Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
By: Tempest
Disclaimer: Unfortunately the StarGate, SG-1, the SGC, and everything else associated with the movie or series doesn't belong to me! I'm just having my demented fun with the kids and promise to return them…mostly in the condition I found them (:-P)! No copyright infringement is intended, so please don't sue me. I'm P.O.R. Poor! (I can't even afford to buy that other 'O'!)
Warnings: If you couldn't tell by the title, yes, it's "another" pesky quantum mirror story. However, this one has a little bit of a twist, and by "twist" I mean some details have been altered from the AU to the "normal" universe. I hope you all like it! Oh yes, creative criticism is welcome! However, all flames will be laughed at and then trashed for their general stupidity! Sank ya! ()
Chapter 1: Through the Looking Glass
"Jack!" Danielle cried out her brown eyes wide with fear as another blast propelled them forward.
"Danni!" Colonel Janice "Jack" O'Neill called out as she grabbed her archeologist's arm hauling her up to her feet as they sprinted through the halls of the SGC, "Damnit, Danni! I can't turn my back on you for an INSTANT!" She said as she looked down at the young woman.
"I'm sorry Jack! It wasn't my fault!" Doctor Danielle "Danni" Jackson whispered as she clung to the other woman's arm. Jack looked down at her friend…blue eyes softening in compassion. "I know Danni." She whispered as she peered around the corner, holding the Zat close to her "Right now our only hope is to get to that damned mirror of yours!"
"But…Jack!" Danielle whispered
"I know, but right now that's the ONLY plan I got!" Jack sighed out. Danielle's eyes clouded as she looked to her friend, for a moment…she looked old. Like the years of war with Aphosis' finally had caught up with her. "The SGC is GONE, Danni." She whispered, "Hammond's dead, Carter and Teal'c are at the Alpha sight…" She looked over her blue eyes clouded, "There's no where left for us to go." Then her eyes turned firm, "The last order that Hammond gave me was to save your sorry ass and that's just what I'm going to do!" She pulled the other woman around the corner as they darted off to the Quantum Mirror. "Now, get your brain working on how to work the damned thing while I take care of getting you there alive!"
"Jack!" Daniel caught up with the older man as Jack looked to his side, "Hey, Danny. What's going on?"
"I heard that they've moved the Quantum Mirror back to the SGC." He said as his eyes clouded, "You think that's such a good idea?"
Jack sighed out and shrugged a bit, "Don't know. But with the crap that the NID's been pulling Area 51's not so secure these days." He looked over and smirked, "Thanks to Harry!"
"You mean Maybourn?" Daniel sighed as he rubbed his forehead.
"Any other Harry's you know I'd like to kill?" Jack asked as Daniel shot his friend a look.
"Well, I…" Daniel began then suddenly the alarms sounded.
"Intruder Alert! Section 27! All Security teams report to Section 27!" The voice of Sergeant Davis ran over the intercom.
"What the….?" Daniel blinked then looked…seeing Jack running down the halls. Daniel quickly got it in gear and ran after him.
"No! Please!" The young woman's voice cried, "Don't shoot her!" The girl with long brown hair was wrapping her arms protectively around another young woman who has a staff blast to her shoulder. Both women were wearing light blue SGC uniforms with SG-1 patches on their shoulder. They were both in front of the Quantum Mirror, and the Security Forces had them surrounded as the one with long brown hair held back in a pony tail looked up at them through thin wire framed glasses holding out her hand cradling the other woman in her arms. "Please! We're not here to hurt anyone! We need to speak with General Hammond!"
"What the hell…!" Jack's words were lost as he looked on the scene, he blinked…as the young woman looked up at him, her eyes darting to the patch on his shoulder. "You're…..SG-1!" She asked her brow eyes going incredibly wide.
"Jack…what's going…."Daniel came up beside him, his eyes going wide, "…on." He said blinking at the young woman.
"JACK?" The young woman's brown eyes went incredibly wide, "O'NEILL!" Her face went pale.
"Daaaamnit….Danni…." The other woman moan in her arms, "Can't you let the dead rest in peace?"
