Title: The Many Pairings of SG-1
Rating: G (K)
Genres: Humor, Romance
Description: With so many alternate SG-1s walking around the SGC, there were bound to be some discussions about the various romances going on in alternate realities...
Pairings (in order of appearance): Cameron/Carolyn, Sam/Jack, Daniel/Janet, Daniel/Vala
Spoilers: various season 9, especially for Ripple Effect
A/N: Okay, so I saw the infinite possibilities for 'ships in Ripple Effect and absolutely could not leave it alone, so here it is! Enjoy!
The Many Pairings of SG-1
Okay, this was just weird. Everywhere he turned, Cameron Mitchell saw another him in a different colored uniform. Not only was it odd to keep seeing himself walking down the hall in the opposite direction, it was confusing to keep up with who was who.
Shaking his head, he took his tray and sat down at an unoccupied table in the commissary. He hadn't even gotten a chance to start eating when a tray set down on the table beside him.
"Hey, mind if we sit here?" a voice Cam recognized as his own asked.
Sure enough, he looked up to see four other hims standing there, holding trays. Quickly, Cam labeled them according to the color of their uniforms, since each team on base was conveniently wearing a different shade. Gray, Pale Blue, Camo and Tan, he mentally listed.
"Go right ahead," he replied, gesturing. "I can't say no to myself."
Laughing, the other Cameron Mitchells took places around the table.
"We were just talking about how different all our lives are," Camo said, taking a bite of a roll. "Like how two of us have the same woman as a girlfriend and I already made it to the wedding day with her." Cam noticed the ring on Camo's left hand now. "But he's," Camo pointed to Gray, "all alone."
Gray shot a look in Camo's direction, but didn't say anything.
Cam—the one from this universe—forked a mouthful of mashed potatoes and raised an eyebrow at Camo. "So, who's the lovely lady I—well, we—are dating/married to?"
Light Blue, Tan and Camo all raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're not dating her either?" Light Blue asked.
"Who?"
"Come on, you know who," Tan insisted.
"No, really, who?" Cam asked. "Can't be Anna Blackadder. She was the last girlfriend I had, and that was almost a year ago. Can't tell me it was that fine lady that all of you wound up with."
Though wistful looks appeared at mention of their previous girlfriend's name, the other Camerons shook their collective heads.
"No, of course not," Camo answered. "I married Carolyn Lam. Well actually, she's Carolyn Mitchell now…"
Nearly choking on his food, Cam glared wide-eyed at the other hims sitting in a circle around the table. That was not something he'd been expecting. "Oh, my God, did you just say we married Dr. Lam!" He gestured at them all. "All of y'all are with Carolyn and big Daddy General hasn't killed you yet?"
"Except me," Gray reminded him. "I was never with Lam—in fact, she doesn't even work at the SGC in my reality. I didn't even know who she was until these three pointed her out and explained. So except me."
"Well, yes, except you." He shook his head. "Seriously, Landry hasn't gotten y'all yet?"
"Who? Hank?" Light Blue said, casually using General Landry's first name. "Of course not. He's fine with it. Isn't he fine with it in your realities?"
Tan and Camo nodded.
"Huh," Cam replied thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. We might just have to test that theory here in this reality, he thought, making a mental note to tell Carolyn about that little detail later.
-+-+-+-
Somehow, the data didn't seem to want to click in her mind. She was pouring over all of the reports about the entry vectors of the various alternate universe teams, that area of space through which they all passed before winding up in this separate reality.
Everything was at Sam's fingertips, and she was still having trouble figuring this one out.
Even the fifteen copies of herself sitting around the room weren't really helping. But hey, what else could be expected? There were only infinitesimal differences between the sixteen brilliant Samantha Carter minds in the room, and most of those would be because of differences in past experiences.
Sighing, Sam took a sip from her mug, despite the fact that it was only about six o'clock here. She'd been working throughout the day to find a solution to this problem, and if she was to speculate, she'd have to say she'd most likely wind up staying on base tonight.
After tasting the cold coffee, Sam promptly spat it back into the cup.
