The patients had been reshuffled according to which phase of the virus they were in. Two treatment rooms had four of the worst infected patients per room with the motorized water pipes. Though the rooms could fit more, they dared not treat any more at the one time because they had the highest risk of complications. As it was, each room had two of the stretched thin, uninfected medics monitoring the dosage of the smoke. Two more rooms had the shisha bongs for the patients who were mobile, either by their own feet or wheelchairs, to use. Each of those rooms had one of the remaining uninfected personnel, still dressed in their haz mat gear, standing watch to make sure that the patients continually rotated out of the smoking room every fifteen minutes to the room across the hall which was designated 'non-smoking'. That room had two more uninfected personnel from SG-3, ensuring the patients received a dose of clean oxygen. Apart from a few head spins from the concentrated dose of Ra'sil'ic, the process seemed to be working well.

In the main ward they had set up a buddy system, from necessity using the infected personnel. A conscious patient in the early stages of phase three, was assigned to one of the more serious cases. They were given an individual bong to toke while they waited for their turn in the main treatment rooms. Every five minutes they would alternately remove the oxygen masks from their buddy for them to breathe in a diluted form of the smoke lingering in the room, while they sucked in clean air. Dodger, with Kasuf and Skaara, was keeping an eye on the patients. If it looked like the smoke was becoming too much for an individual they moved them to another non-smoking room set up on that level. The asthma sufferers they based in one of the non-smoking rooms. The group of four was being rotated, their doses of the tobacco were shorter and strictly monitored by a medic escort. So far the alien smoke hadn't caused any signs of an attack.

Buoyed by the signs, Janet had begun to take random swabs of the personnel and Jenkins was studying the results. Considering that the tobacco was having little effect on Sam, the colonel had convinced Janet to let her relinquish her spot of the concentrated dose for someone else. Janet had agreed only on the condition that Sam use one of the individual water pipes at regular intervals.

The colonel headed to the main ward to get the implement and a supply of the shredded tobacco. Dodger looked decidedly guilty when she entered and she approached him more from curiosity than the belief he'd been doing anything seriously wrong. "Something you want to get off your chest, Captain?"

The young man wore a sheepish grin as he removed his hand from behind his back to reveal a lit cigarette.

A low chuckle escaped her lips. "You think I'd write you up for smoking indoors?" Her hand gestured to the cloud of smoke hovering near the ceiling.

"No, ma'am. Just force of habit to hide it in restricted areas." He swallowed, realizing how that sounded. "Not that I've ever smoke in a restricted area before."

"It's okay, Dodger." Sam patted him on the arm. "I haven't quite figured out how to write in my report I'm now an expert in bong making."

"How about, 'accomplished in constructing personalized filtration systems'?" he suggested.

"I like that," Sam smiled. "Who'd have thought that your 'bad habit' would hold the key to the cure?"

"Strange things happen at the SGC."

"That they do," Sam confirmed, her tone turning serious. "If you hadn't have been topside when Skaara and Kasuf were doing their prayer ritual, we may never have made the connection."

"You would have, Colonel." Dodger was confident.

"Perhaps, but not before we lost more people." She gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Thank you."

Dodger was slightly embarrassed by the gratitude, especially since his 'help' had been due to his nicotine addiction. "Hey, do you think this will stop the Doc from trying to get me to quit?"

"Strange things happen here, Captain," she said in mock seriousness, "not miracles."

Kasuf and Skaara were helping a lieutenant in the closest bed, who had just woken up from his unconscious state, to sit up. She headed over to them. It was such a relief to see such a positive result she addressed the patient first. "How are you feeling, Lieutenant?" She adjusted the pillows behind him.

"A little better, ma'am." His voice was raspy but his eyes were lucid. He grimaced as he breathed in the smoky air. "My wife is gonna read me the riot act. I just quit smoking two months ago. She's not going to believe it was the treatment."

Sam knew it was said in jest. The confidentiality agreements assured that none of them would discuss what went on within these walls with non-cleared people, including spouses. The cover story they had released to the families was an outbreak of a new virulent strain of influenza. "I'm sure she'll just be glad to have you home."

Even just those few moments of speaking had tired the weakened man out, and with a small smile at Sam, his eyes drifted shut.

She turned to the Abydonians who had been instrumental in finding the cure. "Thank you for all you've done. I consider it a blessing that you came through the mirror. Without you, we wouldn't have had a clue to finding the cure."

"The gods move in mysterious ways." Kasuf accepted her handshake.