"Danni!" Jack boomed.
"Yes!" Both Danni and Daniel squeaked as they looked up at Jack slowly the young woman lying in Danni's arms opened her eyes and looked up…her eyes taking in the situation the groaned.
"Fer cryin' out loud…." She mutter as her head fell back as the darkness took her.
"According to her tags she is one Janice O'Neill, Colonel, USAF, SGC, SG-1." Janet said as she looked up at Jack, "She's you." She said with a bit of mirth as she looked at Jack who ran his fingers through his hair.
"She's not me!" He protested angrily.
"Actually…considered they came through the Quantum Mirror, technically…she is." Daniel offered helpfully as Jack shot him a look, "Or not." He added mindfully.
"So that would make you….?" Jack asked turning to the brow haired woman as if he didn't already know.
"I'm Doctor Danielle Jackson." She smiled a bit, her warm brown eyes looking at Jack, "I'm the Linguist and Archeologist…."
"AAHHHHH!" Jack held up his finger, "Stop! Okay….my brain's hurting!"
The girl wilted again, "Hey! Don't yell at Danni!" the female version of Jack snapped hotly.
"And you!" Jack pointed at the girl.
"That's COLONEL to you!" She snarled her blue eyes blazing at Jack.
"It is apparent that Colonel O'Neill's protection toward DanielJackson is evident in all realties." Teal'c supplied helpfully as he stepped into the room along with Carter looking wide eyed.
"Teal'c?" Danni's eyes went wide, as she gaped at the Jaffa as Teal's looked at her curiously. "You're…..you're a MAN!" She blurted out as Carter struggled not to laugh.
"Very observant Danni!" The female Jack rolled her eyes and brushed her hand over her face, "For cryin' out loud! Why couldn't you have gotten us to a universe that wasn't so….weird!"
"I'm….sorry." Danni wilted again a bit, misery in her brown eyes as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. A patented Daniel Jackson maneuver.
"Hey! Quite picking on her!" Jack snapped automatically, surprising everyone including himself, "You don't have to be such an ass!"
"Looks who's talking!" The female Jack snapped back.
"CHILDREN!" Frasier shouted as everyone in the room winced a bit as she looked at both of the O'Neill's, "If I didn't know better, I would swear that you were brother and sister with the way you fight!" She looked at the male Jack, "Now calm down, that's an order Colonel!" Then looked at the female Jack, "Same for you, or I'll sedate you!" The female Jack winced at the threat, then turned on her heel and stalked off.
"Damn, she's even cranky in this universe too." The female Jack muttered sourly.
"You have NO idea…" The male jack rubbed his face, and then looked to his female version, "Or maybe you do."
"Okay, we still have a problem here." Daniel stepped in, "Their…here…. we're….here…" He looked over at Carter.
"Yeah, that Cascade thing…shouldn't that be happening soon?" The male Jack asked. "Three days, wasn't it?"
"This time…I don't know sir…ma'am." Carter said as she looked at both of the Colonel's. It was surreal, they were supposed to be the same person yet, they were completely different. One was a tall, brown eyes, salt & pepper graying hair, older male. The other looked no older than Sam herself, with dirty blond hair, grey/blue eyes with a dark blue ring around her iris. "The Cascade happens because you have an exact copy." Her eyes clouded, "Your double…isn't an exact copy Sir."
"Hel-LO!" The Female Jack said annoyed, "I'm laying right here, Major!"
Carter winced a bit, "Sorry…Ma'am." She said, the other woman may be the same age…but she was a Colonel.
"Jack, don't be difficult." Danni said as she slid offer her bed and walked over to the other woman's side.
"She's definitely Jack." Daniel smirked as both Jack's shot him a look. He cleared his throat, "Anyways…why did you come here?" He asked his female version curiously.
Danni's brown eyes clouded, "The SGC's….gone." She whispered, "Everyone who didn't make it to the Alpha site was killed when invasion began." She looked down, "Carter and Teal'c lead the last of the personnel of the base to the sight before the Gate room was taken over." She looked up, "We were hopping to come here, Jack's got the address to our Alpha site, we're hopping you'd take the Mirror through the gate so we can get to it."
