A Future Past
A Stargate, Season 10 epilogue to the episode Unending
Summary: Jack and Teal'c talk about 50 missing year
Rating: K
I freely admit that I have not watched this episode, nor will I ever watch the episode. When they left Jack out, they left me out. So, this is based on spoilers I've read, fact checking against the transcript, and was beta'd by someone who did watch the episode.
I have included at the end of this fic a brief summary of the episode, so that you have a bit of background if you, like me, haven't seen this episode.
x-xx-x
Some things unerringly stay the same, thought Major General Jack O'Neill as he paused in the doorway to Teal'c's quarters. The room before him was filled with the flickering light of dozens of candles, like adornments on a monstrous birthday cake, just waiting to be blown out. The big man sat serenely amid them, on the floor, knees bent, hands resting loosely on his thighs, eyes closed. He reminded Jack of an ebony Buddha, with bulging muscles rather than a bulging pot belly, but still a buddha.
A suddenly, disconcertingly, old Buddha, who had aged incredibly in the few weeks since Jack had seen him last. Sure, the Jaffa warrior still had the powerful frame and the massive muscles and all his hair, though some of it was now gray. Not nearly as gray as his own, though, Jack thought ruefully.
Fifty years worth of aging, the general knew from reading SG-1's mission reports.
Equal to almost his entire life, at least, pretty much all of it that he could remember.
Even with the gray, Teal'c didn't look 140 years old. Then again, since he'd never before met a 140 year old man, er, Jaffa, he didn't know what that age was supposed to look like though it had to be all wrinkledy and bent and old, for sure. He'd once been about a hundred years old himself, Jack recalled. Wrinkledy and bent and old was about the best he could say about being an old codger.
But had T's great age robbed the alien warrior of his hearing? Jack had never before been able to just walk up to the Jaffa's door and take Teal'c by surprise.
Jack shifted his weight, waiting silently to be acknowledged. He was just wondering if he should knock or clear his throat or something when Teal'c, eyes still closed, said, "You may enter whenever you wish, O'Neill. You do not need to remain such a long time in my doorway."
Ah, hearing question answered, thought Jack with a smile that was half embarrassment, half amusement, and completely filled with relief.
"I did not know you were visiting the SGC."
"It's not a visit. It's business," Jack answered, stepping into the room.
"Is this not an unusual hour for business?"
"I'm an unusual business man." O'Neill answered and waved a dismissing hand in the air. "Besides, some business is best done at unusual hours."
Teal'c's eyes opened and he stared across the room at the gray haired human. The general was unbuttoning his tailored Air Force blue jacket, shrugging it off his shoulders and draping it over the chair at the room's computer desk. With a deep sigh of relief, O'Neill loosened his tie and pulled it off his neck, hanging it over the blue jacket. Finally, he unfastened the top three buttons of his dress shirt, unbuttoned the cuffs, and rolled up the sleeves.
"Now that's better," he muttered.
Clothing now comfortably rearranged, O'Neill levered himself to the floor, selecting a pillow off the bed to cushion his butt, grimacing as his always achy knees protested. He couldn't match Teal'c's lotus position, hell, he couldn't have done that a decade ago, he admitted. Careful not to knock over any candles, Jack settled on the floor, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Ready at last, he looked up to see that Teal'c was watching him closely.
Jack raised a questioning eyebrow.
The Jaffa nodded ever so slightly, his expression inscrutable. "It is good to see you, O'Neill. It has been a *very* long time."
The general waved a hand in the air. "I know I don't get here very often, T, but it's only been a few weeks."
"It has been fifty years, O'Neill."
"Ah, right," Jack hadn't thought of that. He smoothed the crease on his trousers and in a moment added, "That's what I'm here about, actually."
"Indeed?"
Teal'c used that single word in an amazing variety of ways, only his inflection giving clues as to whether it was a question, an answer, a challenge, an agreement, disapproval, or an attempt at humor. Jack had no doubt it was the first interpretation, and none of the later, that the Jaffa was expressing this time.
Jack stared down at his hands. "Not to criticize anyone's writing style or anything, but I've been reading SG-1's mission reports, and they seem to be a bit short on details for a mission that spanned fifty years."
"The others have no memory of those years."
"But *you* do."
Teal'c nodded, acknowledging O'Neill's implied query. "That is true, O'Neill. When the time dilation field was reversed, only I, in the bubble, was able to retain memories of all those events which had occurred."
The flickering candles seemed to deepen the lines on T's face, or maybe they really were that deep now, Jack thought sadly. "It was a great sacrifice on your part."
"It is one I made gladly."
"I know. And I deeply appreciate what you did. However,-" O'Neill spread his hands. "You didn't put many details of those fifty years in your report."
"I did not wish to change the future by revealing to the others those things which I remember and they do not. What occurred during that time *is* meaningless, since, in truth, it has not occurred."
The general tilted his head and looked askance at his alien friend. "Don't tell me you met Daniel's buddy Oma out there."
It was T's turn to appear puzzled.
"You know Oma, glowy lady, talks in riddles. That sounds like something she'd say. You know, "the future isn't the past until it's the future and the candles are all melted down' or something equally obscure."
A smile flickered across Teal'c's face. "No, O'Neill, we did not meet Oma Desala."
"Then you should tell me who you did meet, and what you did do." Jack's gaze met only stony silence from his friend. "Teal'c, look, I know you couldn't put it into your report, since there isn't a classification high enough to keep the rest of SG-1 from reading what you wrote, and I understand why you don't want their actions then to affect what they may do now. But T, there could be some useful information in what you saw or heard."
"If there was, I would not fail to tell you."
Teal'c was doing his best imitation of a stone wall, Jack realized. "Okay. I'm not asking just as the guy in charge of Homeworld Security, I'm asking as your friend. Sharing is good for the soul, you know."