And, she mused, that was probably the fifth time she'd done that today.
"You should take a rest," a voice said from behind her.
If it hadn't been her own voice, Sam might've jumped. But given the fact it was the same one she used every day, she just turned around to see one of her alternate selves standing there in a dark blue uniform.
"Not an option right now, Five," Sam replied. Each of the Sam Carters in the room had gotten numbered recently to more easily keep up with them—the Sam from this reality was One, while the others' numbers went up depending on arrival. "Probably not an option until we get some sort of breakthrough, if even then."
"The way we see it, we all have the same mind," Three said from the corner of the table behind Five. "Half of us can take a break now—the first eight of us, I think—and in a couple of hours, we take pull a brainstorming shift while the other eight take a break."
Frowning, Sam started to shake her head. "I'm not so sure…"
"Listen, One, we all have the same exact mind," Five stated. "So there's going to be no difference which of us and how many of us are sitting around thinking about it. Let's just go take a break for two hours, get something to eat and maybe get some rest."
Reluctantly, Sam agreed. It was just a sparse dinner in the commissary with five alternate versions of herself… Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven. Two and Eight had gone off to nap in provided—and guarded—barracks.
"How many of you are married?" Three asked casually.
"Me," came from all of the women around the table, accompanied by raising the left hand and twitching a finger on which a golden wedding band sat. Except from the Sam from this universe, who blushed instead of answering.
"Same man's husband to all of us, I guess," Three continued. "Even circumstances of alternate realities and universes can't alter love."
The others nodded in agreement.
Keeping quiet, Sam decided she wouldn't take part in this little conversation. She wasn't ready to dredge up all of that pain, frustration and indecision… and all of those years-old arguments that were always on hand in her mind. She could only hope that all of the alternate Sam Carters weren't going to start talking about Pete now.
"In your realities, how many kept the Carter?" Six asked, tracing a finger around the lip of her cup.
Four spoke up with an affirmation. "I kept it," she said. When no one else answered, she raised an eyebrow. "No way. I'm the only Sam Carter-O'Neill here?"
The real Sam almost spewed food from her mouth at hearing that. "You mean you're all married to Jack?"
Five sets of her own eyes turned to glare at her and they all chorused, "You're not?"
"No," Sam quickly said, waving around with her hands. Then an interesting thought occurred to her. "Wait. How did you get past the regs and such? Those would keep you from getting close."
"Regs?" The frown on Three's face was deep and creased thoughtfully even on her brow. "What regs would keep me—well, us—and Jack apart? Is there supposed to be some rule around here about us getting together? Because there's nothing like that in my reality."
The real Sam was the one to answer the question. "The fraternization regulations keep in-team relationships off-limits. So it puts restrictions on us and our CO—Jack O'Neill—being together. Well, more like forbids it. So yes."
"One, about the regs in my reality…" Five started, lifting her brows slightly. "No one ever really cared much when we broke them. Jack and I weren't exactly private about our relationship. Actually, we were told the entire SGC was taking bets on how long it'd take us to get together."
"Yeah, I heard that in my reality too," Seven agreed.
Four and Six nodded in agreement. Apparently, they too had had no real problems with the regs. Quite the opposite, apparently. It seemed the regs had been meant to be broken, and expected.
"Since you're not with Jack, who are you with?" Six asked. "If you're not Colonel Sam O'Neill like the rest of us—or Colonel Carter-O'Neill in Four's case—then what exactly is your name?"
"I'm just Lieutenant Colonel Sam Carter. Just Carter. No O'Neill or anything else. I'm still nice and single."
"Wow," Five muttered. "Sam Carter. It's been a while since I was Sam Carter."
"How long?" asked Sam, eyes narrowing just the slightest fraction of an inch.
"Eight… almost nine years," Five replied, eyes looking at the ceiling but seeing something years in the past. "I've been Sam O'Neill for the past eight and a half years."
"Any kids?" asked Three.
"Unfortunately, no," Five responded. "Haven't had the time."
Seven raised her eyebrows questioningly. "No time for kids in eight years?"
