The air was nippy on the mountain. No clouds for once obscured the stars that filled the night sky. He pulled the collar of his jacket higher and dug his hands deeper into his pockets. Peering through the trees for the hundredth time, he noted that her car was still in the parking lot. Sighing, his attention returned to the exit. From his perch in the tree, he could easily see both the door to the mountain and the path leading into the woods. He felt confident he would see her at last. After all, this was her kind of night. Upon exiting the confines of the mountain, she would gaze up into the sky and choose the forest over her car, wanting to get a good look at the stars before heading home where the city lights obscured all but the brightest of them.

He enjoyed watching her. She was attractive by human standards, certainly by his host’s. But, what company she kept! A Jaffa wearing the brand of Apophis’ First Prime was her friend! He had seen her treat him as an equal. It made him uneasy. What had she become? She never remained alone for long. That had been his problem since his arrival. He needed to get close to her. He needed her alone and he needed to have enough time...

He reached for the thermos slung over his right shoulder and, unscrewing the cap, raised the bottle to his lips. He grimaced at the bitter taste of his host’s favorite beverage, but considering that he was making the man lose yet another night on the cold mountain, he didn’t complain. He was actually quite fond of the human. No doubt it had to do with the miraculous way their blending had come about. As he waited, the memory resurfaced.

He had awoken to yet more heaving and shaking. Had they slept at all? The sarcophagus shuddered violently, just as when he and Nabeth had squeezed into it, forced to share the cramped space in their desperate bid for survival. The earth’s explosive roar assaulted his ears as it breached the stasis chamber, trespassing on their silent sanctuary. Dust filled his lungs and made sight impossible. The shaking grew even more intense, breaking the sarcophagus in two as if it were a hollow mud brick. It canted dangerously to one side. The opening leaned toward dusty oblivion and he found himself slipping helplessly outside of the broken chamber, his lethargic muscles telling him that he had, indeed, slept a long time.

He fell several feet into dark nothing, mouthing a scream suffocated by the earth’s own angry howls. He landed on his back with such force that the air was violently expelled from his lungs. He felt and heard the bones snap and splinter all along his host’s back and legs. Bones that had once been a part of the skull entered deep into the host’s brain. As he slipped into unconsciousness the earth stopped its violent shaking. It had decided it was finished with him.

When he awoke, all was still. His host, very near death, could feel no pain, thankfully. He, however, was in agony! The skull crushed against his body, making movement impossible. Panic gripped him. He had to move! He had to get out!

Get out to what? Where will you go? How will you survive without a host?

Clamping down on his panic, he concentrated instead on what might have happened to his companions. Menhet, he remembered dismally, was dead; crushed by one of the proud columns of Ra’s Temple when the horrific air assault had brought everything crashing down upon them. Nothing could have saved her, he knew, but his present situation allowed him plenty of time for useless self-recrimination. They couldn’t even perform the rituals for her! Had they tried, they would never have made it to safety themselves and anyway, who would have assured her safe return home? He hoped Amseh had been able to rendezvous with the Allies as planned. But what of Nabeth? Had he survived this latest attack on them? Summoning some tiny reserve, he amplified the voice of his host, crying out his name.

"Nabeth!"

The feeble effort had been a waste of strength, as his voice barely broke above a whisper. Despair filled him. He hadn’t even the strength to try again.

Time passed slowly. Minutes, hours, days, are fleeting things to one still young even after a thousand years. But trapped as he was, inside this nearly dead body, in total silence and darkness, in incredible pain and barely holding on to life himself, the minutes ticked by in increments of eternity. His only hope was that Nabeth had somehow survived the earthquake and would come for him.

Nabeth did not come.

The aftershocks came. They buried him in layer upon layer of dust but miraculously, no rocks or debris. The forth aftershock, though, was particularly strong and brought part of the ceiling crashing down around him. Light filtered in from above and he looked to it helplessly. A huge block gave way from the ceiling and smashed down on his host’s lower torso, lifting the upper body into the air with the impact. The movement took pressure off the skull, allowing space for movement and he squirmed his way out of his dead host’s hindbrain.

As he lay in an only slightly less awkward position than before inside the dead human, he became aware of a new sound. One he hadn’t heard since taking a host some two hundred years earlier. The rhythmic shushing of his own fluids coursing through his body. He had become so accustomed to the sounds of his human’s body, that his own seemed foreign. Alien.

He finished the process of separating himself from his host, holding on only to the human’s sight and hearing. With them he would experience everything left of his violently abridged life. He was dying, but he refused to give up! He would hang on; see everything, hear and feel everything; the terrifying moments of roaring destructive mayhem, the long intervals of deathly stillness, the pain. These were now the only things that defined his existence. Despite his resolve, however, exhaustion overtook him and he fell into a troubled sleep. The eyes of the human remained open, unblinking, as he dreamed.

Explosions.

White hot fire mixed with brick, stone and gold plating rained down on him and his unit. The death gliders had reached this far beyond the great city. Friend or foe, the effect on the temple and its refugees was the same.

Bodies.

Goa’uld and Jaffa lay dead alongside their slaves, crushed by the undiscriminating hail. The objects of their vanity had become an executioner’s hammer. He could see the sarcophagus, not ten paces ahead, open, beckoning; a safe haven from the desolation. But no matter how hard he ran, how much he tried, he could get no closer to it.

Screaming!

His ears filled with the human sound, waking him from the nightmare his pain-wracked mind had escaped into. That was not the voice of his host, nor of Nabeth’s! He looked about, disoriented. Rubble from yet another aftershock pelted the corpse he sheltered in.

Suddenly, a body dropped from the heavens and landed mere inches from him! His eyes glowed feebly as he peered, unbelieving, into the face of this gift. The fallen human groaned and raised his head, staring back in shock and pain, before sinking down, unconscious.

Carefully, painfully, he navigated his way around the debris, first inside his host’s broken body, then across the short but fractured expanse separating him from his salvation. Slowly, he pried his way into the man’s mouth and made his way to the brainstem, glad the human was unconscious. There was simply no way to do this painlessly and he was too weak to be quick about it.

He awoke some hours after having blended with the man, feeling delightfully refreshed and strengthened. Reborn!

Brian.

That was his gift’s name. A strange and wonderful name! Venturing into the young man’s mind, he was surprised at the keen intelligence he found there.

He lay there a moment longer, staring into the unseeing eyes of his former host. Without thinking, he reached out in a gesture he had seen humans perform many times, and tried to close the lids over the dead man’s eyes. Too late, he realized that rigor mortis had long set in. The human, the shell that had once been his home, would not be allowed even that small dignity.

Sighing, he rose from the floor, reveling in the pleasure of painless movement. As he stripped useful devices from the corpse of his former host, he searched this new young mind for knowledge of Goa’uld presence and found nothing of the parasitic race of despots. Probing deeper, he discovered that Brian was a ‘college student’, studying ‘archeology’, the study of ancient cultures and civilizations.

Ancient?

He searched the young man’s mind for a time reference and discovered that thousands of years may have passed since his enforced entombment. He convulsed with relieved laughter. Perhaps this meant the Goa’uld were defeated! Perhaps Menhet and so many others had not died in vain! Perhaps he could finally go home!

His host was better now, the knee cap and sprained ankle healed, along with the scrapes and bruises. He gently impressed on Brian’s mind the need to search for survivors. Even as he sought out Nabeth, he sensed Brian’s keen interest in the artifacts strewn about the chaotic clutter of the fallen temple.

He saw to it that Brian kept the articles that would be of use to him while ignoring the rest. Using the trail of Goa’uld debris to guide him to the sarcophagus, he prayed he would be in time to help his friend.

He finally found Nabeth’s broken body hanging partly out of the damaged sarcophagus. It looked like he had been long dead, hopefully killed instantly when the earthquake struck their chamber. He pulled a white orb, the hau’ta’oth out of Brian’s satchel. Slowly, he passed the orb over the head of his dead companion. As he expected, the crystal nested within it gave no sign of activating. In time, he pulled away, dejected. There was nothing left of Nabeth to save. Replacing the orb, he pulled out a zat ni’katel Brian had retrieved from the debris.

"Victory, my friend." He had uttered softly in the language of his new host. He fired on the sarcophagus, once, twice, a third time. As it disintegrated, dispersing Nabeth’s body into nothingness, he whispered.

"May your sacrifice have brought freedom home."

But looking down now, on the entrance to the mountain stronghold, it was clear that freedom had not been won everywhere. Maybe not even at home. Even if it was, he could not go home. Not yet. Not with the Stargate far beneath his feet and guarded. And not until he saw her first.

There! The door was opening! He felt her even before he saw her, so attuned had he become to her presence. She was alone! He smiled knowingly as she paused to look up at the night sky.

It was dark when Samantha finally left the confines of the mountain and stepped out into the cool embrace of the night and a few hours of freedom. She would have to return to base by 11:00 hours tomorrow for a mission scheduled for 13:00 hours, but she could not bring herself to sleep in a bunk again.

Ever since her return from the Seattle mission, she had been grilled and tested by her own people about her abilities with the hand held Goa’uld devices. Sam was not as enthusiastic about her newfound powers as people thought she would be, but she had to be careful to at least appear to co-operate. Not everyone involved with the SGC agreed with General Hammond about how the stargate was being used and Colonel Maybourne would like nothing better than to have someone with her abilities under his command. When she successfully used the healing device on Cronos, saving the Goa’uld system lord from death, the secretary of defense had suggested she would be an asset at Area 51. The General could not protect the Major without seriously damaging his own position and it had taken some scrambling and wrangling on Hammond’s part to make sure there would be no transfer. The tradeoff was, Maybourne’s goons were now a permanent fixture on the base, monopolizing her every spare moment.

For three days now they had been at her, with barrage after barrage of questions, tests and medical assessments that had left her tired and irritable. Janet Fraiser remained near during the entire process and was herself becoming increasingly agitated by the sheer volume of tests being run. As her personal physician, she had final say over Sam’s treatment, but she also knew that care would have to be taken or a transfer would be almost assured.

The straw broke late this afternoon, when, seeing the doctor about to put an end to his session with the Major, Captain Thursby pulled a small plastic bag from his case.

"Okay, Major, I have only one more thing to show you and, since I know you’re tired, for now I’ll just ask if you can identify this device."

He gave her his most ingratiating smile. She responded with a frown. She did not particularly like the man and that smile was usually a precursor to discomfort. She placed one elbow on the table and covering her eyes with her hand, sighed resignedly. At the moment she did not want to look at anything that wasn’t her own big comfortable bed.

Thursby opened the bag and let the object fall out onto the table. Sam could tell by the sound that it was small. She heard it skitter lightly across its surface and rest against her elbow. Frowning as curiosity overcame her fatigue, she glanced down at Thursby’s new toy.

Sam’s eyes widened in shock and horror as she caught sight of the harekash. She jumped away from the table, upsetting her chair and pulling several wires from their probes in the process. Alarms sounded as machines monitoring her heartrate, breathing, and brainwave activity went off, some recording her panic, others protesting their violent removal. She backed away blindly, pulling out of Janet’s grasp and stopping only at the wall. Her eyes glazed as a flash of memory overwhelmed her, the Ashrak’s assault so painfully vivid that Sam’s knees buckled beneath her and she slumped to the floor.

Sam couldn’t believe the flood of invectives the Doctor let loose on the unsuspecting Captain. Janet had practically skinned him alive and told him in no uncertain terms that her patient was not going to be available for at least two weeks. After a couple of hours under observation in the infirmary, she was to go home, get a bit of rest, and resume a more normal routine for awhile. Her work at the SGC was anything but normal, but compared to what Thursby was putting her through, she would be glad to have it back.

She looked up and breathed a deep, cleansing breath. Barely sparing her car a glance, she headed off into the woods, taking the familiar path to her favorite spot, a flat outcropping of slate protruding from the mountainside like an anvil head. It offered a breathtaking view any time of the day and an unobscured view of the stars on this clear night.

Sinking to the ground, she sat, cross-legged, pulling her jacket tightly around her and hugging her arms close to her body. Rocking slightly in an effort to keep warm, she gazed heavenward, picking out the constellations the stargate had taken her to lately.

The sky was full of such places. Sam liked to imagine the pinpricks of light out there to be, not galaxies, but individual suns, around which revolved the planets where her greatest adventures had taken place. There was a price to pay for those adventures, though, and she paid it on Nasya.

She closed her eyes and shook her head as the dead Tok’Ra’s name rose, unbidden and unwelcome, into her thoughts. It was all starting to get a little... overwhelming.

Every time she was forced to use Jolinar’s little ‘gifts’, Sam paid a price. The memories were bad enough. And the emotions that came with them! Most of those memories were negative. All of them intense. As a Tok’Ra, Jolinar had experienced thousands of years of unrelenting struggle and hardship. Now all of that was stored somewhere, somehow, in Sam and apt to surface without warning. She felt like she was losing herself in this dead person.

Since Seattle, when she had used the ribbon device against Seth, Jolinar had become even more demanding. Oh, she earned her keep... Especially lately. Thanks to her, a powerful and dangerous System Lord was dead. Cronos had been healed, thus allowing for a non-aggression treaty of sorts, protecting Earth from at least one form of Goa’uld annihilation. The protein marker Jolinar left behind in her had saved the life of Teal’c and his symbiote. It also prevented Sam and the rest of her team from becoming raving lunatics when Machello’s little Goa’uld killers infested them.