"Ah…but wasn't your mirror still at your SGC?" Daniel asked curiously.
The other Jack smiled, "Was, being the prime word. Before we went through, I contacted Thor and the Asguard to transport the mirror to our Alpha site." She smirked a bit, "You do know who the Asguard are…don't you?"
"Oh yea…we know'em." Jack smirked
"Good." She sighed a bit, "Their battle with the Replicator's is harsh." She grimaced, "It was all Thor could do to transport the mirror for us."
"Why didn't Thor take you with him?" Carter asked
"He had to get right back." Danni said as her eyes clouded, as she pushed her glasses up higher on her nose. "He couldn't afford the time to take us to the Alpha site, but there was another ship that they were doing to get the mirror there. Unfortunately…the conditions on the ships weren't favorable to human physiology."
"Well this sounds easy enough." Jack mused; his eyes clouded a bit as he saw the misery in Danni's eyes, for some reason…seeing the young woman standing there like that…tugged at his heart a little. "But why would we have to transport our mirror to the Alpha site in this dimension?" He asked curiously.
Danni sighed, "Unfortunately it has something to do with the Alpha site it's self." She explained, "There are some kind of ruins there, and it seemed to interfere with the mirror. Someone can only come through the mirror on that planet only if the mirror is on the same planet in a different dimension." Danni shook her head, "That's all I know."
"Look, Colonel." His female version said…her voice and tone just sounded tired right now. "We're sorry we blundered into your reality. We didn't mean to cause this huge problem for you." Her eyes softened, "But please….we really need your help."
Daniel's eyes clouded, that didn't sound like Jack. Jack very rarely, if ever, said 'Please' or 'Sorry'. His heart constricted a little. :Right. Not Jack…: He reminded himself.
Jack looked at the other…their eyes met, an unspoken communication passed between the two. Jack's eyes clouded, "That bad?" He asked, the woman simply leaned back a bit and nodded thinly. Jack closed his eyes and sighed, "I'll talk to Hammond." He said as he looked over to the other woman. "Feel up to coming with me?" He asked, as Danni jumped a bit. "You know your situation, and Fraiser won't let the Colonel out of the infirmary yet."
Danni looked over at her Colonel as the woman smiled, "Go on, Danni." She said with a wave of her good arm. Danni smiled and walked over next to Jack who smiled as his female copy. "Thanks, Colonel." He smirked a bit.
She smirked back, "Call me Jack."
Daniel re-read the page for what seemed like the fifth time, and then frustrated, snapped the book shut. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, he couldn't concentrate. All he could think about was the female Colonel down in the infirmary. What was it about her that grabbed his attention! Was it her mannerism that made her seem so familiar? She didn't look like Jack….Daniel shook his head :God! Feeling like this around Jack, Jack! You must have your head examined, Doctor Jackson:
"Ew." He wrinkled his nose. He knew the rumors about him and Jack around the base…hell if what the rumors said were true…he'd have the energy of the energizer bunny! Sadly, however, he had been a celibate as a monk, mostly due to lack of time…being off world…saving said world from disaster after disaster…
"Running for your life from the Gou'ald of the month." He sighed out as he replaced his glasses.
"Been there, done that." A voice called to him, startled Daniel looked up to see the Female Jack leaning against the door to his lab. His eyes widened a bit as he saw the SF standing right beside her. Again, he was amazed at how similar her posture was to Jack's. He shook his head. "You alright, Doctor Jackson?" She asked as she walked into the room.
"Uh….fine." He said as he quickly looked up then back down to the book in front of him. "I'm fine."
"Uh huh." She smirked, "I don't buy that line when my Danni tells that to me." She informed him, "What makes you think I'll buy it from her version in this universe?" She cocked her head to one side.
Daniel's mind raced…slowly he looked up and swallowed….her eyes… "Well….I…." He swallowed again :Damnit, Jackson! What the hell's wrong with you: He screamed at himself then took a breath and smiled a little "Well it's just….well…."
