#so the quatum mirror/goa'uld invasion fic actually takes place about 6 months after this

[nymphthroughthestargate]

Jolinar

an episode rewrite fic by mushroom

Nymph was the first to gate home when the attack started.

Daniel had picked her up and ran to the gate before Jack could even think to ask him. after dialing and sending an IDC, he put her down and held her by her shoulders to make her look at him.

"I have to stay and help, go to General Hammond and tell him to expect refugees. can you remember that word?" he said forcibly.

"ref-u-gees." she repeated, nodding.

"good girl. now go!"

she ran through the stargate, nearly tripping on the other side.

"General Hammond!! we need ref-oo-gees!!" she called out, pointing back to the open gate behind her.

"are you saying to expect refugees?" Hammond clarified. "what happened out there?"

Nymph panted as she floated down the ramp, trying to gather her words. "big ships made the dirt go up in big clouds and all the people got hurt!"

up in the command center, Walter looked over at the general.

"I think she's saying that SG-1 and the Nasyans were attacked, probably by the goa'uld." Walter translated.

Hammond nodded and leaned into the microphone. "Nymph, come up here and we'll make sure that everyone gets back safely."

Nymph nodded, and made her way up to the command center as Hammond called for medical and security teams to the gate room.

~ • ~ • ~

on the other side of the gate, SG-1 was rushing to get people through the wormhole as the death gliders bombed from above. Sam stopped to try and save a man who was lying on the ground, when he pulled her close and she felt a sting at the back of her throat. she pushed the man away, wiping the blood from her mouth.

"Carter! you alright?" Jack stopped next to her, concerned. she nodded and let him pull her to her feet.

"I tried to do CPR, but he was already dead. he bit his tongue." she said, her tone monotonous in shock. Jack nodded sorrowfully. he supported so much of her weight he was practically dragging Sam back to the gate.

"I think that's everyone," Jack shouted up after walking through, turning back to watch the wormhole fizzle out. Nymph went down to greet SG-1, but stopped just short of hugging Sam.

she felt off, and the little girl couldn't figure out why.

"what's wrong with Sam?" Nymph asked, keeping a slight distance between them.

"I just need to get her to Doc Fraiser and she'll be fine, ok kiddo?" Jack smiled reassuringly, and helped her get to the infirmary. Nymph side-eyed them, but didn't argue.

"what is wrong, Nymph?" Teal'c asked, standing beside her.

"Sam feels different." she answered. "Jack said she got hurt, and she'll get better, but I don't think that's it."

Daniel walked up next to them. "don't worry, Nymph, I'm sure she's ok."

Nymph was not convinced.

~ • ~ • ~

"can you open wide for me?" Dr. Fraiser asked, and Sam opened her mouth as she was told.

"hm, there seems to be a raw spot at the back of your throat, there. have you been feeling alright?"

"yeah, just tired." Sam answered, distracted.

"alright. otherwise, you seem fine, so just take it easy for a couple days." Janet turned to throw out her gloves. "Cassie's been asking for you. she said you haven't visited her in a while."

Sam blinked, seeming to forget who Janet was referring to. "right, Cassie. sorry, I've just been so busy lately."

"well, I'm bringing her to the hospital with me tomorrow when I go to check on the Nasyans. you can visit with her then if you'd like."

"sure will."

~ • ~ • ~

Sam apologized for being late as she took her seat at the mission briefing. Hammond accepted her apology with a nod as Daniel continued with what he was saying.

"the goa'uld attacked without warning. Nasyans are- were a peaceful people. they were happy to sign a treaty with us, and the gliders were attacking before we even saw the mothership."

"it's not normal for the goa'ulds to attack a peaceful people for no reason, is it?" Hammond interjected.

"in the past, there was usually some reason for an attack," Daniel answered. "for instance, if a civilization was advancing in technology to the point of becoming a threat. however, with the Nasyans, that's not the case."

"maybe they found out we were there." Jack asked, genuinely wondering.

"well, how would they know?" Daniel argued. "more importantly, why would this particular goa'uld care?"

"spite." Jack suggested. "we've been a kink in their chain for over a year now, they probably don't like us too much."

"I have seen the goa'uld wipe out entire civilizations for no reason, simply because it gave them pleasure." Teal'c added.

"so what, Nasya was just next on the list?" Daniel wondered. "a part of me wishes it were that simple, but I don't want to underestimate them."

"maybe their reasons were just not made apparent to you, Teal'c. after all, you are just a Jaffa." Sam said coldly. everyone turned to look at this uncharacteristic outburst, and she shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"all- all I meant was Apophis wouldn't necessarily explain everything to Teal'c, even if he was first prime." she backpeddled. "would he?"

"that is true," Teal'c agreed, still wary.