It was one thing to make use of those abilities when under fire, and Sam would do so willingly if it meant saving what was dear to her. But Maybourne’s tests, conducted just to see what else she could do, seemed perverse to her. Maybe it was because she detested the man and all he stood for.

Or, maybe it was something else.

The truth was, she loved the power her new found abilities gave her. The first time she had used the ribbon device successfully, she had killed a Goa’uld. She, Samantha Carter, had killed one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, with a mere thought. It had been incredibly easy!

Incredibly satisfying.

That was the problem.

That time, Sam’s sensibilities won out over the rush of pleasure the device’s power had given her. As a matter of fact, she had felt instantly ashamed. Later, when her teammates tried to cheer her up and be supportive, she let them believe that she was just upset at having killed an innocent host. She couldn’t bring herself to tell them the truth.

Weeks later, when Cronos lay dying in the SGC infirmary, she felt the rush again. She got out the healing device, eager to taste once more that feeling of raw power coursing through her body, her mind.

Jack thought it was her hatred of Cronos for having Jolinar killed that made her hesitate.

If only!

Healing gave Sam an even greater rush than killing had.

It wasn’t Jolinar’s memories that controlled Sam; it was that conflict between desire and loathing. The fight for self-control over the seductive power inherited from her former symbiote. The narcotic sensation of absolute authority, sister to tyranny. Like the sarcophagus, she suspected that these devices were best used only in emergencies.

It had been easy to let desire win in the infirmary that day, because, yes, she did know how high the stakes were. Nirrti had lied about not being able to heal Cronos. It had been a setup. If Cronos died, Teal’c would be blamed, the Asgard would be unable to help Earth and Nirrti’s invasion would be a fait accompli by now.

What were her needs compared to that?

Daniel was eager to see her take the hand devices into the field, using them to fight the Goa’uld and heal the multiple injuries SG-1 always accrued along the way. Janet and the Colonel were against the idea.

The Colonel was her commanding officer. He had the right and the obligation to decide such things. Janet was her physician and her word was law when it came to medical matters. General Hammond respected them both and would not interfere. Sam never voiced an opinion one way or another. Not about this one.

Sam was a private person. An entire lifetime spent in the military made it so. Not being able to make lasting friendships, living in cramped quarters with hundreds of people, having to report every detail of their missions and to endure constant medical and psychological assessments. Privacy was something to be cherished, protected. Anything placed in the vault marked ‘private’ was very difficult to remove. Whether it belonged there or not.

That’s where she kept her fear.

Sam Carter was afraid of dying alone. But she was even more afraid of living alone. She couldn’t seem to keep what she loved the most near to her. Family, friends, lovers...

Now, she added fear of addiction to the power of the hand devices to her collection.

Everyone’s afraid of something. Who isn’t afraid of dying? Especially alone... And she had gotten used to living alone. She didn’t like it that way, but... she had gotten used to it.

Deep down, she knew she should tell Janet how the devices affected her, but she couldn’t. Janet would then be under obligation to report it and she couldn’t bring herself to show such weakness; not with so many people counting on her. Not if it meant losing the chance to use the devices again...

Anyway, who would really be able to understand how she felt? Who else had been through what she had? No one. She’d find a way to control the devices. She’d have to. She was strong. If things got out of hand, then, she’d take care of it. She had so far...

And so the charade.

For the most part, Sam was successful at not activating the devices despite Thornby’s best efforts. Hopefully, he would not catch on to her ruse and decide that there was no point in pursuing the investigation further. She could tell that he liked her and, in spite of her coolness toward him, wondered if he wasn’t prolonging this whole procedure just to be around her.

The only one she felt she could turn to, who may have experienced what she had, and who would truly understand her, was hidden away among those stars. She sighed wearily.

"Dad, I could really use you tonight."

He heard her from his new hiding place near her rock. Looking skyward at the object of her attention, he was surprised to see that ‘Dad’ was Orion. That constellation held special significance for him too, this time of year, because, beyond Orion’s belt, too far away to be seen without the aid of powerful telescopes, lay home.

Home.

The word left a bitterness in his soul that made his host shudder. He might never see his home again, and judging from all the Goa’uld activity around here, they seemed no closer to having resolved the conflicts that had caused his banishment.

Giving himself a shake, he returned his attention to the task at hand. Because of their special bond, he had sensed Jolinar from the moment he had set foot on this base. There were only two reasons he could think of why Jolinar had not sensed him, neither of them good. Steeling himself for bad news, he slipped on the ribbon device. Approaching with the stealth born of experience, he leveled his left hand at the back of the woman’s head and whispered.

"Jolinar!"

Sam started. What was that!

Jumping into a defensive crouch, she shouted.

"Who’s there?"

As she peered into the woods to see what stranger had spoken the name of her dead symbiote, unreasoning panic rose in her gorge.

One of Maybourne’s people? Oh God, he’s gonna kidnap me?!

She had to move away from the outcrop! This was not the best place to engage an enemy.

He increased the intensity of power to the ribbon device. It hummed softly, soothingly, causing the woman to hesitate. As the effect of the device washed over her, she relaxed slightly, raising herself to her full height and fixing her gaze in his direction.

He left his cover and came into full view of her. Their eyes locked. He was in control now as recognition replaced her fear.

"Jaleen! You’re alive!? I thought you were dead!" the soft and very human voice said.

Jaleen stiffened. Jolinar had not answered him, the human had, using what were clearly Jolinar’s words. So, it was true! He grimaced as he fought to reign in his emotions. Holding out his right hand in invitation, the woman placed her hand in his.

The ribbon’s energy flowed gently into her mind, seeking out what was left of Jolinar.

They remained for over an hour in this position, communicating wordlessly, catching up on several millennia worth of news. His eyes glowed brightly as he assimilated so much new information. It had not gone well for his people, but at least Ra was dead. And because of the Tau’ri, of all people! Nevertheless, the enemy had grown much stronger.

The Tok’Ra had also allied themselves with their hosts!

This was new! The recommended procedure in his time had been to take a host without consent, but, to repress its awareness so as not to cause fear. It had seemed the most compassionate way to use the simple creatures and infiltrate the Goa’uld. Had humans already grown to that point? He saw the great conflict that had taken place between Jolinar and this host when she was forced to take her in order to save her own life. Of her imprisonment by the humans, even as Jolinar had imprisoned the woman inside of her own body and the distress it had caused them both. His breath caught in grief and pain as he saw the irrefutable proof that his hauzh was dead, murdered at the hand of a Goa’uld assassin while a prisoner of the Tau’ri.

There had been an incredible amount of activity inside this mountain since his arrival, a few days earlier. He had been drawn by the stargate’s almost incessant activation. Now that his fear about Jolinar had been confirmed, was Earth again being invaded by the Goa’uld? Jolinar was unable to enlighten him and he was unsure how to proceed with the human. She had not exactly been a willing host, and her people were partly responsible for Jolinar’s death. If he revealed himself, would they treat him any differently? He doubted it. Still, he would have to find a way into the mountain. Grimacing at what he had to do, his mind readjusted the energy flow to the ribbon device.

The woman’s eyes widened in pain as energy from the device sliced into her mind, prodding and probing into her own thoughts until it found something of interest. He could see her struggling against his hold on her will. An impossible battle, but she fought him just the same. Finally, she succumbed, as he knew she would. He felt no satisfaction at the victory. Loathing filled them both as she was forced to remember the episode with the harekash earlier that day. Nevertheless, it was something he could use. He planted a thought into her mind. An almost overwhelming desire, mixed with a strong sense of caution suddenly gripped her.

He pulled out of her as gently as he could, regretting that he would not be able to save her as Jolinar had. But the planet, the species meant more than one human, as did his duty to his hauzh. This woman was, after all, a soldier. She would understand. He left her with one important instruction.

The woman blinked several times as she stared up at a stranger, confusion coming with the return of her own senses, then, closing her eyes, she crumpled into an exhausted sleep. He caught her before she fell to the cold ground and, carrying her to a tree, lay her down on the soft needles between its large roots. Taking off his own jacket, he tucked it snugly around the woman’s body before retreating into the protection of the forest to watch over her until she woke.

Jack drew a strong line under his signature with his pen. He puffed out a sigh as he closed the folder and placed it on the tall stack of finished reports.

"God, I hate paperwork!"

With the demise of Seth, the humans had inherited a treasure trove of new weapons they could use against the Goa’uld. Enough zat guns to supply every unit at the SGC, plenty of ribbon devices for Groom Lake to study. And grenades! He had to hand it to them, the Goa’uld could pack a lot of stuff into those little orbs of theirs. His all time favorite was the shock grenade, a handy device to use on mixed groups of Goa’uld and unblended humans. He had experienced their effectiveness first hand. Sure they gave you one hell of a headache and left you blind for awhile, but, at least you didn’t wake up dead like with most grenades. Gave a man time to go in and do a decent rescue and mop up. Maybe one day they’d be able to use them to rescue Sha’re... or Skarra...

What with Carter being given the third degree by Maybourne’s mad scientists, SG-1’s down time had forced him into his least favorite pastime. All those lovely toys had to be described, catalogued, categorized and assigned. He preferred using the devices to writing about them. He had always found it hard to think in the language required by the beaurocracy. But at least it was over, for now. He shuddered. All things considered, he preferred paperwork to what she was going through. And that last bit of paperwork had been worth it. It was for his Major.

Colonel O’Neill could deal with getting kicked around by the enemy. He could put up with the discomfort of the doctors tender mercies after being kicked around by the enemy, but he really hated it when they played with your head. That’s what they were doing to Carter. He knew the signs. She wasn’t herself anymore; quieter, more withdrawn, and easily irritated. He had been furious when he heard about what happened this afternoon, but when he stalked off to find Thursby, he discovered that the Captain had wisely taken his leave of the SGC. The Colonel’s temper was a force to be reckoned with and Maybourne had warned his people to steer clear of it.

It had been hard enough for her, trying to cope with her newfound abilities and he hadn’t been much help either.

Hail Dorothy!

Huh!

It was supposed to have been a back handed compliment; something to pull her out of the shock he read on her face when she realized she had killed with a mere thought. Instead, it reinforced the feeling she sometimes had of herself; that she was some kind of freak.

Maybourne was intent on exploiting those powers, no matter how the Major felt about them. O’Neill was just as intent on keeping that from happening. He would do everything in his power to get her away from him, including writing up a report expressing his concerns, using proper bureaucratese.

He glanced at his watch. 22:30 hours. He would grab a bite to eat before finding his bed. There was a mission planned for tomorrow and frankly, he was looking forward to it. As he made his way to the commissary he met a few soldiers who were just arriving to take their shifts. One of them flashed him a smile.

"Evening, sir. It’s a beautiful night! Not a cloud in the sky."

Sharing his love of astronomy, the Airman knew the Colonel would probably make time to go to the surface to see for himself.

"Thanks, Ritter, Maybe I’ll go have a look before I turn in."

Jack smiled as he looked up into the crisp night. The normally mist shrouded mountain was splendidly clear for once. He fingered the binoculars around his neck as he headed off toward the path and his favorite rock. On his way, he noticed Carter’s car in the parking lot. He frowned. He knew she had left the mountain. He had seen her signature on the exit form when he signed himself out. She had left at 19:05. No one else had signed out with her so she couldn’t have gotten a ride home.

Maybe she’s stargazing too .

Jack smiled. He had missed her these last few days. He hoped she wouldn’t mind the company.

From his perch, the Tok’Ra saw the human known as O’Neill approach. This man, he observed, was especially important to the woman. Good! Surely he had come out to find her. Silently he dropped from the tree and raced to her still sleeping form, taking his jacket from her before disappearing into the forest.

Jack approached the outcrop and called softly, not wanting to startle her. He frowned when he saw she was not there.

"Sam?"

He heard a low moan. Turning towards the sound, he saw her, lying at the foot of a tree, asleep and shivering. Reaching her in a few steps, he knelt beside her. Putting his hand on her arm, he shook her gently. She did not awaken. Concerned, he shook her more urgently, calling out her name.

"Sam!"

Sam was roused from a leaden stupor by incessant shaking. Her head pounded and her teeth chattered from the cold. Where was she? She forced her heavy eyelids open and focused on her Colonel.

"My turn to take watch?" she mumbled dumbly, her mind too thick to make sense of the scene.

"I don’t think so, Carter. You’re here on Earth... Cheyenne mountain." he clarified when her confusion persisted. "You must have been pretty tired to fall asleep out here on a night like this." He offered a hand to pull her to her feet. She stood, clutching him while she got her bearings.

"I don’t think I fell asleep." Flashes of memory flitted by too quickly for Sam to grasp them. "I think I was having one of... Jolinar’s memories... or something." She was shivering uncontrollably now. "But I c..can’t remember what it was about."

"Damn that Maybourne!" Jack swore as he led the Major back to the warmth of the SGC, all thoughts of stargazing gone. He hugged her close to chase away her shivers. "They’ve been fooling around with your mind way too much. I swear I’m gonna shoot that man!"

Sam smiled through chattering teeth, the thought of murdering her tormentor sounded appealing.

"If anyone k..kills him it’s gonna be m..me, sir!"

Jack sauntered into the commissary at 10:40 hours. He was looking for Carter and he found her, sitting alone. An untouched cup of coffee, like an island, stood out of a sea of crumbs from a demolished muffin. He stood beside her, hands in his pockets, and watched as she picked up the larger crumbs and methodically reduced them to their smallest parts, oblivious to him until he spoke.

"You planning on eating that?"

She jumped, startled at the sound. She looked sheepish as her C.O. sat beside her.