"Weird?" The female Jack asked with a smirk on her lips as she walked in and leaned forward a bit on his work table…exactly like Jack does.
"Well…for lack of a better word, yes." He said, why bother to hide the truth? At least it made for a decent excuse as to why he was freaking out all of a sudden.
Jack raised her eyebrow a bit, "A linguist lacking for a better word?" She asked chuckling a bit, "I think the universe has just stopped!"
Despite himself, Daniel had to chuckled; as he looked up at her…her fingers were absently playing with one of the artifacts on his table, however he noted that she handled them with more care than her male version, so he restrained the impulse to pluck it out of her hands. "So, what brings you here?" He asked curiously.
She made a face, "Major Napoleon finally cut me loose." She said, as she placed the artifact back down and rolled her shoulder a bit "Fortunately, it wasn't that bad looked nastier than it really was." She shrugged a bit, "Anyways, I was looking for Danni, figured she might come down here." She smirked a bit as she looked up, "Her lab's in the same place as yours. She'll be dying to take a look."
"So she and ….Jack…" He said his mind still trying to wrap around the idea that there were two of them, more or less "Aren't done with Hammond yet?"
"No." She sighed, "And I can't exactly go up there and poke my head in the door like I usually do, might get shot!" She smirked.
"Ah…yes, well…that would be bad!" Daniel spoke before he really thought. Jack's hand stilled as she looked up at him.
"Really?" She asked curiously, and mentally Daniel was kicking himself for his statement.
"Yes, well….!" He flustered a bit, "Come all this way and to get shot by people…." Her laughter made him stop as he looked up.
"Please…Doctor Jackson…stop." She said as she walked over to him, blue eyes twinkling "If you analyze this anymore I think your head'll implode!"
Daniel's heart was beating so fast and hard that he was pretty sure that everyone on base could hear it, especially the beautiful woman standing before him.
:WHOA! Beautiful: Daniel's mind raced, :This is JACK we're talking about! JACK:
:But she's a woman.:
:But she's JACK:
:She's not the Jack we know.:
:She's still…:
:Beautiful…:
"Whoa, Doctor Jackson…you alright?" Jack asked worriedly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, noticing how the color was slowly fading from the man's face.
Daniel reacted before he thought….he let out a gurgle cry and then realized that he was five feet across the room with the table between him and…"Jack!" He gasped out, and then blinked at he saw the startled look in the woman's eyes. "I…"
She held up her hands, "It's alright." She said as she looked down a bit, "I'm sorry…my fault." She said as she looked up, her eyes clouded as she smirked. "You were just acting so much like Danni…I just…" She looked down again, "I'm sorry."
Daniel felt like a complete ass. "No, I'm sorry…I overreacted…." He winced as the word came out. :Overreacted…NICE Jackson! Can you make it any MORE obvious that you're freaking out here: He mentally kicked himself.
She smiled a bit as she lowered her hands, "I shouldn't have…" She waved her hands a bit in the unspoken …touched you… hung in the air. "Danni's always been a little skittish about people touching her…I just….forgot."
More and more…Daniel was feeling very much the fool. Of course it would be hard on them too. Everyone in their world apparently had switched sexes…and if he acted like her Danielle…she would respond without thinking really. "No…it's okay." He said, offering her an apologetic smile.
Jack shoved her hands in her pockets, a typical Jack maneuver when in uncomfortable situation or just unsure what to do. "So…what'cha doing?" She asked curiously changing the topic deliberately, and then smirked a bit. "Or can I know?"
"Just some translations." Daniel said as he moved back over to the table, noting how Jack stepped back giving him room. Daniel's gut twisted painfully…he hadn't known the woman long, but she acted so much like Jack…he felt a pull.
:Familiarity His mind finally reasoned, :It must be because she's acting so familiar.: Yes, that was good…reasonable, logical…he looked over..
:Uhhhhhhh…: His mind went to mush, her hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck, she was hovering over the table…looking down curiously at the pictures in front of him…the a soft sent invaded his nostrils…constricting his heart…making it thud painfully against his chest. The soft glow of the light giving her a helo about herself….
