19
It is 0930 hours, and both Sam and Jack are awake. The crowd which has surrounded their beds since they woke—almost at the same moment an hour ago—has left, chased away at Janet's insistence. Both of them are still a little disoriented, and neither has had much to say. They are lying in their beds, turned on their sides toward one another; the lights are low, but they can see, they are only a few feet apart. Brown eyes and blue ones are locked together, and it feels to both of them as if they are having a long conversation despite the silence; each is that sure they know what the other is thinking.
By 1300 hours Janet has run another full battery of tests, and discharges them from the infirmary shortly thereafter. Both seem to her to be in perfect health, even if they are quieter than usual—and in Jack's case considerably more cooperative than normal. She asks them to come back the next day to be checked. Neither of them mentions any dreams they may have had. They leave the infirmary together.
They attend a long debriefing at 1400 hours, where they learn about the installation on the planet from Jacob and Selmak. After the debriefing, General Hammond orders both of them, along with Daniel, to take some time off. "Make it ten days. That means off base, people," Hammond emphasizes. SG-1 has been removed from the mission rotation for an unspecified length of time, so there's little for them to do here. To his surprise, not even Sam objects.
Daniel suggests that the four of them get together at Jack's house later, he'll bring pizza and a Star Wars movie. Jack puts him off; tomorrow night, or maybe the one after, Jack will let them know. They go off in different directions, Jack to his office, Sam and Daniel to their respective labs, Teal'c to his quarters.
Jacob accompanies Sam to her lab, relieved beyond words at her excellent recovery. Unfortunately, he tells her, he and Selmak have urgent Tok'ra business to attend to on the far side of the galaxy, and he must leave shortly. She assures him she is fine and he promises to visit again as soon as possible.
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20
At 1645 hours Sam is closing files on her computer, and organizing some work to take home with her, when Jack walks into the lab and closes and latches the door. She feels a thrill of pleasure at seeing him.
"Cameras," she says quietly.
He knows. But there is no sound surveillance in here. "I just want to talk."
"Okay."
He pulls a stool over to the lab table and sits facing her across it. "What happened to us?" he asks bluntly.
"The Goa'uld device affected our judgement, and our memory. Made us do and say things…" she trails off.
"I remember all of it. The lake, being barefoot, the dreams. You and I—the star... Dolphins." The corner of his mouth quirks a little. "You do, too, don't you?"
"Yes. I remember."
He rests his elbows on the table and stares into her eyes. "What about the dreams? Thera? Jonah?"
"The personality stamps we got on P3R-118—somehow they must have been re-activated, maybe by the device, or the radiation," she says. "I'll have to…" She clears her throat. "I haven't had time to analyze it all."
"Don't analyze it. How do you feel?" He stops. "I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to snap at you. How could we have the same dream…together?"
"I don't know. The Goa'uld device…"
"I just need to understand…" He puts his hand on the table near where hers is lying.
"Cameras," she says again, and her voice is shaking. "I know. I need it, too…" She gets her voice under control. "I don't know enough yet to explain it. Maybe once I've seen the results of the medical scans and talked to Janet." She pulls her hand into her lap.
Jack makes a fist and beats it lightly on the top of the table. "Have you told anyone…about the dreams?"
She shakes her head. "No. Maybe we shouldn't—at least not yet."
He nods. They look into each other's eyes. They are incredibly drawn to one another, and at the same time, deeply apprehensive.
Abruptly he stands up. "I'm leaving the base. Going home."
She nods and watches him walk out the door, sits still for a moment, then gathers her things and prepares to leave as well. He called her Sam.
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21
Three quarters of an hour later Jack walks in his front door and drops his jacket on the couch. In the kitchen he opens the refrigerator and finds the usual: beer, an assortment of condiments, a couple of science experiments. He takes out a beer, shuts the door and orders a pizza.
Sam stops at the organic market on her way home; she buys cheese and salad vegetables. She picks up some wine at the corner liquor store. When she gets home she changes into a pair of lounge pants and a tank top and goes into the kitchen to start making her dinner. She pours a glass of wine and sips it while she prepares the salad.
By the time the pizza arrives Jack is on his fourth beer—or maybe his fifth. He stares at the box and thinks he ought to take it over to Carter's and share; she's probably got salad fixings to go with it. But he knows he shouldn't drive after drinking 4—ok, 5 beers in less than an hour. So instead he sets the box on the coffee table in the living room and digs into the couch for the TV remote.
The salad is ready and Sam sets it in the fridge because she really isn't hungry yet, and pours another glass of wine. She should take the salad and go over to the Colonel's house; he has undoubtedly ordered a pizza by now, and they could share both. But she doesn't have the energy to get dressed again and drive all the way across the city. The phone rings, and she hears Daniel leave a message, and promises herself she'll call him back before the evening is over.
By 7:30 Jack is pretty drunk. He lost track of the number of beers a while ago, and the number of trips to the bathroom doesn't bear thinking about. He shuts off the lights, and makes his way unsteadily to his bedroom where he lies down on the bed fully dressed, and indulges in completely inappropriate fantasies of a naked Carter until he falls into a troubled sleep.
Sam never does call Daniel back. By the time she eats her salad, she has had three glasses of wine, and while she's not drunk, she can definitely feel the effect. She is tired and, she hopes, sleepy enough to fall asleep quickly. It's only about 9 o'clock—and after all, she slept for about 20 of the past 36 hours-but still bed seems like the best idea right now. She turns out the downstairs lights and climbs the stairs to her bedroom. After brushing her teeth, she gets in bed and shuts off her lamp. As she gazes into the darkness, her mind begins to wander, and she finds herself fantasizing about making love to Jack under the stars.
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