"Looking for the secret decoder ring prize inside?"

Sam smiled. The Colonel had a way of lifting her dark moods with his off the wall style of humor.

"Sorry, sir. I was just pre-occupied, I guess."

"Oh? What with?"

She shrugged. "...Wish I knew."

"You get any sleep last night?"

"Slept ‘til the alarm went off at nine."

He had led her directly to the lockers when he signed them back into the base, and ordered her to take a long hot shower to calm her shivering. It was close to midnight when he escorted her to her room and saw to it she went to bed. She was asleep when her head touched the pillow. Seeing her now though, it didn’t look like she had had a good night. Jack wanted her to go on this mission, not because he thought there would be any great need of her expertise, all data tended toward their destination being another boring walk in a pine forest, but it would be a change of pace and he thought she could use one. Missions always perked his Major up.

"Carter, you feeling up to a mission today?"

"Of course, sir! I want to go. I need to go."

"Good! You’ve got about ten minutes to actually get some food inside of you before the briefing." he smiled. "See you there, Major."

"Yes, sir."

When the Colonel left, Sam stared down at her handiwork and sighed. The truth was, she simply wasn’t hungry. Propping both elbows on the table, she massaged her temples. Her neck ached and so did her head. She hoped it would pass before she left for their mission.

"P4R-202 is a go, people." General Hammond said. "You ship out at 13:00 hours. Dismissed."

Carter was first on her feet and out the door before the men could react.

"Carter!?" Jack practically bellowed.

"Got something important to take care of before we ship out, Colonel. I’ll be in the gateroom at 13:00 hours." she assured him, getting out before he could reply.

Sam strode quickly to the office near the infirmary where Maybourne’s people had settled. She rapped soundly on the door and opened it without waiting for an invitation. Captain Thursby looked up from his paperwork, surprised at seeing Major Samantha Carter looking so bright and cheerful. She was actually smiling at him!

"Uh... Major! I..."

"Captain Thursby," she smiled warmly. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I was tired and, well, the shock of seeing that thing..."

"No! No. You don’t have to say anything! We hadn’t realized that it was the device used to harm you."

He lied poorly, if only to keep her from hating him. The truth was, he was in awe of the Major, and not just a little taken with the attractive woman.

"It’s alright, Captain. You know, I’m feeling much better now. I have a mission in about an hour, but I’m free to help you out ‘til then. I’ll tell you all I know about the device."

Captain Thursby stared incredulously at the Major. Ever since they had started working together, she had never been more than professionally courteous, more often reluctant, certainly not friendly. He quelched the instinct to distrust her sudden change of heart, so much had he fantasized about being the object of that incredible smile of hers.

"... Okay."

He opened a drawer, pulled out a thick folder with her name on it and placed it on the desk. Finding the page he sought, pen in hand, he looked up at her expectantly.

Sam stood silently, arms crossed over her chest.

"Uh! Where are my manners! Please! Sit down."

She remained standing. "Where is it."

"The device?" he asked stupidly.

"Some things are very hard to take out of Jolinar’s memories." she explained patiently, as if to a child. "I have to see, to touch the device, in order to... awaken those memories."

"Oh! Well... maybe we should take this to the infirmary." Thursby suggested, remembering yesterday’s episode.

"No!"

The word shot out too quickly. He looked up, suspicious. Her mind raced to supply the right words to her mouth.

"No. The Doctor would kill us both if we tried to go in there so soon after what happened. I want to do this now! There are too many machines in there anyway. They drive me crazy I... I won’t be so nervous if it’s just you." she coaxed.

Thrusby cast his eyes about, suddenly uncomfortable.

"I don’t know, Major..."

Sam put both hands on the desk and leaned in to him, a hard gleam in her eyes.

"I could make that an order, Captain. If I can handle Jaffas and Goa’uld who think they are gods, I can do this."

"..."

"Do you really want to go back to your superior officer empty-handed?"

That seemed to clinch it for the man, and he reopened the drawer. Reaching inside for a keypad, he entered a seven digit code. There was a soft click as the security box in the drawer unlocked. Retrieving the device, he set it on the table. Without hesitation Sam picked it up, holding it up to the light. Captain Thursby wondered that she now seemed so at ease with the same device that had just yesterday sent her into a blind panic. But then, he reminded himself, somewhat infatuated, the Major was an extraordinary woman.

"Now, the name of the device is...?"

"Harekash."

Sam slipped it over her right hand as the Captain bent to write the name. When he looked up, it was into the intense light of the activated device.

"Put my file away and resume what you were doing before I entered." Sam spoke with cool authority. "I did not come to see you. You will remember nothing of this exchange."

The Captain, eyes unseeing, nodded obediently. Sam turned on her heel and, right hand going to her pocket, left the room.

It had been a long night on the mountain and he had spent a considerable part of it swathed in grief. His body shivered, not so much from the cold as from trying to keep his emotions from bursting out. He had always known that this could happen. They were involved in a risky endeavor. But he never allowed himself to think the worst. As long as he was alive, Jolinar had to be!

Jolinar was dead!

How was he supposed to go on? Never had he felt so alone!

To assuage his grief, he let his mind wander back to happier days spent with family and friends and, especially, his hauzh. They had had wonderful times together! Her mind was as his was and he never felt more comfortable than in her presence. They challenged each other constantly. How do you surprise someone who knows your every thought? Or outmaneuver someone who anticipates your every action? When the time came to stand against the injustice of the Goa’uld, both of them had come forward as one. The two excelled in their training to the point that they were soon commanding others.

He had found it curious that she showed a preference for female hosts when he definitely wanted a male, but they had assured him that this would not take away from their intimacy, in fact, it might even enhance it. They had been right. They had also insisted that they be separated. ‘Your affections for each other could jeopardize the whole mission’ had been their reasoning.

After the encounter with Jolinar’s host, Jaleen had attempted to communicate with his.

It had not gone well. Brian had reacted with terror and fury. Jaleen wished he had the diplomatic finesse of Nabeth. He sensed the human’s new awareness of him. His fear and determination to reclaim his body, his mind. Jaleen felt uncomfortable with the stranglehold he was now forced to keep on him and he wondered how Jolinar and the other Tok’Ra managed to get their hosts to co-operate.

For a certainty, humans had made progress, both intellectually and technologically. Their technology may be primitive, but he was no less bewildered by the process involved with getting from Egypt to this place. These Tau’ri loved machines! They seemed to have a wide variety of them for every conceivable activity. Many ways to communicate, travel, obtain goods and entertain themselves. He had only to ‘push’ Brian’s mind a little to get him to find the means to get to Colorado. By the time they had arrived, though, he had made his host use up all his resources.

Plastic was the principal means of exchange among the Tau’ri and Jaleen was confused by the whole concept. Elaborate rituals were performed with the plastic every time Brian needed to acquire more goods or to secure transportation. Now, even though the small flat devices remained in his possession and Jaleen could detect no appreciable degradation of the material, people had begun refusing to accept them in exchange for anything. Some had even become quite impolite with him...

In fact, Jaleen noticed a wide variety of attitudes displayed by the people Brian had dealt with in transit. If nothing else, this convinced him that the Goa’uld were not in power on Earth. These humans appeared to be in control of their own destiny, for better or for worse.

And yet, the Chaapa’ai was active.

Almost from the moment he had clambered out of the ruined temple, Jaleen sensed the energy from the naquada-encased singularity. The power it emitted both thrilled him and set him on edge. If the Goa’uld had left Earth, who was using the gate? The Council’s directive had been clear. Free the planet of the Goa’uld infestation, disarm the Chaapa’ai and leave. The Tok’ra would never go against the Council. Perhaps the dissenters...

He sensed her.

She had finally resurfaced. Jaleen watched as she carefully avoided contact with her co-workers and entered the forest. He smiled sadly as he regarded the attractive young woman.

Jaleen activated the hau’ta’oth, allowing the woman to find him. The orb guided her to his new hideout, away from the lunchtime crowd that had invaded the forest. He appeared from the dense underbrush and stood before her, accepting the object she had retrieved for him. Wordlessly she turned around and returned into the mountain. He watched her go, guilt and rage filling him as he fingered the hateful device. Guilt because he sensed the awful battle that had raged inside the woman, the raw fear at being forced to do his bidding. Rage at what the harekash had done to his dear Jolinar. His only consolation was that he might use it to help Earth, somehow. His host stiffened in reaction to Jaleen’s next thought.

"Chevron five, engaged."

Sam stared at the inner ring of the stargate as it spun it’s way through the dialup procedure. Daniel fiddled with his pack while Teal’c looked on dispassionately. Jack watched his 2^nd in command, unease tugging at him.

"Chevron six, engaged."

"Carter?"

He waved his fingers in front of her face. "You in there, Major?" he asked sharply when she did not respond.

"Chevron seven, locked!"

Light and sound filled the room as the gate sprang to life. Daniel and Teal’c moved onto the ramp and took their positions there, expecting the others to follow.

Suddenly Major Carter started speaking. Strange words unfamiliar to the assembled group tumbled easily out of her mouth as if they were her native language.

"Wh... Sam?..."

Daniel walked carefully down the ramp to stand beside her, studying at his friend. Sam was staring intently at the gate, eyes bright but unseeing. She spoke towards it, softly, almost reverently, in a language he vaguely recognized, her face a haunting mix of despair and hope. Jack, seeing it to be another memory of the dead Tok’ra, gently shook her arm.

"Sam."

"Amicissi, felati. Patris carere, liberatis recuperare!"

"Sam!" He shook her arm more firmly. She stared at him, wide-eyed and exclaimed loudly in English.

"Jaleen! You’re alive!? I thought you were dead!"

Jack and Daniel exchanged puzzled glances.

"Sam!" Jack hissed. Placing a hand on each shoulder, he squeezed as he shook her. He was starting to get worried.

Sanity returned to Sam’s eyes as the vision gave way to reality. Her gaze shot around the room as she tried to make sense of her situation. Her head felt like someone had fired a staff blast right into her brain.

"Sir?"

"Jolinar." he supplied simply.

"... Oh."

She groaned as her knees gave way. Jack caught her, guiding her gently to the step at the bottom of the ramp. General Hammond entered the gateroom, anxiety evident on his face.

"What just happened here?"

"Looks like Sam had a vision of Jolinar, sir." Daniel offered. "The gate opening seems to have triggered it."

"No! Thursbys’ triggered it!" Jack spat angrily. "He hasn’t let up on her since he got here! She lost it in the infirmary when he pulled that stunt with the killing device on her and last night she had another vision outside and nearly froze to death on the mountain!"

"What!"

"What?" Daniel and the General exclaimed in unison.

In the infirmary, Sam was quiet as she sat on a bed, concentrating her efforts on remaining conscious. She reached a shaking hand to the back of her neck, trying to massage the persistent ache away. It felt feverishly warm there, whereas the rest of her body was so cold...

She pressed fingers to her temples, hoping the painkillers would soon take effect. Doctor Fraiser frowned as she finished examining her patient. The men stood nearby, anxious to hear some explanations. As the Doctor nodded permission, the General approached.

"Major."

Sam looked up stiffly. "Yes, sir." she sighed, trying to gather her thoughts. "I left the base at 19:00 hours with the intention to go straight home, but it was such a clear night that I wanted to get a look at the stars. While I was on the mountain, I got this...vision, I guess. I don’t really remember anything, except..." she grimaced in concentration. Something hovered just beyond the periphery of her thoughts. "I think it was a memory of someone important to Jolinar..."

"Jaleen." Daniel stated quietly.

Sam turned her head to stare at him, wincing at the movement.

"Yes! Her... hauzh?"

"Hodge?" the general asked, trying to get his Texan accent around the alien expression. He shot Teal’c an inquiring look. The Jaffa’s frown told them he was not familiar with the word.

"Don’t ask me, sir, the words are in my head, but I don’t understand them.

Next thing I knew, the Colonel was waking me up. I had fallen asleep under a tree."

"Probably fainted, sir."

Sam shot him a dark look. She was not the fainting type.

"You practically fainted in the gateroom." Jack reminded her.

"Yes... What can you tell us about that episode, Major."

"Nothing, sir. I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t told me."

Janet exchanged worried looks with the men. Major Carter always remembered her visions.

"Okay, tell me what you did after the briefing."

Sam stared at Jack, uncomprehending. "After the briefing?"

"That’s right. You said you had to take care of something. It seemed important. What was it?"

Sam searched her memory through the painful fog that enshrouded her mind.

"I’m drawing a blank, sir."

"You don’t remember? You were gone over an hour!"

Sam cast her eyes about the room, as though her memories might be hiding there.

"I don’t remember, sir! I... I remember the briefing and meeting you in the gateroom, but..."

How could she not remember!? What was happening to her?! She took deep breaths to quell the panic that threatened to rise within her. Janet stepped in, putting a hand on her friend’s arm.

"That’s enough questions for now." she commanded. "The Major needs to get some rest."

General Hammond stood outside the infirmary with the rest of SG-1.

"This is getting out of hand. Major Carter’s ability to function is being compromised. It’s a good thing she wasn’t driving when that vision happened last night. Dr. Jackson, Teal’c, I want you to contact the Tok’Ra. Maybe they can help her and tell us who this Jaleen is."

"Yes, sir. I’d also like to get a look at the gateroom video. I imagine it got Sam’s vision on tape. Maybe I can figure out what she said, back there."

"Good idea, Doctor. Colonel O’Neill, I want you to try to find out what the Major was doing during that hour she can’t account for."

