."
Jack and Mia? Daniel stole a glance at Teal'c, who raised an eyebrow in reply, before responding, "That's great, Sam. Um, if you don't mind though, I just need to ask Teal'c a quick question over there," he said, gesturing towards the hallway just off the living room.
"All right," she said, eyeing them both curiously. Daniel smiled reassuringly, leading Teal'c aside while making absolute certain they were well out of earshot of their friend.
"Is it just me," whispered Daniel once they were safely out of sight, "or has Sam not realized this isn't real?"
"Indeed, I believe you are correct, Daniel Jackson," replied Teal'c, a look of concern shadowing his face.
"Well, that's not good," he said, fidgeting as he worked through the situation in his mind.
"Teal'c, what made you realize something wasn't right?."
Teal'c cocked an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly as he responded, "I experienced an inexplicable weakness, Daniel Jackson."
"Yeah, me too," replied Daniel thoughtfully. "I think our problem here is that Sam has provided herself with an explanation for what we've all noticed."
"Then should we not return and tell Colonel Carter what we have learned?," Teal'c asked.
Daniel shook his head no. "I don't think we should just outright tell her that this is an hallucination," he replied. "If what we're experiencing is some sort of manifestation of the subconscious mind, it could make things a lot worse to challenge her perception of reality."
"Then what do you propose we do, Daniel Jackson?," replied Teal'c.
"I think we have to somehow lead her to the same realization we made without telling her that none of this is real."
Just then the front door opened, catching Daniel in the arm. "Hey guys," said Jack casually, moving into the hall. In his hands were huge bags of take-out, which he quickly handed off to Teal'c to set down in the kitchen while he pulled a giggling little girl off his shoulders and set her down on the floor. She scampered away quickly, heading towards the living room where Sam still sat. "Staying for dinner?," he asked, as Daniel's eyes bulged in disbelief, and Teal'c looked quizzically from the bags of take-out, to Daniel, to Jack.
"Oh, yeah," replied Daniel. "I think we're going to be here a while."