A/N: Contains spoilers for several episodes from various seasons prior to season 8.
Sam was drifting to sleep again. Her exhaustion was almost immeasurable as far as Daniel or Teal'c could tell, and they couldn't help but exchange worried looks with one another. She'd hardly stay awake a few minutes at a time before dozing off again, leaving her teammates alone to consider the problem.
Fortunately for them, each time Sam slept, the Jack and Mia hallucinations would disappear, allowing Teal'c and Daniel the opportunity to confer in private. It was Daniel who eventually came up with the idea to use these opportunities to influence Sam's subconscious mind, speaking soothingly to her as she slept, reminding her of previous missions where things had not been as they had seemed.
During one nap, Daniel reminded her of the Gamekeeper from P7J-989, and how they had remained trapped in the stasis pods living a shared dream even after they had caught on to the game and refused to participate.
The next time she dozed off, he replayed their mission to Hathor's home base, where they awoke from cryostasis in what appeared to be a futuristic SGC, believing that the rest of their team members were dead.
Eventually, Teal'c, too, began taking part in the exercise, recalling for her the case of Lieutenant Tyler. Softly, the large warrior had spoken, reminding their friend of their mission to P7S-441, where an alien being had drugged them into believing he was a member of their team in order to protect himself from enemy Jaffa.
Each time she came awake again, Jack and Mia would reappear and the hallucination would continue to play out, pushing Teal'c and Daniel to the sidelines of the happy-family scenario. But each time she fell asleep, they were ready with another anecdote.
Now, watching Sam's breathing slow and the pattern of REM sleep begin again, Daniel began telling her of her last encounter with the human-form replicator Fifth. Painful though it would be, he hoped that by reminding her of her hallucinatory life with Pete Shanahan, she would start to question this picture-perfect life with Jack. He hated himself for doing it, but if any of them were to survive, they'd need Sam's help.
Sam whimpered in her sleep, rolling over on the narrow couch. Her face had grown pale and strained as Daniel spoke, and he grabbed her hand reassuringly as Teal'c moved in closer, seating himself by Sam's head.
"Sam," Daniel whispered. "This is important. We need you to remember the truth. Jack and Mia are both safe, back at the SGC, but you, me and Teal'c are all still trapped on P7X-294. Please remember, Sam. We're counting on you." Sam stirred lightly in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent.
"I believe she is beginning to remember, Daniel Jackson," intoned Teal'c by way of encouragement. Daniel shook his head. "I'm not so sure," he replied, a worried look on his face. "Every time she falls asleep, Jack and Mia disappear, but the baby doesn't," he replied, gesturing at her bulging stomach. "More than that, when she's awake, she can actually feel it moving." Daniel shook his head again. "Even if we're getting through to her on some level, there's a part of her that seems to want this more than anything else. This is what she wants to believe in, Teal'c. And I don't know how to get around that."