"Understood, sir."

I’m gonna have a little talk with Thursby too. O’Neill thought darkly.

"Major Carter is sleeping now." Janet joined them. "She was out before her head hit the pillow. She’s quite exhausted." The Doctor frowned. "I don’t understand this. She’s had lots of visions or... memories... whatever... before without physical stress and she’s always been able to remember them."

"She’s never been worked over the way Thursbys’ been doing!"

"No, I don’t think that’s it, Colonel. I’m with them every session. I administer any drugs that get used and we haven’t been using anything the Major’s not tolerant to." She looked over at the sleeping woman. "There’s something else going on, I can feel it."

"A woman’s intuition?" Jack teased in an effort to lighten his own concern.

"A Doctor’s instincts. I’ll run some tests, let you know what I find."

"Alright, people, let’s get to it." Hammond said. "Dismissed."

Daniel was silent as he made his way to the spot on the mountain where he and Sam usually went to contact the Tok’Ra. His stomach was a tight sour ball as he thought about Sam’s situation. It didn’t look good for his friend and teammate. It looked like she was losing her mind.

Is that what the General meant? Losing her ability to function? Is that what they had said about me?

Daniel Jackson snorted, causing Teal’c to raise an inquiring eyebrow.

Teal’c knew that look. It was not the look of worry for when his friends were injured or ill. It was the look he wore when he sensed injustice.

"You are angry, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel stopped. He nodded at the Jaffa’s observation.

"Teal’c, what do you think is happening to Carter?"

"I do not know. She has been under much pressure lately."

"Sam thrives under pressure, Teal’c. She does her best thinking when her back’s up against the wall."

Teal’c nodded. Now there was an expression he had come to understand well. In his years with the Tau’ri, SG-1 often had their ‘backs’ up against the wall, both figuratively and literally and Major Carter was often the one to pull them away from those walls. He admired this brilliant woman who had befriended him without prejudice. Side by side they had fought against enemies that would have defeated the courage of some of his best Jaffa warriors. He disliked seeing her like this, but... He studied Daniel’s face. The Doctor was concerned for the Major for some other reason.

"What do you think is happening to her?"

Daniel stopped. Slowly, he pulled the Tollan device from his pocket. He studied it in silence for a moment.

"They... think she’s losing her mind, Teal’c."

Daniel knew how easily people could be led to believe such things. After all, he had only to see dead Goa’uld attacking people and wormholes forming in his closet to earn himself a padded room at County Mental. That mustn’t happen to Sam! He was going to defend her and pity the doctor who tried to put her away!

Teal’c stared at him incredulously.

"Major Carter is not losing her mind, Daniel Jackson."

Daniel stared up at the Jaffa. "I’m glad you feel that way, Teal’c." he answered quietly. "But I’m afraid the others might not be convinced of that."

He knelt down and activated the device. The two men watched the bolt of energy disappear into the clouds, summoning the Tok’Ra from their hiding place in the stars. Wordlessly, they gathered up the Tollan device and returned inside to view the tapes.

The Tok’Ra watched with anxious interest from his perch. He did not recognize the device the Jaffa had used, but he sensed its purpose. Who were the Jaffa and the Tau’ri summoning? He wondered if they had somehow become aware of his presence and were recruiting help. He had not yet sensed any Goa’uld on the mountain, but that did not mean anything. They may simply not have surfaced. Even if they had, he would not have been able to distinguish friend from foe. They were, after all, of the same species and he did not share with them the special bond he had with Jolinar. If he could just get inside, he could get a better idea of what was going on. He had to get inside! Soon.

The airman in the base security office patched together the video the Colonel had asked for; everything all the secur-cams on base had recorded from 11:20 to 13:00 hours that had the Major in it. A few of them were especially interesting.

11:24:14: Carter was in the hallway outside Captain Thursby’s office. She knocked and entered. O’Neill frowned. She hated the guy. She didn’t need to see him for two weeks! Why would she willingly go to him?

11:28:33: She reappeared outside his office and headed toward the camera, walking out of its range.

11:36:09: Her head came into view of the exit cam. She approached the guard and signed her name on the clipboard the airman extended to her. She and the guard exchanged a few words before she left. A frown creased Jack’s forehead. The camera’s poor resolution made it difficult to make out Carter’s facial expression, but... there was something about her stance... The security officer fast forwarded till she re-entered the building.

12:10:44: She re-entered and signed in. The guard spoke to her and she seemed... confused? She hesitated, said something without turning toward the airman, and disappeared from the camera’s view.

12:19:00: She entered the dressing room and did not re-emerge until accompanied with the rest of her team.

A phone call to the airman on duty at the exit revealed that the man, trying to make conversation with the Major, had asked her if she had the rest of the day off. She had replied that she was just going out to the car to get a report she forgot to bring in. When she returned, he remarked that she was empty-handed and she had seemed embarrassed. She told him it wasn’t there after all, that she had been mistaken, and left.

Empty-handed?

Something about what the airman said caught at the Colonel’s mind.

"Okay, try to find someone who was topside and would have seen her, talked to her. Keep me posted."

"Yes, sir."

Jack left the room and headed straight for Thursby’s office. Knowing how ruthless Maybourne could be, he was sure that Carter’s condition had been caused by some new drug or form of hypnotism or whatever evil, top-secret stuff they were working on at Area 51.

He stormed into Thursby’s office without knocking. The startled Captain jumped up from his desk, trying to keep some distance between himself and the enraged man closing on him.

"Colonel O’Neill! What do want?"

"I want you to hold still so I can pummel you. That’s an order!" Jack growled.

"I... I’m not under your command, sir." the frightened man stuttered, inching his way around the room towards the door.

"Maybe not, but you’ve done something to one who is and I want to know what!"

Their short chase around the room ended as they both reached the only exit. Jack slapped his left palm on the door just as the Captain grasped the handle. Thursby blanched as O’Neill’s right hand grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the doorframe.

"I don’t know what you mean, sir." Thursby gasped. For an older man, the Colonel was strong.

"You know exactly what I’m talking about." he hissed. "You’ve slipped her some kind of drug the Doc. doesn’t know about, or you’ve done some kind of mind control thing with her." He pushed a little harder. "Which is it?"

"No sir!" he choked. "I’d never intentionally harm Major Carter!"

"Then why is she so screwed up!" Jack screamed at him.

"She’s tired, sir! She reacted badly to something I showed her, a Goa’uld device. The Doctor sent her home. She’ll be fine after a bit of rest..."

"She’s not fine! She’s suddenly having visions and passing out all over the place. She can’t remember things. Last night I found her out cold and freezing on the mountain. She could have died out there!"

The Captain’s eyes widened in shock. "Where is she now? Is she all right?"

Jack ignored the question. "What happened between you two this morning?"

"This morning?" he gasped. "I haven’t seen her since yesterday!"

Jack pulled him away from the doorframe and slammed him violently back into it.

"Don’t waste my time." he threatened. "We caught her on tape coming into your office at..." he looked up, pretending to remember. "11:24:14, I think it was. Now, what happened when she came to see you?"

Desperation and confusion filled the Captain’s face.

"11:24?" His eyes darted towards his desk and the folder laying open upon it. "Sir." he answered shakily. "I assure you, I did not see the Major today. I know I was here, at my desk at that time, but she did not come in here. I swear!"

O’Neill’s face twisted in anger at the man’s pathetic lie. Tightening his grip on his throat, he pulled back his left arm, preparing to punch Thursby full in the face.

A loud rap sounded behind the Captain.

"M.P.s! Open this door! Captain Thursby, are you all right?"

The two men locked eyes a long moment, the Colonel’s fist suspended in the air. Finally relenting, Jack let him go and stepped away. Thursby held his gaze as he straightened his uniform. The door pounded again.

"It’s all right, Sergeant, we’re fine."

He opened the door to allow the guards to see for themselves. The Sergeant stood in the doorway, looking from one to another, frowning. He knew all too well what the Colonel was capable of.

"You’re certain?" the big man asked the Captain, keeping his gaze on the Colonel.

You don’t want to mess with me again, sir, the eyes told O’Neill.

Jack swallowed. Sargent Hill was built more like a mountain and lived up to his nickname, Rocky. He was the only one who could spar with Teal’c with any success, and Jack had been subdued by him on more than one occasion when he had lost his temper. Considering the high anxiety levels work at the SGC brought on, Rocky was a busy peacekeeper.

"We’re fine, Sergeant, really." Jack assured him quietly, his rage subsiding.

"Good. We won’t be far if you change your mind." Hill threatened evenly.

He and his unit backed away from the door, allowing a discreet distance from the two officers.

They stared at each other, anger replacing the fear on Thursby’s face.

"Look." he said between clenched teeth. "Major Carter did not come into my office this morning, and I would certainly never do anything to hurt her. I admire her far too much for that.

However..."

He moved over to his desk, keeping some distance between himself and the Colonel despite the reassuring presence of the M.P.s. He looked down at the file he had been pondering over before being so violently interrupted. Jack approached. It was Carter’s file. Thursby’s tight script had recorded the minutest details of their sessions together. He was a through man. The last entry on the page was dated today,

Time: 11:28. Name of item #33-G: Harekash.

Jack stared uncomprehendingly at the man.

"Yeah, so? Don’t tell me you didn’t know the name of that thing."

"Of course we knew its name from the report Teal’c gave us when we took everything off the assassin’s body. That’s not the point. This file records only what the Major says and does, her actions and reactions. I wrote this down because she told me." He looked O’Neill in the eye.

"At 11:28 this morning.

Only I have no recollection of either seeing her or of writing this down!"

Jack’s expression shifted from distrust to confusion. What was going on? First Carter can’t remember things, now Thursby?

"Come on." Jack commanded. "Let’s have a look at those tapes together.

Thursby frowned in confusion as he saw the undeniable proof that Major Carter had indeed entered his office. She had remained exactly four minutes nineteen seconds. He shook his head and gestured helplessly toward the video monitor.

"I don’t understand, sir. I remember none of this!"

Jack nodded his head, understanding dawning on him.

"Alright, Thursby, get down to the infirmary. Let the Doc. check you out. If you remember anything, I want to hear it right away. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"And Thursby... Stay away from Major Carter. Is that clear?"

Sighing, the Colonel returned his gaze to the monitor.

"Airman, did you find anybody who talked to Major Carter outside?"

"Not yet sir, sorry."

O’Neill exhaled noisily, trying to gather his thoughts.

"Someone must have at least seen her. Keep looking."

Brian perched on a limb, high in a tree in the fenced in complex. His eyes took in the activity in the distance. Fewer people were out and about now that lunch was over. Guards patrolled the area around the only gate. Sometimes a vehicle would pull up and be allowed entry, disappearing into a cavernous tunnel built into the mountainside. His glance kept going back to the door where he had seen the woman, Samantha, emerge.

The creature inside him had allowed him to regain limited use of his senses. He could look around, move just enough to make himself comfortable, but he could not speak out loud, or leave the tree.

Brian still felt numb from his experience. He had always been ambivalent toward the idea of aliens. Now, he had become the vessel for a very powerful one.

Jaleen.

That was the name of the creature inhabiting his mind, his body.

It seemed friendly enough. For a body snatcher. Brian, however, had not felt like making friends. He had been furious, his Irish temper as inflamed as his thick red hair. He had fought it, screamed into it’s mind. Ordered it to leave his body. But he had been completely powerless to make it obey.

The last thing he remembered was the earthquake. It struck while he was working in an abandoned dig. Curious about why it had been left untouched for so long and, against the advice of his more experienced teachers, he had gone in search of answers. Alone. When it struck, Brian had been caught in the rubble. It took several exhausting hours to free himself when, just as he could see a way out, an aftershock pulled the floor out from under him and he fell. He dimly remembered landing by the broken body of a man, an Egyptian judging by the swarthy features. A face distorted, even in death, by the pain it must have endured before succumbing.

Eyes. Tiny slits that seemed to glow at him. He had thought it to be shock.

The creature had awoken him. On this mountain. In Colorado.

At first, Brian thought it was the effect of a concussion, suffered from his tumble into the ruins. Now, he knew better.

He didn’t know what to make of Jaleen’s story. It sounded too fantastic to be true. Ancient Egypt the site of an alien invasion? The religions and cultures of Earth capitalized upon to enslave humanity? Entire populations shipped off to other worlds?

Sounded like science fiction.

And what did Samantha Carter have to do with all this?

She was a good looking woman. One who’s company he would have enjoyed under any other circumstance. But he had seen the look in her eyes when she came to Jaleen. She was no more in control than he was. What’s more, he could sense Jaleen’s feelings toward her. Much as the alien expressed regret, it still had nothing good planned for the woman.

Brian had tried to plead with the creature in Samantha’s behalf, but it would hear none of it. It assured Brian that there was no other way, that it was its duty, and a small price to pay for what all his kind and Jolinar, in particular, had done for the Earth.

So, you’re gonna take a human life in payment for your services? Pardon me for asking but, isn’t that what the bad guys do? Couldn’t you just be happy with a nice, big statue in this Jolinar’s honor? No! Of course not! We’re nothing to you, are we? Not any more than we are to these Goa’uld you claim to be defending us from!

Brian’s bitter tirade upset Jaleen. Fiercely, he put the human down, asserting full control again.