When she went to repeat the gesture with Skaara, the young man drew a small object from his pocket and pressed it into her hand.

She looked at the instrument, recognizing it as her favorite pair of miniature pliers. They had been missing from her lab for over a week. "I've been looking for these. Where did you find them?"

Skaara shifted uneasily, but he held her gaze. "I...I took them in error of my judgment."

"Oh, well, thank you for returning them." She'd noticed that Skaara's grasp of English wavered when he was anxious. His words could be interpreted as him having taken the tool by accident, but given what she knew of his history she doubted it. However, maybe she had misjudged him. "I know we haven't made it easy for you to adjust to our reality-"

"Col'nel, the trouble I've had is by my own hand."

One of the patients at the end of the aisle started coughing having taken too long a hit on the bong.

"Excuse me, Col'nel." Skaara gave her a respectful head tilt and hurried away, pulling a bottle of water from his pocket for the spluttering man.

Kasuf watched bewildered after his son with a touch of fatherly pride. "I'd say miracles do happen in this place."

Sam was equally bemused. "I guess so."

A few of the other patients were alert enough to want to talk, and before she knew it, Sam was stopping at every bed. She felt a bit like a politician trolling for votes during an election even though her well wishes were genuine. Yet she understood the necessity of the act. Seeing their acting CO walking and looking healthy gave them a morale boost. Only after she had spoken to everyone did she allow herself the 'indulgence' of returning back to the medical level, slipping inside the isolation room where Jack and Annika were being kept.

Her eyes glanced to monitors steadily beeping their heartbeats. Both were slow but steady. She stood between the two beds, her hand reaching out to hold Jack's. Noted that he was still fluctuating between hot and cold to the touch. Curious to know if Annika's body was doing the same, she grasped the redhead's fingers. Feeling the iciness of her touch switch to warm heat, she took comfort that at least the anomalous symptoms they had were consistent with each other.

When the phone rang at her hip, it didn't surprise her that it was Daniel. She gave a small wave at the camera, knowing he was watching from above. If she knew Daniel he would have kept one of the monitors permanently on this room. "The Ra'sil'ic seems to be working."

"We heard." Daniel had also been watching the progress of the treatments, as had pretty much everyone at the mobile command. "Janet just gave us an update."

The fact that Daniel didn't sound excited at the news told her that Janet had also informed him of the lack of improvement in her. She gave the camera what she hoped was an encouraging smile. "It hasn't even been two hours. A few more tokes and there's going to be a definite improvement." To give confidence to her claim, she began packing some of the tobacco into the makeshift bong made out of a Coke bottle.

"Fingers crossed." Daniel watched his friend flick a lighter and hold the flame to the tobacco then suck back. "Oh, incidentally, you've got the glow-thing happening too."

Sam expelled the smoke, coughing slightly. "Really?"

"Yep. You did it in the smoking room. No one there noticed."

"That is just so bizarre." She took another hit, holding the smoke in for a few seconds before blowing it out.

"Whoa." Daniel blinked at the screen then spoke to Keelah sitting next to him. "Do you see that?"

The former slave nodded.

"What?" Sam rubbed at her thumb which she had burned slightly. "I don't know how anyone can do this regularly."

"Sam, look at the smoke." He dragged his eyes from the screen for a second looking for Teal'c, who was taking a break from the screens to get them tea and coffee. Called him back over.

The blonde did as bid. Her mouth dropped open. Instead of rising as smoke traditionally did, it was drifting down to the beds. For all intents and purposes it looked like it was being drawn to Jack and Annika's bodies. Sam took another hit, barely holding the smoke in her lungs before releasing it. Watched as the smoke again was sucked into the unconscious pair.

"Is Annika doing this?" Sam asked.

"I don't see how," Daniel frowned. "The Nox took away that kind of ability."

"Whatever or whomever is causing this, I would suggest burning more of the Ra'sil'ic." Teal'c had reclaimed his seat beside Keelah, just as fascinated as his teammates.

Sam was out the door, running to get one of the motorized water pipes they had in reserve and within a few minutes a steady stream of fresh smoke was being pumped into the room. Anxiously Sam paced the room at the foot of the beds as the minutes stretched by. Other than the smoke still being drawn to the unconscious pair, there was no reaction from them.

Topside, the monitor showing the isolation room had a captive audience, which was growing by the second as word spread of the strange occurrence.

"Sam, stop pacing for a moment."

She stopped short. "Why?"

"Testing a theory," Daniel replied. "You're...um...sucking in the smoke too."

