Jack was the first to respond. "Did he even speak to General Hammond?" he questioned, sounding irritated at the prospect of his friend leaving the program.

   Sam bit her lip, and the look in her eyes showed her discomfort. "He talked to General Hammond, and I'm cleared to leave as soon as I'm ready." The Major lifted a spoonful of yogurt to her mouth, watching as her teammates received the news.

   "You can't leave!" Daniel blurted out, looking flustered already. "Surely General Hammond knows we need you here?"

   "Well, I'm not really doing any of you much good as it is. As long as I'm here, you'll worry about me, and that'll be one less team going through the Stargate."

   "Do you wish to leave, Major Carter?"

   Sam regarded the question seriously. At the moment, she wanted to be with her friends, but she feared that if she stuck around too long, she'd go back to acting like an animal, and nobody needed that. "I- I want to be here. But as long as I am, the longings will hit me, and I'll be a distraction. Besides, I have no choice. General Hammond has already chosen a temporarily replacement for the next week."

   Before anyone could answer, the alarms signaling an unscheduled off world activation rang in their ears. The rest of SG-1 gathered their trash and threw it away before speeding  to the Gateroom.

   Sam sighed. As the alarms went off, she felt like she was being torn to pieces. It was like she could feel it everytime the Gate was activated, and she longed to go through it back to the place where the little creatures lay, waiting for her. She couldn't stand not knowing if they were still alive; thoughts of them filled her mind at almost every waking moment.

   Sam took the bowl and spoon from her yogurt and gave it to the airman who had been serving the food. She walked from the mess hall and into an elevator, hitting the button and waiting to get to her personal quarters. Once there, all she had left to do was pack, and her and Janet would be off on vacation, with Cassie at their side.

   It was the middle of summertime for the teenage girl, and after hearing that Sam was taking leave from the base, she insisted that the Major join her and Janet for vacation. Only an hour away from Colorado Springs lived a friend of Cassie's, who's family was going out of town. The ladies would be alone on the weekend, and they had the entire house and a pool to themselves.

   At first, Sam was reluctant, but she couldn't say no to Cassandra. Janet had also mentioned that some girl time would help with her therapy, and although Carter was nervous, she had to agree.

   An hour after the conversation in the mess hall, the three women had taken off in Janet's car, chatting about everything under the sun. Sam and Janet listened intently as Cassie related an embarrassing event with her boyfriend, and Sam offered her advice on how to handle such a situation.

   "Sometimes I don't understand men," Cassandra commented, causing the two women to laugh. "Seriously, Dominic and I spent twenty minutes arguing yesterday about where to eat, then he finally agreed on the first place I suggested."

   Janet didn't seem suprised. "Dominic is very opinionated, but it's obvious that he wants to please you."

   "You really should go easier on him, Cas," Sam added gently. "You two have been together for a couple of years. It's not uncommon for you to have disagreements after all this time."

   "I suppose you're right. I'm glad to be going away this weekend, but I'll still miss him."

   Sam raised her eyebrows and smiled at Janet, and the doctor smiled back. Soon, they were pulling into the driveway at the house, ready to get out of the vehicle. Sam stared in awe at it's size while she helped to unpack.

   After the trio was unpacked and settled, Cassie insisted that they go for a swim. The two women gave in and they all changed in a few minutes, for they were eager to swim on such a hot day. Sam and Cass applied sunscreen to their bodies before jumping in, knowing that if they didn't, they'd be burnt to a crisp.

   Although Janet and Cass tried their best to distract her, the Major couldn't help but think about her work. For once, she had a clear mind and she was standing on her own two feet, and yet she was off vacationing with friends. It didn't feel right to her, no matter how many times she reminded herself that her psychiatrist recommended she take leave. She couldn't ignore that gut feeling, that feeling she had ever since she left PX3-285. She felt as though she had left something important behind, almost like leaving a team member behind on an important mission. She had to go back, no matter the consequence.

   However, she knew that Janet would stop her. The woman would reason that the Major was taken off of the program on doctor's orders, and Sam would have no way to leave. She could try to take Janet's car, she knew that she would still be stopped, and she couldn't leave her friends without a way to get around.

   As much as she tried to reason with herself, she couldn't convince herself to stay. She would try to escape this forced vacation, and if that didn't work, well, what else was there to do?

   Hey guys, how's it going? I don't want to confuse anyone, so I'm going to do some explaning. In the first part, I wrote the chapters in a back-and-forth sort of way. For the second part of the story, I'm not going to do this nearly as much, because I feel like I've already confused a few readers. Plus, it'll be easier for me to keep track of what's going on without having to reread everything 100 times. Anyways, I hope that you're enjoying the story! Feel free to shoot me a comment about how I'm doing and what I could do better. Thanks!