Why did Jack come back in 2010?
Flicking the rod, Jack made a perfect cast. Ripples flowed out from where the tiny lure disturbed the mirror surface of the pond.
Reel in. Cast.
Reel in. Cast.
For the last couple of hours, Jack tried to find peace in the simple mechanics of fishing. Cast. Reel in.
Cast. Reel in.
No thinking, no feeling. Just cast and reel and hope no fish were suicidal enough to jump the lure.
Time ceased to have meaning for him.
In the distance a loon called. The sun slid lower toward the horizon. Nothing broke his fierce concentration, except the turmoil of his own thoughts.
This was what he wanted.
This was what he needed.
Just him, the dock under his feet, the pond. The sky, the quiet.
Peace.
The hell it was.
With a disgusted sigh, Jack tossed the fishing pole down on the gray wood of the dock and sank into the Airondondack chair behind him.
She had ruined it for him. This was his place, his sanctuary. Hadn't he tried to get her to come to the cabin all those years ago? She hadn't when he wanted her here. Why did she have to come now?
Propping his elbows on his knees, Jack scrubbed his face with his hands.
Now every time he came around the corner of the cabin, he would hope to see her there.
Damn her for looking so good.
Long, lean, sexy. Thank God jeans and snug tee-shirts never seemed to go out of style. Her hair still military short and sassy. Her blue eyes wary and desperate. Those same eyes disappointed when he sent her away.
Absently, Jack rubbed a hand over his chest. Just seeing her and he felt like he had taken a staff blast to the heart. It embarrassed him that for a few minutes he thought Sam had come for him. Just for him. Not to save the planet again.
Sam was still married to the learned ambassador now. Jack raked his fingers through his hair. How had this happened? This wasn't the way their future was supposed to have turned out. Sam with Joe. Himself alone.
The Aschen.
The blame for all of this lay at the feet of the Aschen. He had tried to warn them about the Aschen ten years ago. Jack's instincts told him not to trust an advanced race that promised much and expected little. No one had listened to him.
He didn't need this kind of excitement in his life now. He needed to fish.
Leaning back in the chair, Jack stared out over the water. He smelled the cedar and juniper surrounding the cabin and the unique scent that was his pond. Even though there were no ripples today, the pond was never completely still. Sometimes when the sun was just right, he caught a shimmering blue reflection in the water. It always reminded him of the event horizon of an active Stargate. A time or two he wondered what would happen if he plunged in. Would he emerge on some distant planet?
Jack sighed. Ok, maybe he did miss it all. The adventure, the excitement, the thrill. He was perverse enough to admit he even missed the sheer terror he felt when he was afraid he and his team were not going to be quick enough, smart enough or strong enough to outwit the enemy Goa'uld.
Those years had been one adrenaline rush after another. Addictive.
SG-1 had been the best of the best, the heart of the SGC. Now, Jack was alone.
Resting his head back on the chair, Jack watched the sky turn twilight. A star winked into life, mocking him. Taunting. Jack looked away.
He did miss his team. Arguing with Daniel, sparring with Teal'c, watching Sam's face light up when she tried to explain some alien bit of technology. Their dismissal of his warnings twisted his gut. His unpopular and vocal disapproval drove a wedge between himself and those he considered his only family. Everyone from President Kinsey on down loved the Aschen on sight.
Jack swatted a buzzing mosquito and wished it were Kinsey. The Aschen had gotten rid of the Goa'uld threat, true. But at what cost?
No matter his warnings, Jack still felt responsible. He had led his team and his planet into a trap. Now, the trap was closing. Time was running out.
Restlessly, Jack pushed out of the chair and paced to the end of the dock. Remembering the look on Sam's face when she told him she could never have children. He heaved another sigh. Remembering the hard, harsh words between them ten years ago, he understood what it cost her in pride to come to him today. To ask for his help. Maybe if he hadn't let his own stubborn pride get in the way all those years ago, he could have done something to prevent what was happening now. Jack's heart twisted in his chest. He would do almost anything to erase that sad look from her face.
Staring into the night black depths of the pond, Jack listened. It seemed as if he could hear the stars singing to him, calling him. The moon had yet to rise.
It all came down to one thing, he decided.
They needed him.
Not just his country or his planet. His team needed him. Daniel. Teal'c. Especially Sam.
And he needed them.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Jack turned the plan Sam proposed over in his mind. Difficult and dangerous weren't the words to describe it. Impossible. That was the word.
Jack smiled. Just the kind of mission SG-1 liked.
Time travel was tricky, but it could be done. He could trust Carter on that.
Jack found he wanted a second chance. Yes, to give Earth back her independence, that was true. That was his call to duty.
But more than that. Oh, yes, more than that.
Taking a deep breath, Jack tilted his head back and drank in the sight of the glitter of stars overhead. So many possibilities there.
Jack wanted another chance at the last ten years. Maybe, just maybe, if they succeeded in keeping Earth from an alliance with the Aschen, he'd get that chance. If he didn't screw up too badly, someday Sam would be here with him, watching those same stars, snuggling close. Jack turned around gazing at his dark, silent cabin. When that day came, when Sam was here with him... he knew their children would be sleeping in the cabin. Safe, protected, loved. And he would never have to see that heartbreaking look on Sam's face.
With a nod, Jack started back to the cabin.
This was a gamble he was willing to take.