AN: And God looked down on the word processor and said, "Let there be quotes!" Hope you enjoy the pre-end-of-the-world chapter.

"How?" Jack's voice echoed sharply off the concrete walls.

Janet's voice was equally terse. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? She just got up and walked out of the infirmary and no one noticed?"

"Nurses we're checking up on her every two hours. Her condition didn't warrant constant attention."

"Clearly you were wrong," Jack said. His voice had gone back down to normal levels, but it didn't lessen the sting.

"Clearly," Janet agreed.

"Jack," Daniel began, "no one could have seen this coming."

"Yeah, sure. Because nothing unexpected ever happens here."

Teal'c's brow furrowed slightly, having grown impatient with Jack's lashing out in frustration. "Laying blame will benefit no one."

Everyone was silent for several moments. Jack and Janet still eyed each other severely. Finally Jack turned away and took a deep breath. Restless hands brushed across his scalp.

"Yeah... I know."

"They're sweeping the base now. They'll find her," Daniel said, voicing the positive.

"Doctor, just what do we know about what they gave Major Carter?" Hammond asked.

Janet shrugged. "Really at this point all I can say is that it was some sort of cocktail. A couple of the drugs are close enough in composition to Earth counterparts to identify their purpose, but most of it is something completely new. There were at least two different sedatives, and extrapolating from the levels in her system when she arrived through the gate, they had given her extremely high doses."

"How high?" Jack asked, all accusation gone from his tone.

"Potentially lethal. I think if she had never been blended with Jolinar she'd likely have died from that alone."

"It's only drugs, right?" Daniel began, then clarified. "I mean, we're sure that there isn't something controlling her."

"We did the standard MRIs and ultrasound. There was nothing to indicate any foreign organisms in her body, Goa'uld or otherwise."

"So what the hell is she trying to do?" Jack wondered. No one answered because there was no way for them to know.

The radio in Jack's hand crackled to life. "Sector Charlie to command."

"Go ahead," he responded immediately.

"We found something in the locker room."

Something, not someone. Jack sighed. "What is it?"

"Major Carter's locker is open, and we found a gown in the trash."

He wasn't liking how things were adding up. "Is her cell phone in there?"

"Yes, sir."

Of course she wouldn't take that. "What else?"

"Some clothes and her purse."

"Let me guess," Jack scrubbed his eyes, "is there a wallet in there?"

There was a brief pause as the airman searched. "Negative."

"What is she doing?" Daniel asked, echoing Jack's earlier question.

"We need to lockdown the perimeter. If she's still on base, she won't be for long," Jack said.

"But where would she go?" Daniel continued.

"Who's to know? Whatever else they do, the drugs are clearly affecting her judgement," Janet replied. She bit her lip before addressing the general. "I'd like to go back to studying the samples. Maybe we can get a better idea of what's going on."

Hammond simply nodded and she left the room.

"We need to assume that she's already off base."

"She'd never make it out the gate," Daniel said.

Jack shook his head. "Carter sneaks out of the infirmary and you think that she'd take the front door out?"

"Major Carter would escape through the emergency ladders to the surface, as she did during the incursion of the SGC," Teal'c said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. He called in teams to search the hatches. But he didn't really expect to find her on base. She had probably took off long before they realized she was missing. For a moment Jack could only wonder what was going on in her head that she would view them and the SGC as something to escape from. And, in turn, what would she then consider safe? The answers were beyond him at that point.

"I'll make the calls to get her accounts frozen," Hammond said.

"What about the police?" Daniel asked.

Jack shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know what she's thinking. If she resisted some uppity patrol cop could overreact. I think we should keep this in house for now."

"Agreed, colonel," Hammond replied.