"…beautiful." She whispered, snapping Daniel out of the spell he had woven around himself.
"Wha…!" He squeaked out as she looked up at him and nodded, "The pictures…the way the inscriptions are carved. It's quite beautiful." Daniel's eyes widened a bit…she APPRECIATED the beauty of the script! Her eyes furrowed a bit as she looked over his noted then carefully pulled on hand from her pocket and pointed, "That's wrong." She said.
"Huh?" Daniel blinked and looked down, oh yeah…the Linguist was batting a million today!
"That word….it's the Gaelic term for watcher." She said, "Not the Celtic term for Guardian." She looked up at him her eyes curious, then clouded, "I'm sorry….I'm not trying to interfere…"
"NO!" Daniel gasped out a bit the struggled to reign in his raging hormones. "No. I'm just…surprised." He blinked a bit, as he looked down…and checked. She was right! He blinked a bit as he looked up, "I'm just…." He blinked again, "Jack doesn't…"
She smiled and just shrugged again as she replaced her hand in her pocket, "From what I understand your Jack is Special Ops too." She said, "If you're Special Ops, you have to know at least three languages." She shrugged a bit, "It's regulation."
"You're….Special Ops?" Daniel's eyes clouded. Looking at her…you certainly couldn't tell. She looked too….well…delicate.
She nodded a bit, "Yeah." She smirked as she looked up at him, "Surprised?"
"Very." He replied without thinking again, then his eyes widened "I mean…!"
"I know…it's rare to have women in Special Ops." She smiled a little a she looked down, "There are reasons…" Her eyes clouded…and Daniel's heart ached as he saw the pain creep into her features.
"You were…" He whispered before he could stop himself, "You were captured in Iraq weren't you?"
Jack's face snapped up, her eyes lost…haunted…pained. Daniel's eyes widened as he saw the fear and shame wash into them too. Daniel's heart squeezed painfully tight… "Oh my God…"
"Drop it." She said her voice stern…Daniel blinked as he saw her face go unreadable and blank.
"I…I'm sorry!" Daniel quickly apologized, "I just….it just…came out!"
She looked down, "Let's just forget it, okay, Doctor?" She asked her voice tight. "It's a point in my life I'd rather forget."
Daniel felt horrible :Did they…did she…: He knew the attitudes of the people in the Middle East…especially regarding women. A woman like Jack…he felt sick.
"Listen…can I ask a question about your Colonel O'Neill?" She said suddenly, as Daniel blinked.
"Uh…sure." He said still a bit take back by this whole conversation.
"Did….did he ever have a child?" She asked softly.
Daniel felt sick again, "Yes." He whispered feeling his heart quivering with fear.
"Are they…." She swallowed hard, "Still alive?"
Daniel's heart broke. "No…" He whispered tears pricking his eyes, as she simply nodded.
She turned around as Daniel watched her go, seeing the tightness of her shoulders…she stopped at his doorway. "I had a daughter, Doctor Jackson." She whispered, tightly, "Her name was Charlene." She looked back over her shoulder and Daniel could see the tears in her eyes. "No one should ever outlive their own child." She whispered the same statement that Jack had told him so many years ago in Abydose. Her eyes were so filled with pain then she turned and stiffly walked out the door…as Daniel buried his hands in his face…as the tears began to fall.
Daniel walked back into his lab…after that conversation with the female Jack…he really needed to get out. He walked in and blinked, "You…" He said surprised.
"Hello Doctor …um…Jackson!" Danni greeted brightly as she held out another cup for him. "Coffee?"
Daniel blinked….right, she was him….he was her….his head began to hurt, "Um…yeah." He said as he walked over and sat down on his chair taking to cup from her. "Thanks."
She smiled a bit, "I heard that Jack was down here. My Jack." She smiled as Daniel smiled a bit.
"Yeah…she was." He whispered as he looked down at the coffee.
Danni watched him for a moment, "Do you know why we all call her 'Jack' even though her name's Janice?"
Daniel blinked up at his copy, "Um…no." He said carefully, curious what this was all about.