The door opening alerted his attention. One man, similar in build to his host, had exited the mountain. Finally! Seizing the opportunity, Jaleen dropped out of the tree and hurried to intercept the airman. Aiming the harekash directly at him, he subdued him quickly. The young man followed Jaleen into the cover of the forest. The two exchanged clothing and went their separate ways. The airman, convinced he had the rest of the day off, towards his car and home, the other, towards the entrance to the mountain base. It was coming on suppertime for his host and that would have to be his first priority. Anyway, Brian could really use a strong cup of coffee...

Such a beautiful thing!

Spun gold flecked with naquada. Stylized Goa’uld, entwined around each other and the two middle fingers of her right hand, gathered in her palm. Set in their mouths, three teardrop shaped stones, one pearlesent, one with an amber glow and another, of polished naquada. The stones glowed, forming a pyramid of light energy when she directed her thoughts at it.

Her will commanded, and all obeyed. She felt the strength gather within her as she activated the device. So intense! So pleasurable! Almost obscenely so. Seeing into the very mind of her opponent, she smirked at his pathetic attempts to fight her. She subdued him in a heartbeat.

She hated this man. He was a constant source of irritation and discomfort to her. She saw the lust in his eyes, for her knowledge of all things Goa’uld, yes, but for much more. He filled her with contempt. She would reach into his feeble mind and wring it out like the rag it was, cutting off all body functions, leaving him to die.

Just like Jolinar.

She hesitated.

No, not like Jolinar. He’s the enemy. He hurt me! I’ll make him pay for that.

She watched in fascination as the glow emanating from the harekash peeled back the skin of the hated man’s face, to reveal who he really was inside. He cried out as, with the force of her mind, the device rearranged his features.

As she watched, Captain Thursby’s face changed until it looked like Colonel Maybourne.

She smiled maliciously. Oh, she was going to enjoy this! But the face changed again. It became the Ashrak, the assassin.

You will die by the power of the harekash. he spoke solemnly to her. Her brow furrowed at his words.

The dead have no power, the Ashrak answered.

Before her eyes, the face changed yet again. The deadly glow flowed from her hand to a face that was her own! Jolinar’s voice cried out in anguish.

Sam’s eyes widened in horror. "No! This doesn’t make any sense! I have the harekash! I have the power!"

You have no power, Samantha. Jolinar spoke in arrogant defiance. You are weak!

In quick succession the face changed. General Hammond, Janet, Teal’c, Daniel...

The face changed again and again. Narim, Graham, Martouf, Apophis...

Each new face called out to her, imploring, accusing, mocking.

Garwin, Drey’ac, Seth, Mark...

Hathor, Jacob, Cassandra, Jack...

The faces blurred together as everyone she had ever known and loved and hated came under the beam of her deadly glare. She was powerless to stop the harekash or to drop her hand away from her victims. Suddenly, tiring of this game, the Goa’ulds wrapped around her fingers unwound themselves. Glowing eyes turned their attention to her. Smiling malevolently, they spoke as one, with Hathor’s voice.

Paralyzed, she stared in horror as the snakelike creatures prepared to strike. They flew away from her outstretched hand, toward her own eyes...

Samantha sat bolt upright in bed, mouthing a scream that refused to come out. She was drenched in sweat and shook uncontrollably. Whimpering in panic, she pulled at her hands, trying to rid herself of the harekash. She held trembling fingers up to her face, searching desperately. Finally, the panic gave way to relief as she realized it had been a dream. She rocked back and forth, hands clasped into tight fists as she tried to regain control.

It was just a nightmare! Just a nightmare!

Yet it seemed so real.

Like a memory of Jolinar.

Sam shook her head as she argued with herself that Jolinar didn’t even know most of the people in her dream. Anyway, she had never used the harekash and she doubted Jolinar had either.

As a measure of calm returned, she took in her surroundings. She sighed.

The infirmary.

Although she had been screened off from the rest of the room by a curtain, she could still hear the incessant whirs and beeps of the machines as they monitored various body functions of the patients with whom she shared the facility.

I’ve got to get out of here!

With the exception of her boots, she was still fully clothed. Slowly, she got off the bed. Her body ached like she had been beaten. Her neck felt especially sore and she put a hand to it to massage some flexibility into it as she gingerly reached for her boots.

Daniel rewound the tape, preparing to watch it again. Jack, having just joined them, sat on a stool beside him while Teal’c stood near the archeologist, willing to watch as often as Dr. Jackson thought it necessary. Teal’c was accustomed to Daniel Jackson’s bulldog tenacity when he devoted himself to a project, but something more than language was at issue here. He had been upset by what Dr. Jackson had told him on the mountain surface. He did not wish to see Major Carter treated as Dr. Jackson had been when they had thought him to be... what was the term?... schizophrenic.

"It is an ancient dialect. It may even predate that found on Argos. I am afraid I cannot decipher it." Teal’c admitted.

"But, you do believe there’s some Goa’uld in what she’s saying?"

"Perhaps. Certain words sound like a form of Goa’uld, but they may not have the same meaning today as they did then, especially within the context of what is obviously some form of latin." Teal’c responded, surprising Daniel with his insight into the vagaries of language.

The table behind them was a chaotic heap of opened textbooks, notes, folders, even stone tablets and assorted artifacts that Daniel had referred to in his efforts to find writings that might resemble the words Sam had spoken. The poor sound on the video made the Major’s soft voice difficult to hear over the noise in the gateroom. On a dryboard he had scribbled the words he thought Sam may have said, matching them to words he knew or could reference. There was only one phrase Sam had uttered that he had picked up with any clarity.

"Amicissi, felati. Patris carere, liberatis recuperare!"

Success... friend, or was it, love? Lover?.. exile from the homeland... freedom restored.

"Does it not, rather, resemble the language the Colonel once spoke, that of the Ancients?"

"... Yeah, that’s what it sounds like to me too."

"What... you’re saying that somehow, someone’s put the Ancient’s language into Sam’s head, like they did with me?" Jack asked, surprised.

Daniel shrugged. "Who would be able to do that? Not Maybourne’s people, and she hasn’t been anywhere else for days now."

Jackson stood before the monitor, left arm hugging his stomach, right elbow propped up on it. He stopped the tape and prepared to replay it, listening intently as his friend’s soft voice fluently uttered words she could not possibly know; the words of another person, of another time and place. He stopped the tape when she finished speaking, and with the patience of one used to prying secrets from things long dead, rewound it yet again.

"Doctor Jackson, could the Tok’Ra have known the Ancients?"

"That’s what I’m wondering. Maybe the Goa’uld knew the Ancients well enough to speak their language. Actually, I’m wondering if it isn’t a dialect. Some kind of mix of goa’uld and ancient latin. Abydonian egyptian is different from Earth egyptian. Latin is most likely a dialect of the Ancient’s language. If the Ancients are the first race and the Goa’uld had any contact with them..."

"Major Carter would know." Teal’c said "She could access Jolinar’s memories."

"It’s not that easy, Teal’c." Jack answered quietly. "They’ve been makin’ her to do just that for weeks now, and it’s starting to backfire."

"She should try a different approach. I could teach her Kel-No-Reem."

"And... that would... what... put her in touch with her inner Tok’Ra? Jolinar’s dead, Teal’c."

"I am aware of that, O’Neill. However, there are many levels of Kel-No Reem. I have noticed that Major Carter shares many of the benefits of a symbiote that I do. She may be able to attain to a lesser state of Kel-No-Reem. It may heighten the Major’s awareness of what Jolinar was, what she experienced. Perhaps the unnatural methods she is being subjected to are partly responsible for her difficulties."

"Having a snake in your head is unnatural, Teal’c and mostly responsible for her difficulties." Jack answered.

"Uh... why didn’t you mention this to Maybourne?" Daniel asked.

Teal’c stiffened. "I did not think to do so. I am... reluctant... to offer anything to that man."

Jack grunted. "I don’t blame you, Teal’c. The less you tell that son of a..."

"Sam!"

Daniel greeted the Major who had been standing silently in the doorway, listening to their conversation.

"Hi! Oh... Should you be up? You don’t look so good! No offense..." He pulled up an extra stool, placing it beside Jack.

Sam just shrugged and, hand dropping from her neck, entered the room and took the pro-offered seat. Sinking onto it, she stared at the monitor. The men exchanged glances.

"You got my vision on tape?"

"Yeah...We’ve been trying to figure out just what you said. It may give us some clues as to what’s happening with you... Listen. Maybe it’ll help you remember and you’ll be able to translate for us."

He replayed the tape for her benefit, watching her face closely. It remained devoid of expression throughout.

"It sounds like the form of latin the Ancients used, mixed with archaic goa’uld." Daniel said helpfully. "I think I may have figured out some of the words, but, for the most part I can’t understand the context."

"Do my eyes always glow when I’m having a vision?" she interrupted, oblivious to Daniel’s words.

He looked up at Jack then back at the monitor..

"Uh... No!.. well, actually... your eyes are usually closed during... those... things."

"They do appear to have a certain gleam to them." Teal’c observed.

"Yeah, now that you mention it." Jack said. "I wouldn’t say a... glow... though."

"No!... No... Definitely not a... glow. More of a..."

"Gleam." Jack finished.

"Gleam!" Daniel repeated quickly, nodding in agreement.

"It is more than likely the wormhole reflecting in your eyes." Teal’c offered encouragingly.

"You did get a... you know..." Jack pointed to the back of his neck.

Sam sighed and covering her face with one hand, pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I have no idea."

"Wh... what? No idea?"

"Jolinar." she answered tiredly. "I have no idea what she is saying. Even after seeing the tape, I can’t even remember having done that. I just feel..." she grimaced as she tried to make her thoughts remain lucid through her headache. "Like... I dunno... like her presence is... stronger... somehow."

"Jaleen! You’re alive!? I thought you were dead!"

"What!?" Sam gasped, casting her eyes about the room in surprise.

"It’s Okay, Sam! It’s just on the tape!" Daniel re-assured her.

"It’s what you said to me when you were coming out of it." Jack explained gently. "In the infirmary you said he might be important to Jolinar. Remember who he is?"

Sam frowned. Why was it so damned hard to think? Something tantalized her, a memory flitting just beyond reach.

"Probably sir, but..."

"Major Carter! What are you doing out of bed? You know better than to leave the infirmary without permission!"

Doctor Fraiser’s small frame stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, trying to look as imposing as she sounded. The three men looked uncomfortably at each other.

"Busted!" Daniel muttered sympathetically.

"Janet!" Sam pleaded.

"Don’t you ‘Janet’ me!" Her face softened. "You’re not well, Sam. You have to be where I can keep an eye on you."

Daniel’s stomach churned at the Doctor’s words.

"Like you were doing when she skipped out." Jack quipped.

He instantly regretted his words when he saw Janet’s face flush, but it was the only retort he could think of in defense of his Major. As far as he was concerned, she had been spending entirely too much time in the infirmary lately.

"Look!" Sam ground out. Her eyes were adamant and she put out a hand to stop all discussion. "That’s the last place I want to be right now! I do need some rest, okay, I agree, but I won’t get it there!"

"Sam..."

"Janet, please!"

Doctor Fraiser studied her patient; her friend. She looked desperate. Sam had been spending a lot of time in the infirmary lately and she couldn’t blame her for wanting to get away, but...

"Let us watch her."

Janet shot a glare at Daniel.

"She’s not going to leave the base or anything." he reasoned. We’ll keep an eye on her. If anything comes up, we’ll take her straight to the infirmary... I promise."

Sam gave her a pleading look.

"She needs to eat." Janet relented. She looked at the Major. "She hasn’t had a bite since lunch yesterday."

Sam let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"I mean it, Sam." she warned, her tone serious. "You get something to eat. And you guys had better keep an eye on her, or you will be in need of the infirmary!"

"Yes Ma’am!" Jack mock saluted as she left. "Alright, Major." he extended his arm in a gentlemanly gesture. "Allow us to take you to dinner. I know a lovely little place on the 24th floor called ‘La Commissary’. Their beef and barley soup is to die for."

"Yeah, I hear it tastes just like chicken!" Daniel enthused cheerfully.

Sam gave them a small smile. "Is this a date?"

"If that’s what it takes to get you to eat and keep us out of the good doctor’s clutches!" Jack grinned

They left the confines of the cluttered lab, the men happy for an excuse to get away from their fruitless efforts. Sam happy to be anywhere other than the infirmary.

Sam felt hungry as she accompanied her friends to the base cafeteria. She hadn’t been able to eat this morning before the briefing and had slept through lunch. Maybe that was why she had such a headache. It was her neck, however, that gave her the most grief. It felt stiff and inflamed and was hot to the touch. She could barely move her shoulders because of the pain. In the elevator ride down the four floors, Jack made to massage them, but she pulled away, wincing at his touch.

"Sorry, sir, but they’re just too sensitive. Must be from sleeping out on the ground last night."

"Must be." he agreed. "... Carter," he said, pretending to make light conversation. "have you seen Thursby around?"

Sam frowned in distaste. "No. Hopefully I won’t run into him for a couple of weeks. Those are doctor’s orders I don’t intend to disobey!"

The doors opened onto the 24th floor. The smells from the cafeteria wafted into the elevator, invitingly.

"Ladies first." Jack gestured gallantly.

As she grinned and stepped out into the hallway, she didn’t see the concerned glances the men shared with each other.

Sargent Hill stalked into the commissary looking for his errant security officer. He approached the solitary figure and sat facing him. Confusion and suspicion crowded his features as he stared into the face of a stranger.

"What are you doing in Morrison’s uniform?" he hissed. "Who are you and what have you done to...?"

