AN: This chapter rolled out very quickly, so I figured it was only fair to all of you I kept waiting to go ahead and post it today. As a rule I'll probably only be able to post a new chapter every couple days, so don't get too used to it. Enjoy.

"Hurry up and get her prepared for the process."

The flash of memory welcomed Sam to consciousness. Sam kept her eyes closed, taking stock of her surroundings with her other senses. The sounds of machines making various sounds representing reactions from her body. Rough sheets. The ubiquitous smell of anti-septics.

She bit her lip to keep silent, body tensing. The escape hadn't been real! A hopeful dream or a fevered delusion, it didn't matter which. Her head still pounded, though more muted, and her stomach remained unsettled. Whatever her head had made up, that much seemed to be true.

Footsteps approached... hurried. Sam tried to lay still, but belatedly realized it was the monitors drawing attention to her in the first place. Hearing the heart monitor in time to the frantic beating in her chest. But she still kept her eyes closed and remained still. Maybe they would think it was some reaction, that she was still unconscious. Though she knew she was restrained, she hoped something would pop up in the precious moments before the person was at her side.

Nothing came to her.

Fingers flitted to her neck. Sam reacted instinctively, eyes snapping open. Her arms shot up to deflect the unwanted hands, without resistance, shoving the person away. The action was greeted by a startled feminine scream. Sam froze, panting.

She had been restrained. She remembered them quite clearly.

But as her eyes adjusted to the fluorescent lights she realized that she was not in that room anymore. She was back on Earth, staring into the eyes of a nurse who was now as startled as she was.

"Sorry! I didn't mean... I thought..." Sam's voice shook with the remnants of adrenaline. Embarrassment overtook her, coloring her face, so she stopped her explanation. "I'm sorry."

The nurse gave an awkward smile, accepting her apology.

"I thought Colonel O'Neill was the one who simply couldn't stand to be here. At least he stops short of assaulting my staff," Janet said in an amusement as she approached from her office.

Sam's face tinged even darker. "I... thought I was somewhere else."

"The others did describe the room you were in when they found you." Janet's voice was now nothing but serious and sympathetic, her attempt at levity now over. "How do you feel?"

"Hungover. What did they give me?"

Janet shook her head. "Can't say for sure. The lab is still going over your blood samples. It's safe to say that a strong sedative was part of it, but there's really no way to say at this point if that was all there was to it."

Sam only realized then that the three faces she would expect to see during any infirmary stay were not present. Because if they were Jack would be giving her no end of grief for her little outburst.

"Where are the others?"

Janet's eyes rolled. "I had to kick them out so I could hear myself think. Only so many consecutive hours of the Colonel one can take."

"Hours? How long has it been?"

"They brought you through the 'gate about ten hours ago now. Honestly, I thought you'd be out a lot longer, protein markers notwithstanding."

And so, that was that. They had been taken prisoner offworld, again, and she had virtually slept through the whole ordeal. Sam didn't like being dead weight.

"Well, speak of the devil," Janet said with mock wryness. Sam's eyes went to the door where Janet was looking, seeing Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c standing there.

"Good to see you, too," Jack shot back with a smile.

"Hey, Sam, glad to see you up," Daniel said.

"Your previous state was most concerning," Teal'c added.

Sam smiled. "Thanks. I do feel a lot better."

"So we can bust her out now?" Jack hinted.

"Certainly not!" Janet interjected. "She's only just woken up. And since we don't know exactly what we're dealing with, Sam needs to be monitored until I'm convinced the drugs have run their course."

"Sorry, Carter. I tried."

"Thank you, sir."

"All right, I have paperwork to finish up. You have thirty minutes. Sam needs rest," Janet said as she turned to go back to her office.

"Aww, come on, doc!" Jack whined.

"Take the thirty and be happy," Janet called behind her, not turning around or stopping. "I can always kick you out now. And you should know by now, Colonel, that I can always find a needle around here with your name on it."

The door shut before Jack deigned to speak. "Napoleonic power monger."

"Her methods are most effective," Teal'c said. Sam realized he was both praising Janet's medical skills and her ability to exert some control over the otherwise uncontrollable Colonel O'Neill.

Power monger, maybe. But a successful one.

Silence suddenly descends. Awkwardness, as though no one is really sure what they want to say. Sam herself has several questions. What had happened? What would have happened? The latter she'd never know for sure, none of them could peer into the minds of their captors, now lightyears away, and garner that answer. So she settled on an easier question, one that also pressed on her mind.

"How long was it? Before you found me," Sam asked. How long had the "preparations" been underway? But she doesn't phrase it that way. After all, she'd like to pretend the whole thing hasn't bothered her as much as it has.

"Not that long. An hour maybe. Less than two." His tone is light, but Sam still wonders if he saw right through her. Because that is just what she needed to hear, and how she wanted to hear it. As though they were talking about something of no greater importance than where they'd all be going out to drink that night.

Daniel shrugged. "Still one of the better ones."

Compared to several of the other times they had been captured by one enemy or another, it certainly was one of the better ones.

"So, how'd you guys get out, anyway?" Sam wondered. Now it was simply curiosity that drove her on.

Jack puffed up. "Oh, you know, that old O'Neill charm."

Charm was a kind description. The stares everyone gave made him wither.

"We were left unguarded. Daniel Jackson disengaged the lock on our cell," Teal'c corrected.

"I found you!" Jack said.

Daniel shook his head. "You used 'eenie, meenie, miney, mo' to pick which way to go."

"Which makes it all the more impressive."

"We went down three dead ends first."

Jack's voice trailed off. "Admittedly less impressive."

They continued the playful ribbing until Janet tapped an invisible watch on her wrist. They quickly excused themselves.

"Sleep tight, Major."