Shaking her head, the slightest appearance of sorrowful regret passed over Five's face, and had it not been Sam's own face, she wouldn't have even noticed it.
"Hey, Janet of the Desert Camouflage Team told me that we're out on maternity leave," Six input. "I do believe she said it was with triplets, too. Two sons and a daughter. Can you believe that? We're having triplets."
Although she tried, Sam's thoughts quickly ran away with that idea. Actually, she mused behind tough inward walls, having Jack O'Neill's two sons and his daughter didn't sound half bad. No, being the mother of O'Neill triplets really truly seemed quite… nice.
-+-+-+-
Daniel couldn't really believe what he'd heard. He was plenty happy to see Janet alive and well again, and had even shown her that with an emotional hug… But then after the preliminary, required inquiries and interrogation, Janet had opened up to more of the personal things going on in her reality.
One of which was the triplets that universe's Sam O'Neill was apparently having. It hadn't surprised Daniel in the least to find out that an alternate universe Sam and Jack had found their way past regs to a relationship, marriage and family. Now if only the ones from his universe could get things straight…
No, the whole Sam and Jack thing sat rather easily on his mind.
Now the fact that in her reality, Janet was married to her Daniel… That kind of seemed strange to him. The fact that in another reality, Janet Fraiser was his wife…
"Doctor Jackson."
At the sound of his name, Daniel immediately stopped and looked to General Landry, standing almost against the wall of the corridor.
"Yes, sir?"
The smile on the General's face was small and almost unreadable, but mischievous. "Come this way, Doctor Jackson, I have someone you might want to see."
"Sir, if it's another Janet…" he began. He really wasn't feeling up to being told that again, in another reality, he was married to the good Doctor. Somehow the thought just nagged at him oddly.
"No, not at all like that," Landry assured. "It's someone else entirely, I promise, Doctor."
Frowning, Daniel followed the General any way, wondering the entire time who it could be. And before he even got into the room, he had his answer by her shouts sounding out down the hall—her oppositions and it sounded like accompanying retorts in his own voice.
Sure enough, he turned into the room to see Vala and another Daniel from another universe standing there, arguing not only with one another, but with a stony-faced guard standing by.
"Vala Mal Doran," Daniel said in disbelief, hoping he wasn't staring too hard at her. He'd been feeling guilty about the incident with her on Prometheus over the Ori beachhead, and the sight of her calmed qualms—even if she was an alternate Vala from an alternate reality. "How did you get here?"
"I walked through the Stargate," she snapped, whirling towards him. "How else would I get here? Use my great mental powers to transport myself? Oh, and it's not Mal Doran any more, it's Jackson. Vala Jackson."
Daniel's eyes widened enormously at that news. "What?"
Rolling her eyes, Vala planted her hands on her hips. "Well, it seems you're a stupid husband in every reality," she told the alternate Daniel standing at her side.
"Hey!" both Daniels protested immediately.
"Well, what else am I supposed to think? You both ask stupid questions!"
"My question wasn't 'stupid,' Vala!" the other Daniel protested.
"Yes, I'd say it was," she retorted, whirling towards that Daniel. "I can't believe you asked if we were married in alternate realities. Of course we are! We couldn't be that different!"
Alternate Daniel wasn't convinced in the least. "We very well could be. Didn't that me just act surprised at the fact your last name is Jackson?"
"Here I could've kept 'Mal Doran' after the wedding. It's not that uncommon."
Finally deciding to interrupt, Daniel said, "Actually, we're not together here. Not even close."
Apparently re-noticing Daniel, Vala's eyes flicked towards him. "Well, where's the me from this reality? I've got some questions to ask her."
"Actually, she's not here," he answered reluctantly. "It's actually quite possible she's dead. In the incident over the Ori beachhead, she disappeared, and we're unsure whether or not she's alive—"
"Why did you let me die!" Vala asked.
"I didn't!" Daniel insisted. "And it's not certain. There's as good a chance that my Vala's alive in Ori territory—" Daniel cut himself off as he realized what he'd just said.
Since when was she his Vala?
God, he was even starting to sound like her!
THE END
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