"Sneaky Surprise"

This is just a short tag to the eighth season episode "Moebius."

Category: General and Humor

Warning: Spoilers for the episode, and some of the text came from the show. (It's been a while since I saw this one, so I hope I got it close to right.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just borrowing Jack and Sam and Daniel and Teal'c for a minute.

Jack flicked his wrist and glanced toward Sam Carter at the same time. He heard his float hit the water just as her mouth crinkled into a small smile. She was leaning back leisurely in the chair and he couldn't help feeling good that she was finally relaxing. It had been a stressful week with his departure to DC looming and the three other SG-1 team members going on to other pursuits. And who could forget the video recording of the four of them in ancient Egypt. They'd gone back in time. How freaky was that? He still couldn't believe they'd done it. Talk about reckless.

Holding tight to her own fishing rod, Carter quipped, "This is great."

Feeling secure and smug about the atmosphere at his serene Minnesota cabin, Jack told Carter, "I told ya," which was his version of "I told you so." He could hear Daniel and Teal'c clomping around the other side of the cabin. Teal'c could be extremely quiet when the situation warranted, but Daniel wouldn't know stealth if it came up and bit him.

Carter sighed softly, and seemed to gaze into the water of the still pond for a long time before announcing, "I can't believe we didn't do it years ago."

Jack stifled a snort. He'd love to remind her of all the times he'd invited the team to his cabin, but instead said simply, "Yes, well, let's not dwell."

He heard her chuckle softly and caught the look she sent his way. It was a polite warning to keep his sarcasm to himself, and he did. Just having the three of them at the cabin with him was enough satisfaction… for now. Later, after Daniel and possibly Teal'c got started, then Jack would take off the gloves.

Her gaze returned to the water just in time to see a glistening shape appear above the surface before splashing back down, sending out ripples in all directions. The look on her face was priceless and Jack almost wished he'd discreetly placed a video camera to capture it.

With a confused frown gracing her forehead, Carter turned his way and asked, "Didn't that tape say there were no fish in your pond?"

A dang fish had announced its presence on their very first day at the cabin. It was almost too good to be true, and Jack wanted to laugh aloud, but controlled himself and just shrugged innocently. Knowing she'd expect him to say something, he nonchalantly replied, "Close enough."

She nodded, but Jack could see the wheels spinning inside her head. He knew she was calculating all the other things that might be different and what the possibilities could be. Nobody would ever know what was truly different, but letting her believe the timeline hadn't been left untouched had been too tempting for Jack to pass up.

A quick and sneaky phone call to his friend, Wade Stokes, before they left Colorado Springs, and presto, there were now a few pan sized fish in his pond. Wade hadn't asked for an explanation, he hadn't needed one. A favor for Jack was the order of the day, and the General knew that the man wouldn't ever say anything to Carter, Daniel or Teal'c. The Lieutenant Colonel was intelligent and hated a mystery, but Jack knew she'd realize before too long that it didn't matter what had been changed, if anything at all had been. They weren't going back to "fix" it.

Teal'c and Daniel had lugged the coolers to the grass and Jack observed Carter greeting her two teammates. He wondered how long she'd stay quiet about the pesky fish and how much controversy a discussion about it would produce. Carefully hiding his satisfied smirk, he made a mental note to call Wade when the others weren't around to thank the friendly neighborhood Sheriff for a job well done.

The End

Thanks very much for reading this little story. :)