Teal'c's deep brown eyes studied him for a long moment, and then he nodded slightly and said, "You feel left out."
Jack rolled his eyes and grimaced, though his achy knees weren't the cause of his discomfort this time. "Well, maybe, sort of. Yeah."
"You would not have enjoyed the long incarceration on the ship, O'Neill."
"I should have been there." If for no other reason than to bid farewell to Thor.
Teal'c smiled. "You would have felt akin to a confined feral feline."
"Caged tiger, Teal'c." Jack waved one long finger at the Jaffa. "And you are humoring me. I know that you know what a tiger is. You've seen them on the National Geographic channel."
"Indeed." Teal'c's smile vanished, and for a long moment the room was very quiet, only the slight hiss of the candles breaking the perfect silence. T's voice softened. "I would not have enjoyed watching you die, my friend."
Crap. He hadn't thought of that. Fifty years, hmm, yes, he'd be over a hundred, and while the O'Neill's generally had pretty healthy genes, 105 was old by anyone's standards. He didn't want to know how the knees and the back would have felt after all that time.
"The time that passed was not all disagreeable," Teal'c acknowledged. "Although the days often weighed heavily upon us, we were all able to pursue activities to alleviate the boredom in our own ways."
"Like?"
"General Landry spent much time nurturing plants, a task at which he became quite adept. It seemed to give him great satisfaction."
"Hank? Plants?" Jack shook his head, shifting to ease the pressure in his knees.
"After many years with us, he passed away quietly. Colonel Carter was with him at the end."
"That's good to know, that he wasn't alone."
"He was not." Teal'c paused, and then continued. "Daniel Jackson spent much of his time studying the knowledge which the Asgaard gave to us—"
The general grinned. "Of course."
"—and considerable time in the company of Vala MalDoran."
"Considerable, huh?" Jack's mouth quirked, understanding the implication perfectly despite Teal'c's brevity.
"Indeed."
Jack eased his back by slumping against the wall behind him and waited for the Jaffa to reveal more.
"Colonel Carter worked diligently to solve our dilemma."
"Which she did." He'd expected nothing else of her.
"It was a difficult problem."
"Must have been, to take her fifty years."
"She considered innumerable theories, none of which were feasible. It was frustrating and disheartening for her."
"But she persevered."
"She did. And played the cello."
"The cello? Carter?" Jack was surprised.
"She became quite skilled."
"I'm having a bit of trouble here imagining Carter playing the cello." Carter, who rode a Harley, and thought spending her spare time fixing doohickies was fun, and was the best female warrior/soldier he'd ever served with, playing the cello? "Sheesh. The cello? I mean, a guitar, or drums, maybe, but you can't play Hound Dog on the cello."
"I am unfamiliar with many of the works she played, but I do not believe any musical compositions performed by Elvis were among them."
"Dang." Jack shifted position once more. "So, the others?" Not that he cared much, but it was polite to ask.
"I spent many hours engaged in combat training with Colonel Mitchell. I also instructed him in the fine art of juggling."
"Good student?"
"Adequate."
"Ah, well, juggling isn't for just anyone," Jack noted smugly.
Teal'c smiled. "Indeed." His somber expression returned. "Colonel Mitchell found his time quite difficult. He shares your requirement for continual physical activity."
"Hmm, yes," O'Neill answered in a voice tinged with disapproval. "And that Vala Maladictorian woman?"
"As I indicated, Vala MalDoran spent considerable time in the company of Daniel Jackson."
Jack nodded. " Right, right, so you said." O'Neill paused, then went on. "And you, Teal'c?"
"It was much less difficult for me than for the others. I used much time for meditation."
"That's a lot of meditating."
"Jaffa learn patience very early in their training."
"Yeah, too bad you couldn't have passed some of that on to me." Jack paused. "Well, the good news, Teal'c, is that the doc says you're the healthiest 140-year old she's ever seen. Of course, you're the only 140-year old she's ever seen. Not even Bra'tak is that old."
"At last then, I have surpassed Master Bra'tak at something."
Jack smiled, lowering his voice confidentially. "You, my friend, have surpassed him at many things."
Teal'c bowed his head modestly. "Thank you, O'Neill."
"No, T, it's me and the SGC that owe you our thanks. Again." Jack looked at his watch, shook his head, and climbed laboriously back to his feet. "Sorry, T, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a plane to catch back to Washington. No rest for the wicked and all that, you know. You'll say hello for me to the others?"
"Certainly."
With a sigh he retrieved his coat and tie. "Be good then."
"I am always good, O'Neill."
Jack smiled. "Yes, you are, Teal'c. Yes you are."
***The End***
*****SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
(For those who like me have not watched it and never will watch it):
Gen Landry accompanies SG-1 on a mission aboard a ship. They meet the Asgaard, who are losing the war and, because of all the years of cloning, are about to die, and decide to end their lives on their own terms, leaving their knowledge and technology to the Tau'ri. The Ori are chasing the ship SG one is on (that contains all the knowledge of the Asgaard), and it is about to be blown up. Carter creates some sort of time bubble that prevents the ship from being destroyed, and giving her time to try to find a solution.
Years pass. Daniel and Vala pair off, Hank plants a garden, Cam gets bored and exercises a lot and Carter, when she's not trying to solve their dilemma, takes up playing the cello. Many years pass, 50 actually, before she finds a solution which send them back in time, undoing the 50 years. None of them remember what happened, except for Teal'c, who had to 'man the ship' and be outside the bubble. He remains 50 years older. The others return to their current ages, including Landry (who had died aboard the ship).
In this, the series finale, Jack O'Neill, by the way, is never once mentioned. Not once. So much for eight years as the leader of SG-1 (and SG-1 as 'family').