Danni wrapped her fingers around her cup and looked down. "Jack's father wanted a boy…she was supposed to have been a boy, all the doctor's said she would be. Had his name all picked out and everything…" She looked up from over her wire frames with a wan smile, "You can guess at the surprised when she was a she."
Daniel mused a bit, "Must've been a shock."
Danni nodded, "I met her father once…" Her eyes clouded a bit, "They weren't….on good terms. He was giving her bear acknowledgement at best, still couldn't get over the idea that his 'Jack' turned out to be a 'Janice'. Jack wanted his approval…craved for it desperately and then…after achieving so much and then Iraq…" She faltered a bit, "Then she needed his support, and yet again he wouldn't acknowledge her…especially after….." She trailed off.
"Charlene?" Daniel's voice was thick with emotion as he barely got the name out, as Danni's eyes looked at him, and nodded.
"I take it…that's happened here too." She whispered as Daniel looked down and nodded sadly. Danni closed her eyes, "Jack…never forgave herself, and to this day…she blamed herself." She looked over at Daniel, "Doctor Jackson…"
"Please….just…call me Daniel." He sighed, not feeling very formal right now, in fact he felt down right sick. How much did one woman have to go through before she broke?
"Daniel, then." She said, "Look, Jack…she means a lot to me. I wouldn't even BE here if it wasn't for her." Her eyes clouded, "She's a lot more….sensitive, that she leads everyone else to believe. She's a lot smarter too."
"I can believe that." Daniel said with a ghost of a smile. Three languages was no small feat! He looked at Danni, "Why are you telling me all this?"
Danni's eyes clouded "It's just….something I see in her." She said looking down at her coffee, "She's tired Daniel. We've been fighting off the Gou'ald for what seems like forever. It's battle after battle after battle…and she's seen a lot of her friends die." She looked up, "Our SG-1 is the only family she has left…but we're….not like you." She looked down "I'm ashamed to admit it…but we lean on her a lot more than we should. I mean…she's only one woman…and can only do so much." She looked back up, "I'm scared that she won't be able to take much more before she breaks."
Daniel's heart went icy…as he stared at Danni, he swallowed hard. What did she mean…Jack would 'break'! Jack never broke! Jack was…
:She's not our Jack.: Daniel heard the voice in his head, then he realized he had seen a glimpse of what Danni had been worried about earlier in his office. She was a woman…with a past…and she was struggling to keep it together for those that needed her. But….who did she have to depend on?
Daniel looked up, "Why…" He swallowed hard, "Why are you telling me this?"
Danni shrugged a bit, "Just…something I saw when she looked at you." The woman smiled a little, "I can't explain it…there's a…connection." Her eyes clouded, "I'm not a strong woman, Daniel. I'm her friend…and I love her to death! But I can't give her what she needs!" She looked down tears in her eyes, "She needs someone with stability that she can rely on…and I…I can't give that to her!" She looked up "She won't open up to me, she won't tell me things because she's afraid that I can't or won't be able to handle them and I'm ashamed enough to say that I think she's probably right!" Her hand wrapped tightly around the mug of coffee as she looked up at him brown eyes begging "So please….do you think you can help her?" She pleaded.
Daniel was blown away by the magnitude of the question. "I…" He swallowed hard, "I…don't know." He whispered.
Danni smiled a bit as she pulled off her glasses and whipped her eyes with the back of her hand, "I'm sorry….I shouldn't have asked. You certainly don't know us…"
"No!" Daniel said as he stood up and carefully walked over to Danni, "No, it's not that! It's just…" He took a bit, "She's so…."
"Jack?" Danni smiled as Daniel chuckled a bit.
"For lack of a better description, yes." He admitted, and then his eyes softened. She was almost exactly like him, in every way. She knew herself well enough to know that her Jack was needing something, realizing that Danni herself couldn't help her friend…she sought out someone who might. He would have done that for Jack in a heart beat, he couldn't he ignore when someone needed something form it. It just wasn't in his nature, especially if it was Jack that needed help. "I'm not sure what I can do for her…but….I'll try."
Danni smiled up at him gratitude in her warm brown eyes, "Thank you." She whispered.