"Am I?" She lifted her forearms in front of her and watched in amazement as the smoke visibly absorbed into her skin. Nearly went bug eyed when her arms flashed in that candle-like glow, lasting for a good two seconds before it subsided. "Did you see that?"

Murmurs behind Daniel and Teal'c told them that visibility of the phenomena was no longer confined to members of SG-1.

"Everyone's seeing it, Sam," Daniel didn't know whether to be relieved and excited by that turn of events or worried. They still had no idea what the purpose of the glowing was or how it was being caused. "Are you feeling it?"

The colonel shook her head. "No...it's odd." Her body pulsed again. "Whoa." Her entire body suddenly turned completely numb but she managed to slide to the floor under her own steam before her legs gave way beneath her.

"Sam!" Daniel had reflexively jumped to his feet.

Teal'c had mimicked the action, though he was already reaching for his radio. "Doctor Fraiser, Colonel Carter has collapsed in the isolation room."

Janet responded immediately that she was on her way.

"Sam, talk to me! What's happening?" Daniel had never felt more helpless than he did right now. All he could do was anxiously watch as Sam struggled to sit up but couldn't.

Breaths were held as the strange light started to continually pulse through not only Sam but through Jack and Annika as well.

Keelah had been following Janet's progress through the corridors. "Janet's almost there."

The doctor skidded into the room hardly pausing despite the fact that her patients were glowing. She flicked the water pipe off to clear the air, then crouched beside Sam whose eyes had rolled to the back of her head. "Sam, can you hear me?"

Suddenly the light emanating from the three bodies burned so brightly Janet had to shield her eyes and those watching on the camera had to squint. As quickly as it shone, it was gone.

Cautiously Janet reached out to touch Sam's neck, searching for a pulse. Before she could make contact, three sets of eyes sprang open, the sound of lungs sucking in deep breaths echoed around the room, and Jack, Sam and Annika bolted into a sitting position.

"Wow, what a rush!" Annika gasped.

Jack gazed blearily at Sam and Janet. "What are you two doing on the floor?" Blinked around the room. "Why are we in beds?"

"You don't remember collapsing?" Janet recovered quickly from her shock and shone a penlight into Sam's eyes because she was the closest of the three, checking her pupil response. Getting a normal dilation she rose and moved on to Annika.

The general thought about the question. "Nope. Last thing I remember was catching Skaara lifting a knife..." he shook his clearing the fog of his mind. "Crap! Hutch texted me-"

"The snake escaped, taking our favorite slime ball hostage," Annika supplied, flinching a little as Janet flashed the light in her eyes.

"A lot's happened while you were sleeping." Sam unsteadily got to her feet, then decided when her head began to spin she needed to sit back down again. Parked herself on the edge of Jack's bed. "I'll update you later."

"What's with the smoke?" His nose wrinkled as he shuffled forward on the bed to wrap an arm around Sam's waist. "Carter, you haven't been cooking again, have you?"

Sam was still too dizzy to even feign indignation. "A cure, sir."

Annika tapped at her ear with the base of her palm like she was trying to clear water from it. "Anybody else hearing voices?"

"Calling our names?" Jack tentatively asked, distantly hearing it as well.

Everyone cocked their heads trying to pinpoint the source.

Her mind cleared and Sam remembered the last few seconds before she'd collapsed. "Daniel! Where's my phone?"

Since Janet was the only one steady on her feet, she hunted around for the cell that Sam had dropped when she collapsed. Holding up her find she was about to pass it to Sam, however, the colonel gestured for her to give it to Annika. Those in the room clearly heard Daniel's voice call out, "Thanks, Sam!" before the redhead pressed the phone to her ear.

"My Angel, it's good to see you awake." His voice was filled with relief. "How are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy." She flexed her fingers and toes and concentrated on the rest of her body. "But the numbness is gone." Her heart sped up as she felt a very familiar tickle beneath her heart, a tickle that hadn't been as strong since before the battle with Anubis. "All the numbness is gone."

Daniel gave a start when a bombardment of almost giddy happiness hit him. Immediately reciprocated in kind and saw his wife smile brightly up at him through the camera at the returned bundle of joy through their bond. "That's wonderful."

Annika's grin became wider when her gaze turned to Jack. Her smile wasn't because Jack was doing his usual model patient routine, grumbling at Janet that he was fine as she tried to examine him. It was because his aura and Sam's showed not a trace of the sickly hue of the virus. Janet's, while the virus was still present, showed less than half the strength of when she'd last seen it. "Everything is going to be okay."