"I agree with Sam, I think we should give the goa'uld more credit as a society so we don't risk underestimating them." Daniel said, eyes darting back to her a few times.

"the better you understand the enemy, the better prepared you are for conflict." Sam recited. Jack gave her a sideways glance, but Daniel just agreed and looked to General Hammond.

"what's the status of the Nasyan survivors?" the general asked.

"we rescued 237 people. the critically injured and overflow our infirmary couldn't handle are at the Air Force Academy Hospital, and the others are awaiting relocation." Daniel answered.

Hammond nodded. "proceed."

"sir, I think we should figure out WHY Nasya became a goa'uld target." Daniel argued.

"I agree, but right now relocation is top priority. I already assigned the new SG teams to help coordinate your efforts. dismissed." the general stood up and walked out of the room. Jack started to neaten a stack of papers enough to carry as the others filed out until he was alone with Sam.

"oh, Carter. Nymph was kind of worried about you earlier, you might want to check on her and let her know you're ok."

Sam gave him a look he couldn't quite place, and slapped him on the arm. "she's just a kid, sir. she was probably freaked out by all the injured Nasyans around."

she walked away, leaving Jack confused and uneasy.

~ • ~ • ~

that night, Jack was the one to tuck Nymph into her bed in the base quarters.

"did you find out what's wrong with Sam?" she asked, concerned.

"well, Fraiser says there's nothing wrong with her, but she's been acting weird." Jack told her. "I think she just needs rest, she's been working too hard."

"yeah, that must be it." Nymph mumbled. she knew it was something else, but she didn't know how to explain it and she was worried she wouldn't be believed. Jack picked up on her uncertainty, though.

"Nymph, if you know something, you need to tell me, ok?" he said, firmly but without seeming upset. she paused, fidgeting with her blankets.

"she just feels different." she mumbled. "like that's Not Sam. but I don't think she's mean! she seems more scared than mean."

Jack looked at the little girl. "you're sure you're not picking up any meanness?"

Nymph shook her head. "no meanness. but Not Sam doesn't want to be here, I think."

"what makes you think that?"

"I dunno." she shrugged, and let out a yawn. Jack ruffled her hair and walked out of the room, pausing at the door for a moment to look at her settle into the bed. stuffed animals took more room on it than the kid did, and simple drawings covered the concrete walls like a wallpaper of memories. Sam had drawn most of those with her, laughing and getting paint everywhere.

whoever this Not Sam was, he was going to get his Sam back.

~ • ~ • ~

with Dr. Fraiser unable to find anything wrong with her the previous day, Sam was able to go to the hospital to see Cassie. the young teen ran to Sam excitedly, then stopped right before giving her a hug. the naquadah in her blood alerted her to a presence she never wanted to feel again, and Sam's eyes flashed as she made sure Cassie wouldn't say anything that would break her cover.

Jack recieved a concerned phone call from Dr. Fraiser that made him run to the hospital.

when he got there, Janet told him that Cassie had locked herself in the office, refusing to let anyone but the colonel inside.

"Cassandra? Cassie, sweetie, Colonel O'Neill is here. can you open the door?" Janet asked sweetly. there was a pattering of little feet, the click of a lock, and the door opened. Cassie locked the door again as soon as Jack had walked inside, and walked back to where she had been curled up against the wall.

Jack knew something had to be going on with Sam to have both children with supernatural abilities react to her in this manner, and slid down to Cassie's level.

"the doc said something happened when Sam came to visit, but you wouldn't tell her what." he said, more to the room than the child. "wanna tell me what that's all about?"

"she said she'd kill me if I tell." Cassie whispered into her knees.

"Oh, I don't think Sam would ever hurt you."

"she would, because its not Sam." Cassie looked up and met the colonel's eyes. "it's a goa'uld."

Jack looked at Cassie in shock. it didn't make sense - Carter, a goa'uld? Nymph’s words rang in his head.

she seems more scared than mean.

that assessment didn't track with what he knew of those snake-heads. they're all evil parasites with god complexes, and this one apparently threatened one of the people Sam was closest to. but Nymph had never been wrong.

he called General Hammond to set a trap.

~ • ~ • ~

Sam walked up to the ramp as the stargate spun around, seemingly itching to go anywhere but there. the gate slowed to a stop without dialing a planet, and Jack walked into the gateroom.

"sorry, kids. we're staying here for right now." he said, grinning nonchalantly.

"NO!" Sam screeched, running up the ramp. her eyes flashed, and her voice deepened and echoed. "you must let me through the stargate!"

Daniel flinched, and Teal'c took a defensive stance. Jack reached his hand out to stop him.