Jaleen discreetly revealed the harekash, allowing its light to reach into the Sergeant’s mind.

I am Morrison. I am on my supper break.

Hill stood up and spoke in his usual tone.

"Morrison, I want you to replace Kent in the infirmary in twenty minutes. Got that?"

"Yes, sir."

Samantha was quiet during dinner, letting the men do the talking and responding to their questions with few words. Occasionally, she would look up and stare, frowning, at the back of an airman sitting at the table across from her. Although she thought she was hungry, she found that she could not eat. Most of her dinner remained on her plate, despite the encouragement of her friends. Jack prepared a doggie bag so that Sam could have something at hand in her quarters if she found her appetite. They returned to the General’s office so that both Jack and Daniel could report on their progress.

Shortly, Jaleen also rose from his table and sauntered out of the cafeteria. Time to get to know the place he had only observed from the outside for so long.

As SG-1 neared the General’s office, the gateroom alarms blared, announcing incoming travelers.

"That must be the Tok’Ra." Daniel said.

"The Tok’Ra? Why are they coming here?" Sam asked, unaware of the activity her situation had caused. Not awaiting an answer, she entered the gateroom just as two figures stepped through the event horizon of the wormhole.

"Dad! Martouf! What brings you here?"

Jacob took the time to hug his daughter, disregarding military protocol. His willingness to show affection heightened by the good association of his symbiote and the recent experiences he and Samantha had had together. Sam winced at his touch but allowed her father the courtesy.

"I don’t know, you tell us." Jacob smiled expectantly at her.

Confused, Sam turned to the General.

"Let’s take this into the conference room." Hammond suggested gently. He extended a hand toward the door. Sam looked at him inquiringly as she walked beside her father and up the stairs.

The General debriefed Doctor Jackson and Colonel O’Neill in his office prior to meeting the Tok’ra. While they waited, Teal’c and Sam visited with her father and Martouf, but the visitors could see that she was not feeling well. She told them she was probably getting the flu. Presently, the three men joined the people seated around the table.

"Jacob, much as I enjoy having you with us, you know we’d never summon you for a social call. We need to talk to..."

"Selmac." Jacob grinned tolerantly. "Fine, no problem, but after this is over, I get to spend a little time with my daughter."

General Hammond’s smile did not quite reach his eyes.

"Agreed, Jacob."

Jacob looked at him a moment, concern flashing across his face, before he bowed his head to invite his symbiote to surface.

"General Hammond, it is again an honor to be among your people. How can I be of assistance?"

"Selmac, I fear for Jaleen!"

All eyes turned in surprise towards the voice.

"Ra is ruthless, more so than all the others!"

"Ah..for cryin’ out loud!" Jack sighed in frustration.

"Jolinar?" Selmac exclaimed. Martouf looked from Selmac to Samantha, confused. Selmac looked at the General, who frowned and nodded toward his Major. This was what the Tok’Ra had been summoned for.

"Why did the Council choose him for the most dangerous assignment?"

Sam was obviously distressed, or rather, she projected the distress of her former symbiote. Jacob’s eyes shifted as his symbiote tried to grasp what was going on. Intuitively, Selmac continued the conversation with a long dead memory.

"... Jaleen is... cunning. He has... gifts. The council chose well. If anyone can outwit Ra, he can."

Sam’s eyes filled with pain. "He will die, Selmac! He takes far too many risks. I should have been assigned to go with him!"

"You have an assignment."

"Olnan is more than capable of completing it! I should be with Jaleen’s team." Another person gazed at Selmac through Sam’s eyes. "Selmac! I love him! I don’t know if I can take this separation!"

Martouf froze as she uttered these words. What was Jolinar talking about? Who was this Jaleen? Jolinar had never told him about a former mate or lover. How could she have hidden this from him?

Selmac was at a loss for words. Never, in all his millennia, had he experienced such a thing as this. These memories! So old! Selmac had all but forgotten them. They belonged to another time, another existence, when their fight had a far different meaning. He was having difficulty keeping his emotions in check. Desperately, he fled into the safe depths of his host, begging Jacob to resurface so that he could regain his balance.

"Selmac is very upset. We should stop this!"

Jacob stared at his daughter. She had stopped talking, but normalcy had not yet returned to her eyes. She was still in the throes of Jolinar’s vision.

Jack stood. Gently pulling Sam’s chair away from the table, he swiveled it around so that she was facing him. Placing one hand on her shoulder, he spoke her name softly.

"Sam."

His touch sent a shock of pain coursing through her, awakening her from the vision. She cried out in surprise and pain. Quickly, Jack removed his hand but kept it close, awaiting the now all too familiar routine.

"She’s sleeping now, without the aid of drugs, I might add. These episodes seem to take a lot out of her." Doctor Fraiser explained to the men assembled around the briefing table.

"She’s experiencing a general weakening of the body and a lot of pain in the head and neck; fevers and chills."

"She told us she thought she might have a touch of the flu." Jacob said.

Janet shrugged, skeptical. "Sam hasn’t been sick since the day Jolinar blended with her. I think she may have developed a certain immunity to common illnesses."

She swallowed as she looked around the room, reluctant to say what was weighing on her mind, not after what she had put Daniel through. But, she had run every test imaginable. Major Carter’s symptoms may be physical, but the causes clearly were not. Feeling Daniel’s eyes upon her, she stared down at the opened folder on the table, unable to meet his intense gaze.

"This all started since we began an intensive investigation of Major Carter’s abilities with Goa’uld devices. She started having severe psychotic episodes yesterday afternoon when she saw the harekash..."

Daniel rose from his chair, angry.

"Why don’t you just say it? You think she’s gone crazy, don’t you!"

"Doctor Jackson!" General Hammond warned.

"Geez, Janet! Is mental illness the flavor of the month? First me and now Sam? She’s your friend! How can you do this to her?

"I didn’t say she was crazy!" Janet nearly shouted. She stared at Dr. Jackson, eyes overly bright and fought to regain her composure. "I’m saying that the stress she’s been under lately may have caused these psychotic episodes and that, unlike when you were infected by Machello’s device, we are aware that another force is at work here."

"Jolinar." Martouf said sadly.

"Yes!"

Janet sighed. "Jolinar’s memories seem more and more easily accessible the more Major Carter uses them. Lately, she’s been called upon to use them... a lot. Now, Jolinar seems to have left enough of herself inside Major Carter for it to truly seem like she’s suffering from some level of schizophrenia. And I do mean suffering. Her dopamine, serotonin and acteylcholine levels are all over the charts. She’s becoming less and less able to function as Sam Carter, and, there is an accumulation of naquada around her hindbrain. I can’t dissolve the naquada block and I’m afraid she risks brain damage. The rest of her organs have begun to deteriorate as well. Each ‘episode’ weakens her a little more." She fixed her gaze on Jacob/Selmac.

"I was hoping you could help her."

The Tok’Ra stared at each other a long moment before Martouf answered.

"I know of no way to help Samantha other than blending her with a new symbiote." He spoke quietly, eyes downcast. He well knew what the young woman’s feelings were on that subject.

Janet knew too. Sam had confided in her once that what Jolinar did amounted to rape as far as she was concerned. She wouldn’t willingly repeat the experience no matter how much she respected the Tok’Ra.

Jacob and Martouf stared in wonder at the video monitor as they watched Major Carter in the gateroom, speaking words they themselves had not uttered for millennia. Martouf could not make sense of the scene. It was definitely a memory of Jolinar that Samantha had experienced, but he did not know this Jaleen.

"Amicissi, felati. Patris carere, liberatis recuperare!"

Daniel froze the video and looked at the two expectantly.

"Success my love. May your exile bring freedom home."

Selmac spoke the words in the same reverent manner as Carter had in the gateroom. Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply, face grimacing at the painful memories those words evinced.

Daniel let the tape continue.

"Jaleen! You’re alive!? I thought you were dead!"

Selmac resurfaced with a start, stiffening at these words. Jaleen, alive? Was this possible?!

"The Tok’Ra Council will want to know this. We will have to bring Major Carter with us."

"You’ll do nothing of the sort! This is my daughter we’re talking about!" Jacob roared, re-asserting himself over his symbiote.

The others looked up in surprise. Jacob seemed to be arguing with himself. What had him so upset?

"What’s up?" Jack asked Jacob.

"Selmac wants to take Sam back with us to undergo a deep mind probe. Find out what she knows about Jaleen. If he really is still alive, where he is, where his loyalties lie. It’s difficult enough with a symbiote. Without one..."

Jacob’s face was ashen.

"Let me get this straight." Jack shouted. "You couldn’t do anything to help Carter, but you’re willing to possibly make things even worse for her, in order to help some Tok’Ra who’s probably... dead?!"

"Samantha won’t stand for this!" Martouf shot heatedly at Selmac, oblivious to the humans around them. "What’s more, Jolinar was my mate! I will not allow it!"

"These are special circumstances, Martouf. Jolinar’s first duty is to the Tok’Ra."

The humans could hardly keep up with the changes from Jacob to Selmac.

"You will comply!"

Jolinar’s dead! She has no duty to anyone!" Jack yelled.

Teal’c was on his feet. "You will not harm Major Carter!" he threatened loudly. Selmac rose to meet him.

"We must know what she knows!" Selmac responded with equal vehemence. "If Jaleen lives, he is either a threat to your world or in need of our aid. Since Major Carter is unable to enlighten us naturally, a deep probe is the only way to find out what is going on. And you do not have the facilities to do so here!"

"Major Carter is under my command, and she is going nowhere unless I say so. Now, both of you, sit down."

General Hammond’s commanding voice held a power that quickly brought the room to heel. Selmac’s eyes glowed in anger as he whirled on him. Hammond met his gaze steadily. The General was clearly in charge here and Selmac would find no support in this room. Not from the Tau’ri, not from his Tok’Ra companion, not from his own host. The glow faded as Selmac regained control of his feelings. He bowed his head meekly, and returned to his seat. Teal’c sat back, eyes never leaving the Tok’Ra.

"I apologize, General Hammond. I should never have presumed that Samantha was under our jurisdiction simply because Jolinar was."

Selmac sighed as he gazed at the image of Samantha Carter, frozen on the video monitor and made his decision. The time had come to explain some things to the Tau’ri.

"On our world, as on any other, there are two kinds of people. The great majority live decent, simple lives, stay home and mind their own business. The other kind of person is more ambitious. They are the adventurers, the soldiers of fortune, the movers and shakers of their worlds. Usually that’s a good thing as it serves to keep a species healthy and assures progress.

Then, there are the Goa’uld.

The Goa’uld are... an aberration of our nature. They were more than ambitious. Their desire for power was... a sickness..."

"Sociopaths! The Goa’uld are the dregs of an otherwise normal, peaceful society?"

"Yes, Dr. Jackson. It is difficult enough to manage such persons within the relative confines of one’s own planet..."

Selmac stood and walking over to the window, looked down at the quiet stargate. The painful memories of another time muting his anger.

"The builders of the stargates became... very disappointed with us for allowing such corruption to spread to other worlds and endanger infant species."

"Infant species... meaning us?" Jack asked

"Among others."

"So... you were once allied with the Ancients?"

"Not allied Dr. Jackson, more like, recognized by them. We were working very hard toward an alliance, trying to prove our worthiness when..." He shook himself. So much had gone so wrong!

"They decided to take strong measures to contain the damage our kind had already caused. The stargates and all related technology were ordered removed from our solar system and a trade and communications embargo was placed upon us until the Alliance deemed us ‘fit to rejoin civilized society’.

In an attempt to prevent the enforced isolation of our world, our leaders commissioned the formation of an elite group of soldiers, scientists and diplomats, to try to bring Ra and his kind to justice. It was the one concession the Alliance granted us. We were a ‘special forces unit’ if you will. Groups of four assigned to infiltrate and if possible arrest the Goa’uld in power. We’d been after Ra long before he came here. By the time he got to Earth, he was pretty weakened.

Unfortunately, by then we were experiencing our own internal problems. Let’s just say there were differences of opinion about how the Tok’Ra should proceed. By the time we had regrouped and were able to concentrate on Ra again, he was stronger than ever. Earth proved to be an invaluable asset to him and a lot of Goa’uld sided with him." Selmac’s face hardened. "Even some Tok’Ra... In time, Jaleen was given command of the unit assigned to Earth."

"May your exile bring freedom home!" Daniel said excitedly. "You can never go home! You banished yourselves from your own world thousands of years ago because of the Goa’uld!"

Selmac bowed Jacob’s head in obvious discomfort.

"Yes."

"Couldn’t you just go home in ships?" Jack suggested, shrugging. He had a sneaking suspicion that wouldn’t possible either.

"Many have." Lantesh, Martouf’s symbiote answered. "But it is what you would call a one way ticket, O’Neill. Our world is too far from any non-alliance system to make the trip easily and it has neither the expertise nor the resources to engage in space travel. Also, for us to return without completing our mission would not only be dishonorable, but would guarantee that our world be forever excluded from the Alliance."

"So, a four man team succeeded in ridding Earth of Ra’s forces?" Hammond asked, hoping to lift the Tok’Ra’s heavy mood with the memory of at least one victory.

"Four works for me!" Jack smiled. "I imagine Jaleen enlisted the help of the locals along the way, same as we’ve done on occasion?"

"The locals, yes, and some other species sympathetic to our struggle."

"Omorocca."

The Tok’Ra looked at Daniel in surprise.

"You know of Omorocca?!" Lantesh asked.

"Through his mate, Oannes, yes."

