AU where Jack isn't the only one left infected at the conclusion of Season 6's "Frozen". Sam & Jack.

Thanks to Kat for the suggestion, and to Jess for the awesome beta! Since this deals a lot with internal dialogue, I've used 'single quotes' for thoughts, and "double quotes" for speech.

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate. I just like it :) All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Originally published in 2006 as SJAuthor.

'Major Carter.' Sam fought her way through the groggy cloud stifling her thoughts. Where was she? She hadn't yet opened her eyes, but the sounds were vaguely familiar. She was lying flat on her back. Her whole body ached. 'Major Carter,' came the voice again - except, it wasn't a voice, per se, more of a thought within her own mind... A shudder ran through her as memory returned. She had agreed to a blending. That's where she was, in a Tok'ra complex. And that voice meant that she had already been blended.

'Who are you?' thought Sam in response.

'I am Anise,' came the answer.

Anise. Well, at least it was someone she knew. Sam thought back to before she'd been brought here, trying to fill in the blanks. Antarctica. The frozen Ancient girl. Everyone getting sick. She remembered Jonas explaining something to her. Ayiana had died before she and Ja- the Colonel could be healed. The Tok'ra were confident that a symbiote could cure them. Something about a host dying before an agent could report... 'What about Freya?' Sam asked at last. Was Freya the one who had died? Was she going to be Anise's new host until a volunteer could be found?

'Freya is well,' Anise replied. 'She is young, relatively new to the Tok'ra, and so was able to give me up to you temporarily. Many of the older hosts could not have survived without their symbiote for the time required. I will return to her once you are fully healed.'

That's a relief. 'No offense,' Sam added mentally, aware that Anise could essentially read her thoughts.

'I will not pry into your subconscious, Major,' said Anise. 'I cannot help which conscious thoughts may reveal themselves to me, but you will be as aware as I, I assure you.'

'Thank you,' said Sam. 'And you don't have to call me "Major",' she added.

'Very well, Samantha.'

Sam thought how very different this was in comparison to when she had been host to Jolinar. Then, she had been fighting the blending every step of the way, terrified of what the Goa'uld might do to her, despite the Tok'ra's assurances. Now, she was at ease, knowing that Anise really was trying to help her - and quite selflessly at that. She had a vague recollection from Jolinar of how dangerous it was to change hosts... especially to the former host.

'The transference was carefully monitored to ensure the safety of all concerned,' Anise explained. As she "spoke," Sam had an image of herself and Colonel O'Neill lying on slabs in an isolated room off of a Tok'ra tunnel. She realized it was Freya's perspective before the blending, but carefully selected and revealed to Sam, unlike the haphazard thoughts that Anise must be sorting through in her mind. 'But I do appreciate your concern.'

'Why is it that I can't hear all of your thoughts like you seem to hear mine?' asked Sam, slowly managing to get her arm to move so that she could touch the Tok'ra biosensor on her chest that she'd seen in the glimpse of herself.

'I am a bit more practiced at keeping my internal monologue private. Otherwise, life as a blended pair would become extremely taxing on both parties.'

'I guess it would,' Sam observed. 'I'd better apologize now for when I start mentally rambling.'

'No apology is necessary,' said Anise, politely.

'If you're healing me, then who's blended with the Colonel?' Sam asked.

'Kanan. You may not know him. He it was whose host died before he could report on his latest mission. We have hopes that once Colonel O'Neill is sufficiently recovered, he will be able to reveal the details Kanan has learned of Zipacna's activities.'

'And then what?' asked Sam. Would he be expected to continue as Kanan's host?

'If a suitable volunteer host is not found, Kanan will be returned to stasis, once O'Neill is healed.'

That was a relief. She could only imagine how Ja- how he was taking this, as it was. Sam continued to lie on the hard bed with her eyes closed. She was still extremely weak. 'How long is this expected to take?' she asked after a minute.

'Your illness was severe. We estimate three to four days for a full recovery for yourself and Colonel O'Neill. We have, in fact, already been blended for a day, but you only recently regained consciousness.' After a few moments, Anise inquired, 'May I ask, why is it that you do not wish for me to call you "Major," but you correct yourself in your own thoughts if you think of the Colonel as "Jack?"'

'Do I?' said Sam futilely. She knew very well that Anise could see the images her mind conjured at the thought of being able to call him "Jack." 'It's just not very practical, considering our work,' Sam added lamely. 'You saw yourself the impact emotions could have on our jobs - even when we don't act on them.' The image of Jack staring at her from beyond the force field on Apophis' ship came to mind, along with the memory of her fear for him and the secret thrill she felt at thinking she'd seen just how he really felt for her.

'It is no wonder Freya's advances were so quickly rebuffed,' Anise said after some silence.

It took a moment for her words to sink in. 'Advances?' Sam asked.

'Yes... during the Zatarc incident, Freya took it upon herself to visit the Colonel in his room, and express her - interest.' Sam got quite a clear image of kissing Jack O'Neill, and not being "rebuffed" quickly enough for a twinge of jealousy not to rear its head.

'Just Freya?' Sam asked, surprised that Anise would try to place all of the blame on her host. From her memories of Jolinar, she had been under the impression that host and symbiote were usually in complete agreement on matters of the heart.

'Freya and I are both quite strong-willed, Samantha,' she explained. 'While it is true that Tok'ra share the body equally, there is often a great deal of compromise involved. From what I knew of Jolinar and Lantesh, their relationship was quite rare among the Tok'ra in that for each, host and symbiote were quite like-minded, especially in their affection for the other. If not for my sympathy for Freya, whose life will be much briefer than that which I have already lived, we would have pursued Doctor Jackson.'

'Daniel?' Sam smiled, imagining his reaction if Anise had taken that direction. 'No offense,' she repeated.

'None taken,' Anise assured her. 'But you need not fear for your teammates. Freya and I have come to an agreement, and are now involved with Malek of the Tok'ra.'

'Ah, well, congratulations,' said Sam. She received an image of a tall, brown-haired man whom she didn't recognize, but couldn't help the thought that he wasn't nearly as good looking as Jack.

'To each her own,' came the reply, with what Sam would have sworn was a mental smirk.

'Whatever,' Sam said good-naturedly. She was surprised at how much she missed nice, old-fashioned "girl talk." As good a friend as Janet was, Sam hadn't seen fit to be quite as honest with her about her feelings for Jack as she was - of necessity - with Anise. She also noticed that along with her improving mood, her body seemed to be recovering some of its strength. 'Is it alright if I sit up and have a look around?' she asked.

'Certainly, as long as you feel up to it,' Anise told her.

To be continued...