"you know, I wasn't entirely sure you weren't who you were claiming to be, but both Nymph and Cassie told me otherwise." he called up to her. "what do you want with Sam Carter?"

"Samantha Carter was an accident. if you let me through the stargate, I will return her to you unharmed once I find a suitable host."

"now, how are we supposed to trust you?" Jack asked, slowly walking towards her. the marines in the gateroom all had weapons pointed at her - luckily, Jack had anticipated enough to replace the lethal bullets with tranq darts. he wasn't going to let Sam get hurt over this if he could prevent it.

apparently, Not Sam didn't have the same hesitation. she reached into her vest pocket, grabbed a grenade, and pulled the pin.

"if you do not let me through the stargate, I will drop this and destroy you all." she called out, holding the primed grenade high.

"you'd die too, though," Daniel piped up, probably not as nervous as he should've been.

"if you don't let me leave, I am already dead." she stated, anxiety leaching off her in palpable waves.

"what do you mean? who are you?" Jack asked her. she stood a little straighter.

"I am the Tok'ra Jolinar of Malkshur. and I'm being hunted by an ashrak, so if you do not allow me passage through the stargate you will assure my death."

Jack turned to Teal'c.

"an ashrak is a goa'uld assassin, and I have heard tales of the Tok'ra." Teal'c said. "a rebel alliance of goa'uld against the system lords."

"I am not a goa'uld!" Jolinar yelled, her hold on the grenade wavering. Jack instinctively held up his hands.

"alright, not a goa'uld. can you put away the grenade so we can talk like civilized adults?" he asked her. she nodded, and lowered her arm. Jack jogged over to her and took the grenade, grabbing the pin off the floor and replacing it [according to google You Can't Do That but thats what happened in canon and i dont know how else to handle that].

"there, that's better." Jack said. "now, we each have problems. you have an assassin after you, and we want Major Carter back. how 'bout we help each other?"

Jolinar glared at him. "how do you suggest we do that?"

"we could set a trap for this- what did you call it?" Jack looked over at Daniel.

"ashrak."

"ashrak, thank you. we claim we have you captured in one of our holding cells, and when he comes to kill ya, we jump him. once your little problem is solved, we allow you to go through the gate to get a new host in good faith and you send Carter back to us safe and sound. how's that sound?" he ended it with a little smile, and Jolinar thought it over.

"it's... acceptable." she relented, and allowed a duo of marines to lead her to the holding cells. Jack watched them leave with a heavy sadness that he had hoped wasn't evident to anyone else. but it was.

"we'll get her back, Jack. promise." Daniel mumbled, a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Jack just silently patted Daniel's hand. the general walked over to the two of them.

"I got a call from Dr. Fraiser. apparently, one of the very badly burned Nasyans has disappeared, and one of the doctors was bandaged and drugged in his place. I'm assuming that he is this... ashrak?" Hammond informed Jack.

"well, we better hurry to get this plan in place." Jack said. "I'm not going to let this guy hurt Carter, especially if these Tok'ra could be potential allies in our fight against the goa'uld."

Jolinar paced in the cell, waiting for the ashrak to fall for the bait. the minutes ticked by far too slowly for her liking.

a commotion outside the room alerted her that he had arrived. a tall man opened the door and walked over the unconscious bodies of the two decoy guards, grinning deviously as he approached the bars.

"Jolinar, by decree of the system lords, you will die with dishonour by the power of the harakash." he growled, almost reciting the decree as he raised his hand with a device attached to it that was sparking ominously.

"hear this." Jolinar declared, both out of self-honour and in a bid to stall for time. "the days of the system lords are numbered. tell them I died with hope. my death will only feed the fire of the Tok'ra that burns strong."

the ashrak thrust his hand forward, a beam of energy giving her a stabbing headache. but before he could seriously harm her, several marines burst into the room and tackled the man to the ground. Jolinar stumbled backwards in the cell, but she was mostly unharmed. Jack ran into the room, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"you have upheld your end of the bargain." Jolinar nodded. "if you allow me to leave and find a host, I will return your Major Carter to you."

Jack nodded. "I think we can work something out."

~ • ~ • ~

Jack held his breath everytime the gate opened an incoming wormhole for a week before the computer recieved Sam's IDC. he and Nymph ran down to the gate room, Daniel and Teal'c meeting them at the bottom of the ramp. Sam stepped through onto the ramp, and almost lost her footing as the wormhole closed behind her. when Nymph felt the familiar aura of her Sam Carter, she ran into her arms.

"it's you again!" the little girl cried out in excitement.

"of course it's me, silly girlie!" Sam returned her hug, her voice strained but still her own. Jack smiled and threw his arms around the both of them.

"so, I take it soft foods for a little while?" he joked.

"probably best," Sam smiled. "it's good to be back, though."