Lantesh’s respect for the humans grew a little more. These Tau’ri got around!

"Also," Selmac continued, "Jolinar was commanding a sizable army by the time Jaleen’s unit had succeeded in overthrowing Ra’s forces on Earth. She was there to lend her support from space, along with the Asgard. Earth is the cradle of your species and it was imperative that Ra believe that to attack it from space would be ill advised. Only one of Jaleen’s operatives managed to escape on Ra’s ship. When he later contacted us, it was with the news that Jaleen had died along with the others when one of the landing pads was destroyed. Judging from the extent of the carnage and destruction left behind by the war, we had no reason to believe otherwise. Now it appears that may not have been true."

"Not necessarily." Doctor Fraiser interjected. "Major Carter has been under a lot of pressure lately. These may just be some deeply hidden memories of Jolinar’s that have resurfaced."

"But, she spoke of Jaleen being alive." Selmac reminded her.

"I know, but, Jaleen appeared to be special to Jolinar. Sam may have experienced a... wish or a dream of Jolinar’s. She said she loved him and in the infirmary Sam used a word, what was it?" the doctor turned to Daniel.

"Hauzh. She called him her hauzh. What does that mean?"

Martouf’s smile almost split his face in two with relief.

"The word is difficult to translate. It has the sense of both high station and alter ego!"

He looked around the room, laughing as if he had just been awarded a prize.

"They were twins! Siblings!"

The humans looked at him in disbelief.

"I don’t understand." Dr. Fraiser said. "Don’t you have several larvae at a time?"

She swallowed as she recalled the seething mass of Goa’uld larvae filling the tub in the locker room when Hathor had tried to turn the SGC into her nest.

"Yes, but some broods produce one set of identical twins. It is a rare and significant occurrence among our kind. They truly stand apart from the rest of the brood. They are usually the ones who take the lead in our society. The hauzh experience a unique filial bond. Their minds are more attuned to each other than their other siblings. Those two would have been inseparable!"

Selmac allowed himself a small smile as it dawned on him that Martouf was jealous. He had been working off-world when the Ancients closed access to home and had joined their ranks some time after the formation of the original Tok’Ra. For this reason he never met Jaleen personally. Selmac had not thought to tell him of their relationship. Obviously, Jolinar had never brought it up either. He was not surprised. She had been a well respected and influential member of the Tok’Ra, preferring to earn her place on the council through deeds, not birthright. She and Jaleen had selflessly given up much. All the rights and privileges of their station in order to help free their people from enforced isolation.

"That could explain why the Major is having visions about Jaleen at this time." Janet said. "If they were that close, Jolinar’s memories of him may be one way of helping Sam cope with what must be a trying time for her. Her experiences are... well... unique, from a human standpoint. She may subconciously be looking for someone to confide in."

"So, you think Sam’s made up a kind of... invisible friend, from Jolinar’s memories?" Jack suggested.

"... Possibly." Janet answered.

"That can’t be healthy."

Janet eyes locked with Jack’s. "It isn’t."

"The mind probe would not only provide information on Jaleen."

Martouf bowed his head, unable to continue. Momentarily Lantesh spoke.

"Such a probe would effectively wipe out all traces of Jolinar in Samantha. She would never be troubled by those memories again. Jolinar would cease to exist on any level. In time, Samantha’s mind may heal and she may be able to resume a normal life."

"If she survives the probe!" Jacob cut in.

"Ok. Listen! It’s not psychosis, alright!" Daniel pounded his fist on the table in frustration. "It’s Jaleen! He’s not only alive, but he’s around here somewhere and he’s the one doing this to Sam!"

"Daniel!"

"No, Jack, think about it! What if Jaleen wasn’t killed. What if he survived and put himself in stasis or something, like Hathor did."

"He may have been recently released and drawn to the stargate as Hathor had been." Teal’c suggested.

"Right! Or he can sense Jolinar and he’s trying to find her! Maybe he’s using some kind of device to communicate with her, only it’s not working because Jolinar is... dead, and Sam is..." he laughed helplessly as he remembered what he had suffered recently. "experiencing... a side effect of the device because she’s just a human."

He looked around the room expectantly. With the exception of Teal’c, the looks ranged from doubtful to unbelieving.

"Look!" he pleaded. "When I was infected with Machello’s Goa’uld killers, you were quick to brand me as mentally unstable." He fixed his gaze on the Doctor.

"Now you’re doing the same thing to Sam. Don’t you think she deserves a chance? Stranger things have happened to us. We’ve got to exhaust all other possibilities before we force her to do what I know she won’t want! Not for herself or for Jolinar."

"I agree with Dr. Jackson." Teal’c spoke up. "Major Carter has a strong mind. I do not believe she has so easily succumbed to this psychosis you speak of."

"Look, Hathor and Seth took their time resurfacing after the gate was shut down. Who’s to say Jaleen isn’t out there too?"

Jack looked at the General.

"They’re right, sir. We owe it to Carter to at least examine the possibility."

"Agreed... How do we proceed?"

"He is here, on this base."

All eyes turned toward the Jaffa.

"Major Carter has not been off base for four days." he reasoned. "Yet she started having these episodes only yesterday."

"How can that be?" Hammond asked. "Ever since the Ashrak we’ve had the tightest security..."

"Jaleen was a well trained infiltrator." Selmac said.

"So was the Ashrak!" Jack reminded them.

Jack thought back to his encounter with Captain Thursby. The Captain had written down the name of the Ashrak’s device, presumably because Sam told him its name when she went to see him this morning, only neither he nor the Major remembered that happening.

Empty-handed... Now Jack knew what had bothered him about the Major’s stance on the security video. Her hand was in her pocket when she went to sign out of the base.

Sam never has her hands in her pockets! Unless...

Jack bolted from his chair and reached for the phone. He dialed Thursby’s office.

"Thursby. You know that thing that killed the Tok’Ra inside Major Carter? You got it with you?...

Well, I suggest you have a look..."

He and the General exchanged worried glances as Hammond realized what his Colonel was looking for.

"You’re sure? You wouldn’t have put it somewhere else, more secure?... Alright, sit tight, we’re on it."

O’Neill hung up the phone and turned to the assembled group.

"The harekash is missing. Carter probably took it."

"Carter? Why?" Janet asked.

"Well, either she’s acting out her visions now, or..."

"Someone told her to go fetch it for him." Daniel finished.

"Jaleen!"

"He’d be able to use the device to get past security." Jacob’s voice was tight with worry. "If he is here, Selmac may be able to reason with him."

"That may be so, but I want full defensive posture on this. I won’t have him putting the Major or this base in jeopardy."

"Jaleen may be with Samantha as we speak." Lantesh spoke up. "I think I understand what he may be attempting."

"And that would be?"

"He wishes to retrieve Jolinar in the hopes of one day returning her to the home world."

"Retrieving her? She’s dead!"

"What, you mean, for a burial ritual or something?" Daniel asked.

"That’s of no importance right now!" Lantesh waved impatiently. "We have to make sure he is prevented from doing this. The retrieval procedure will surely kill Samantha!"

Jack was out the door before the Tok’Ra had finished, the others not far behind. Hammond took up the phone.

"This is General Hammond. We have an intruder. Lock up the mountain. Security detail to the infirmary!"

In a small, locked room in the infirmary, the woman lay dying.

Jaleen stood over her, one hand holding the glowing sphere to her forehead, the other gently clasping her hand in sympathy, offering what little comfort he could. He hated doing this to her. Perhaps he should not. After all, Jolinar had saved this one.

She had regained consciousness during the procedure and it had unnerved him. His own host was becoming increasingly difficult to manage, alternating between begging Jaleen to reconsider and hurling invectives at him.. The humans had changed so much since he was assigned to use them against their common enemy. He stared into crystal blue eyes, opened wide, coming in and out of focus as the woman fought for and occasionally regained control. As much as Brian was a hothead, the woman’s was a cool analytical mind that held none of the superstitious fear of her primitive ancestors. Her passion for knowledge reminded him of Jolinar’s way of thinking, so like his own. So like his host’s! He hadn’t meant to look into the human’s mind. He still refused even to think her name. Not yet. Later, he would honor her. His task was onerous enough as it was.

He had hoped to spirit the Major off the base where they could have done this in private. The hau’ta’oth retrieval ritual was a delicate procedure that took time. He didn’t want to lose any part of his beloved sibling. But somehow, the gathering of Jolinar had begun in the woman, perhaps because of her intelligence, perhaps for other factors, he did not know. She was in the infirmary when he arrived, unconscious and too weak to be moved. He had to act immediately or lose her forever! To make matters worse, he sensed the presence of Goa’uld on the base!

She had finally stopped fighting him, as her organs began the slow process of shutting down and her cerebral cortex filled with all that had once belonged to Jolinar. Soon the eyes would awaken with his hauzh looking through them, at him. He would get the chance to speak with her one last time and perform the rites of retrieval. He had lost so many people since this war had begun. Jolinar was far too valuable to lose; for him, for his world. It was his duty as well as his right.

Sirens blared, cutting into his concentration. He had hoped for more time! Jolinar was not fully gathered! He hoped that the security guards he had coerced into protecting this room would be able to keep everyone at bay long enough for him to finish his task.

A disturbance outside the door told him that he had been discovered. He could hear the guards firing upon each other as they fought for possession of the infirmary. Desperately he searched the woman’s eyes for signs of Jolinar’s awakening.

Too soon!

Dimly, Jaleen heard the menacing voice of Sergeant Hill as he tried to bring his officers to order. He spared himself the thought that the human would make a formidable Jaffa.

Suddenly the piercing shriek of what could only be a Goa’uld shock grenade made Jaleen grimace. He knew his defenses would go down. In an instant they would be at the door and he would lose Jolinar. He would lose everything! How could he have allowed himself to become distracted from his original mission? How could he put the Earth in jeopardy just to satisfy his own needs? When did he lose his objectivity?

It looks like they were right to separate us after all, Jolinar.

He grit his teeth as he stared in frustration at the dying woman. Letting go of her hand, he leveled his zat at the door, prepared to fire upon whoever came through.

Jacob and Jack stood either side of the door. Jack reached out and tried the doorknob. It was locked. Looking up at Doctor Fraiser, he mouthed.

"Key."

Janet tossed it to him. Gingerly he put it in the lock and turned it. He grit his teeth at the soft ‘click’, amplified by a silent infirmary. Nothing happened behind the door. He and the Tok’Ra exchanged looks. Selmac nodded, the ribbon device clutched against Jacob’s chest, right hand on the door to push it wide open. Martouf stood some distance from the door, zat gun raised.

Jack turned the handle and the two pushed in one fluid motion. But Jaleen was ready for them and fired his zat at the door. The shock of the electric charge raced through it, throwing them both to the floor with its force. As the door swung open, Martouf saw his target, but he could not fire upon Jaleen because his hand was on Samantha. In her state, he knew she wouldn’t survive even one zat’ni’katel discharge. Jaleen saw the dismay on the man’s face and fired. Martouf leapt out of the way of the blast, rolling to a stop near the downed Tok’Ra.

"Jaleen! Listen to me! I am Lantesh. I am Tok’Ra, like you. I was Jolinar’s mate!"

The little room was silent. No other sound could be heard above the labored breathing of the two injured men.

"Selmac is with me."

"... Selmac!?"

Jacob stirred as he recovered from the blast.

"Yes, Jaleen." Jacob gasped. "You’ll have to forgive him for not answering you, he’s a little indisposed at the moment... I am Jacob, his host. And that’s my daughter you have in there!"

Jaleen’s eyes widened in surprise. Selmac’s host was speaking?!

"Jaleen, may I come in?"

"... You may show yourself, but I warn you! Keep your distance!"

Lantesh rose and gingerly stepped into the doorway, both hands outstretched to show he was unarmed. His eyes darted to Samantha’s still form. They widened in alarm as he saw the hau’ta’oth.

"Jaleen, you must stop what you are doing!"

Jaleen regarded him coolly.

"This is a Goa’uld trick! I do not know any Lantesh. You are not Tok’Ra."

"He is both Tok’Ra and the mate of Jolinar."

"Selmac!? Is it really you?"

Selmac stood in the doorway, leaning heavily on Teal’c. Jaleen swallowed at the unlikely sight. Tok’Ra and Jaffa? Friends?!

"Yes, Jaleen, and I am ordering you to stop the hau’ta’oth!You do not know who this young woman is..."

"She was host to my Jolinar!" Jaleen spoke uncertainly, questioning his own resolve before this onslaught of new information.

Selmac, his superior, was here on Earth, ordering him to stop the retrieval. Jolinar’s own mate wished him to stop. How could this be? Who really was this woman? He spared her a glance. The retrieval was nearly complete. His eyes darkened in despair as he hesitated. Should he try to reverse the procedure, saving the woman but losing Jolinar? So close!

Listen to them, Jaleen! Brian’s voice cut into his thoughts. Please!

Jaleen shook himself violently, desperate now. Nothing was going as planned! He was so close!

"Stay where you are!" Jaleen ordered, waving his zat gun threateningly at Martouf, who had crept closer to the bed. Martouf stopped, spreading his hands in supplication.

"Jaleen, please! We will explain everything to you, but first, you must stop the retrieval!"

"She is my hauzh! " He cried out, pleading desperately. "I claim the right of hau’ta’oth!"

"She was my mate!" Lantesh shot back. "My rights supercede yours! Things have changed for the Tok’Ra, Jaleen. Our hosts are our equals. They also have rights. Samantha has the right to continue living, to continue fighting the Goa’uld as we do. Jolinar would tell you the same if she could speak."

Jack rose shakily from his place on the floor, trying to regain control over limbs that balked at his commands. His ears worked well enough, though, and he heard Lantesh’s impassioned plea for Sam’s life.

"NO!" Jaleen cried. "We are so much more than our host! And Jolinar is hauzh! Her memories, her essence, are vital to our society! How dare you deprive us of them?"

"Jaleen!" Selmac pleaded. "You have been out of touch with the Tok’Ra for so long. We have come to understand the human’s true worth. They are not merely our hosts, but our allies, our equals, our friends. To see them otherwise would make us no better than the Goa’uld we fight!"

Suddenly Jaleen sensed a change in the woman’s body. An unsettling stillness as her heart finally failed. Jaleen tore his eyes from the men to glance at her. In that instant Lantesh was upon him, slapping his hand and the retrieval device away from the dying woman’s head and slamming Jaleen into a medical cart. It tipped and the two fell struggling to the floor.

Jacob searched frantically for the orb, hoping he would have enough time to reverse the process that was killing his daughter. Janet and her team were already at Sam’s side, trying to reanimate her.

"Lantesh! If you truly loved my Jolinar, you would want this as much as I do!"

"Three cc. Epi. and prepare to shock her at three hundred!"

"I loved her! I still do! Jolinar is not dead! She lives in Samantha. If you had taken the time to know her you would have seen that!"

The nurse placed an oxygen bag over Sam’s mouth and nose, forcing air into lungs that had ceased breathing on their own.

"Clear!"

The ‘WHUMP!’ of the electric shock coursing through flesh brought the men’s struggle to a halt. Hastily installed monitors showed no sign of Carter reviving.

Lantesh’s eyes glowed bright with fury as he pulled the subdued Tok’Ra to his feet. Together with the men of SG-1, they watched from an enforced distance as the doctor worked frantically to undo what Jaleen had done. Jack eyed Martouf/Lantesh with new understanding. Both... people... must have suffered greatly at the loss of Rocha/Jolinar. He wondered how two equally miserable souls could ever console themselves of that loss, especially knowing that here on Earth, lived one who embodied the memories and spirit of their love. He looked at the scene unfolding before him. At his Major, dying again because of a snakehead. Only this time, at the hands of some deranged Tok’ra.

"Clear!"

‘WHUMP!’ The sound of the paddles reverberated through all of them. Precious seconds passed as the room held its breath, waiting for the signal that the Major would live.

"We’ve got a heartbeat!"

Janet quickly shone her light in Sam’s eyes. They remained open, unfocused, dilated.

"No response."

She checked the monitors as her assistant squeezed air into the Major. The lungs still weren’t working on their own.

"Prepare her for intubation!"

Although it was not responsive to external stimuli, Sam’s brain nonetheless showed excessive activity. The doctor sighed in frustration.

Deja-vu.

When Jolinar was dying inside Carter, they could clearly identify two different brain signals. One Tok’Ra, the other human. That time, the Tok’Ra signal was the one to fade and die. This time, it seemed, the Tok’Ra’s was stronger. It made no sense from her medical point of view. Jolinar was long dead. Jaleen’s device must have somehow turned the Major’s mind against herself.

Jacob approached the bed, the retrieval device in his hand.

"Doctor, allow me!"

Janet held up a hand, forestalling her staff, and watched as Sam’s father placed the small sphere on his daughter’s forehead. She locked her gaze on him. Medical intervention had bought them a little time. It was up to him now.

Gently, Jacob stroked his daughter’s cheek even as he concentrated his thoughts to reversing the retrieval process. The crystal within the hau’ta’oth began to glow.

The two Tok’Ra approached the bed. Sam’s eyes remained unfocused. Gently, Martouf took her hand in his and stroked it lovingly. He stared with longing at her face. How he wished she could look at him with recognition, one last time! He so wanted to see ‘her’ again. To hear her voice, to be able to tell her he loved her.

To say good-bye.

Jaleen stood near him, but refrained from touching the woman. If Lantesh truly was Jolinar’s mate, then he had the right to be the last to speak with her. His hands trembled at his sides as he waited with the rest of the room to see who would survive.

Finally, Sam’s chest heaved as Jacob’s ministrations allowed her mind to regain control of basic body functions. In the same movement, she turned slightly to look at the men standing over her. Jolinar’s memories sprang to the surface as life returned to her eyes. Seeing Martouf, a soft smile broke over her face, bathing him in its light.

"My love!"

Jolinar’s words, Samantha’s soft voice, spoken barely above a whisper. She said nothing more, just gazed up at him, the smile conveying all that had been left unsaid between the two. Martouf raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers tenderly.

Several seconds ticked by, marked only by the monitors rhythmic beeping.

A lifetime.

A shuddering sigh, and Jolinar was gone. Sam’s eyes slowly closed as a peaceful, healing sleep claimed her. Jacob groaned inwardly in relief. He stole a glance at the men gathered about his daughter. Tears flowed freely as Jaleen watched the exchange he had hoped would be between him and his hauzh. Jack stood rigid beside him, both arms crossed tightly across his chest. His face and eyes each telling Jacob a different story.

Frowning, he concentrated his thoughts to healing his daughter physically. He had sensed the feelings Jolinar expressed towards Martouf during their brief moment together and as he continued the healing, he would no doubt pick up on his daughter’s feelings, both for Martouf and for O’Neill as well. He liked both men, and would be happy to see her with either of them. But he suspected that Samantha Carter was as inept as her father when it came to matters of the heart...

"She is afraid." Selmac noted, whispering into Jacob’s mind. "And lonely."

"Yes." He agreed. "I’ll have to have a talk with her when this is over. If it weren’t for her work, she’d probably destroy herself."

"She is her father’s daughter."

Jacob smiled sadly.

Two weeks had passed since Jaleen had tried to retrieve Jolinar. It took some convincing, but Brian finally warmed to the idea that he was blended with a friendly alien who was fighting a battle of galactic proportions. They had taken the time to get to know one another. Jaleen learned how to accommodate the thoughts, opinions and feelings of his host. Brian and Daniel became fast friends. Their love of archeology and thirst for knowledge of other cultures kept them talking constantly and Jaleen, in frustration, had confided to Jack O’Neill that he couldn’t understand all the interest in a bunch of dead things. It didn’t matter though, digging up rocks to please his host was a small price to pay in exchange for Brian’s forgiveness and acceptance.

Jack had decided he liked this Tok’Ra.

"A word of advice, Jaleen. They’re artifacts, not rocks." Jack told him. "Archeologists tend to get upset when you don’t use the proper terminology."

"Oh! So, from now on I can expect you to know the difference?" Daniel punched his arm playfully. Jaleen’s eyes glowed as he chuckled.

He had decided he liked these humans.

Jaleen had taken the time to get to know Samantha, liking her immediately, seeing much of his hauzh in her personality. It was discovered that the gathering had been accelerated in her because of all the use she had been making of Jolinar’s memories and ‘talents’ lately. That night on the mountain, when they had first met, the effect of the hau’ta’oth provided the extra push needed to start a near fatal process. The Tok’Ra graciously took the time to debrief Colonel Maybourne about the negative effects of prolonged and irresponsible use of the hand devices. The President ordered that all testing on Major Carter be stopped. Area 51 no longer occupied an office in Cheyenne Mountain.

All in all, Samantha had been pretty understanding about the whole mess. Jaleen was glad of that! To make up for it, he taught her how to handle the devices safely. Teal’c was right. Meditation was the key to surviving the intoxicating effects of the powerful tools. Together, Jaffa and Tok’Ra coached her in the meditation techniques of Kel-No-Reem. Jaleen did something else for her as well.

He took her swimming.

Sam was delighted! She was only dimly aware, through Jolinar, that the Tok’Ra even had a social life. She’d never thought of her former symbiote as being the fun-loving type.

Water was Jaleen’s element! Apparently, it was also Brian’s. With the increased endurance a symbiote gave him, he sliced through the water with the ease and grace of a dolphin. All the Tok’Ra did, as a matter of fact, even Jacob. It had been great! Sam couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her father having fun! Selmac later admitted to her that it had, indeed, been too long, for all of them.

Jaleen helped her pull some beautiful things from Jolinar’s memories. A whole other lifetime spent in the pristine oceans of her homeworld, enjoying the company of a large family and friends. Sam saw a world of enlightened creatures, adventurous, curious and tolerant. A world where individuals pursued hopes, dreams, ambitions, fell in love, raised families; unencumbered by violence, disease and pollution.

Earth should be so blessed.

It was hard to believe this world could have produced the Goa’uld.

It was hard to believe Jolinar was his identical twin! Of course, she had been hardened by millennia of battles and hardship, losses and grief, while her hauzh slept, blissfully unaware, in stasis here on Earth. It was comforting to Sam to know that Jolinar had once been like her vibrant, fun loving sibling. Hopefully, he would be able to bring a little youthful vitality to the battle weary Tok’Ra. It looked like he already had.

"Chevron five, engaged."

"Nervous?" Sam asked.

Brian smiled, watching with a mixture of fascination and trepidation as the chevron locked into place.

"Does it show, or has Jaleen turned you into a telepath too?" he teased.

Jaleen had regaled him with tales of the mind games he and Jolinar would play. He turned back to the gate. He had been allowed to watch units come and go through the stargate in anticipation of his own departure. Now, it was his turn. He was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. Several lifetimes, if he could stay out of trouble long enough to benefit from the extended lifespan he would enjoy as a result of the blending.

"Jaleen says there’s nothing to it."

"Yeah, piece of cake." Jack assured him with a smile.

Brian pulled Sam into a hug.

"Well, good-bye... sis! I’ll be sure to visit."

"You’d better!"

The past two weeks had been interesting for Jack as well. At first he was inwardly worried and resentful as Carter spent all her time with the Tok’Ra. She no longer seemed ill at ease with the symbiotes, laughing and teasing like they were old friends. With a start he realized that, indeed, they were much more than friends. She and Jolinar were inseparably linked, of course. Now, in some weird kind of love triangle, Carter was in the company of her mate, her father and her brother.

Ok, so, not a triangle, there’s four people involved... no, four people, three symbiotes and... a memory.

Jack shook his head. Sam would have to figure out the angles. The thing was, she seemed to have accepted the Tok’Ra as family. The possible consequences made his stomach churn, but for now she seemed content to stay with the SGC. He stood beside her as she said her good-byes.

"Chevron six, engaged."

Jacob hugged his daughter affectionately. "Try to stay out of trouble, kid."

Sam grinned. "I will if you will, Dad."

Jacob pointed at her and grinned back. "Deal." He joined Brian at the base of the ramp, just as the technician called out.

"Chevron seven, locked!

Martouf was the last to say his good-byes. He and Jack looked at each other. Jack smiled and bowed his head. The two hadn’t exactly become fast friends, but they did respect each other more now. Martouf smiled back. Jack discreetly stepped away to give Martouf a little space.

Sam and Martouf locked hands together.

"Thank you." she said sincerely.

No more needed to be said. They had taken the time to talk, after Sam had recuperated, and Martouf had come to terms with her decision. Still, it was hard, leaving her. He loved her; wished he could make her believe that he wasn’t just in love with a ghost. His jaw worked to get the tightness out of his constricted throat. Slowly, he smiled and nodded once. Then, joining the others, walked up the ramp. Without looking back, the three disappeared through the stargate.

Sam Carter stood at the base of the ramp, frowning as she contemplated the empty ring that seconds before had been filled by her family. They had already reached their destination, some unremarkable place well hidden among the stars. She suddenly resented the sudden abruptness of the wormhole’s collapse. She would have wanted to watch them on the first leg of their journey, receding slowly from view as they distanced themselves from her. That was the way one said good-bye to family.

Her family. She sighed inwardly.

She became aware of people. Daniel, Teal’c and the Colonel had drawn themselves around her. The resentment subsided. She wasn’t alone. Three of the most important men in her life were here, right beside her, as they had always been, as they always would be.

Her team.

The ones she had chosen to stay with.

" Airman Ritter tells me the stars are quite visible tonight." Teal’c said.

"A little stargazing would be nice..." Daniel agreed.

"How ‘bout it, Carter?" Jack coaxed. "Wanna go out with some real men tonight?"

Sam chuckled. "What, you mean, like on a real date?"

"Well, we’d have to wine and dine you for it to be a real date... How ‘bout beer and pizza?"

"Who’s paying?"

"Carter!" Jack growled. "Daniel is."

"Me! Hey! No way! I paid last time!"

"If we are all taking the Major out on a date, should not the three of us be paying?" Teal’c asked.

"Teal’c!" Jack sighed, "You’re way too gallant for my wallet’s good."

"There is something I do not understand, Major." the Jaffa continued, warming to the fun. "Do you sometimes go on dates with men who are not real?"

Loud guffaws reverberated through the halls of the SGC as the four friends made their way to the surface.

The End

© January 7, 2000 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa’uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.

I’ve done the sensible thing for this fic. and gotten the help of beta readers. WOW! What a difference their input has made! Thanks to Marcy for her insight into the military and medical aspects of the story and to Tiffany for making this fic not just readable but, I hope, a good read. Thanks for all your hard work, time and support! I hadn’t seen Fair Game when I was mostly finished this fic.(I only had the spoilers to go on.) Sam seemed at ease with the harekash in that ep. (device the Ashrak used against Jolinar) She is not at ease with it in this fic. and that fact is an important part of the story.