Yes, it's one of those other realities bleeding through into ours. In the first reality, Ernest ended up on Abydos instead of Heliopolis (it's just luck of the draw with random dialing right?) so he made it back after a little experimentation. So, the Stargate program got started back in 1945.
1994 - In a parallel universe
"Debbie!" Daniel Jackson says, banging on the door. The five year old feels a twist in her stomach, and she knows that something is wrong. She opens up the door. He scoops her up quickly, and starts running down the hall with her cradled in his arms like a baby.
"What is happening?" she asks, suddenly worried that he's been taken over by an alien of some kind. He's never acted like this before.
"Your parents loved you so much," he says through sobs, "You can't forget that."
"Where are they?" she demands.
"Quiet," he cautions.
"I want my Mommy and Daddy!" she screams, kicking and thrashing her arms. Debbie is as strong as her parents, and Daniel has to dart into a nearby room, and set her down.
"Honey, your mom and dad sent me to take you somewhere were you will be safe," he says, kneeling down next to her.
"Why?" Debbie demands stubbornly.
Daniel's eyes show such sadness that Debbie can't even begin to understand it. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save them."
"I'll save them," she says, trying to dart past him and escape through the door.
Daniel catches her around the waist, and holds her to his heart, "Honey, you can't save them. They died: Mommy, and Daddy, and Teal'c. They all died giving me the chance to get away. They did it so I could save you. You have to let me do that."
"Dead?" Debbie asks. She's still too young to fully understand the word. But she's old enough that it deflates her. He stands up with the limp girl pulled close to his heart. He opens the door slowly, and looks both ways down the hallway before darting out into it. He runs down the corridor before darting into an elevator.
He hears a sob from the girl held to his chest.
"I was eight when my parents died," he offers, "I thought that nothing would ever matter again. I thought… that there was nothing left for me. But, that was a long time ago. I've found a lot of people to love since then. Sha'uri, my team, and you. What you lost, is more than anyone should ever have to deal with, but I promise the best part of your life is left."
She sniffles her nose, and looks up at him. She really wants her Mommy, and Daddy, but she is glad that she still has her Uncle Daniel.
The panels of the elevator open up, and Daniel breathes a sigh of relief. Another empty corridor, and they are almost there. He might actually be able to save her.
He opens the closet door, and moves past some junk in the closet. He pulls a blanket off a mirror, and fumbles for something which looks like a rock to Debbie. He touches buttons on the rock, and with each touch a different image flashes on the screen. Before long, he sees the one he is looking for. "You have to touch it at the same time as me, ok, honey?" he says.
She nods her hand, and extends her tiny hand. The fact that it is shaking doesn't escape Daniel's notice. In a second Debbie, finds herself in the picture.
"It's like Mary Poppins," she says.
"Yes, it's exactly like that," he says, leaving the small room of artifacts without so much as pocketing one of the small ones. Quite a feat for an archeologist like him
"Where are we going now?" she asks.
"We're going through the Stargate," Daniel tells her, shifting her to his right hip. Her white nightgown gets caught as he does it, and he readjusts it to cover her legs. He almost laughs at himself, worrying about a chill when the world is crashing down around his shoulders.
"Daddy says I can't go through the Stargate until I'm old enough to date," she says.
"Doesn't Jack also say you're never going to date?"
Debbie nods.
Daniel wants to laugh at his friends' humor, but then he remembers that his friend will never tell a joke again. His heart is breaking, but he needs to hold it together for Debbie, at least for now.
"We're going to visit some friends of mine," he says with quaking voice.
Debbie looks up with him in panic; grow-ups aren't supposed to be worried. He forces his face into a smile, but she doesn't believe it.
Where is he going to take her? In the almost-fifty years that the Stargate had been in operation, they had made more enemies than friends.
He looks down at the small girl standing barefoot on the floor. For the first time, he notices that she has her alien doll named 'Thor' under her arm. That and her thin nightgown is all she has. She's going to be starting over in another world from scratch.
A face comes into his head, and it's followed by an address which he quickly dials in. He steps to the side, and holds all of her limbs away from the kwoosh. He's afraid that she'll start thrashing her arms again, and he wants at least to keep her safe. He hasn't succeeded at anything else today.
As the wormhole settles into a quiet shimmering pool, he holds her tight and walks through it. On the other side, she throws up and cries. But he figured she would, and he's holding her so that the sickness falls to the ground.
"Its ok, honey, the worst is almost over now," he says, shifting her onto his hip.
Debbie's heart falls. How can the worst not be over? Her parents are dead, and the Stargate almost killed her.
As they walk over a hill, the ocean catches her eye. She saw a picture of the ocean once, but she's never seen the real thing. It takes her breath away. The ground is a light desert orange, and the city grows out of it with the same color. There are no trees anywhere except around the houses of the city.
"This place is called Therma. They're based off of Greek culture, but they've come a ways since then. They have kitchens and bathrooms that are fairly modern, although the stoves work differently, and the fridges are much colder. And I have some friends here. They wanted kids for a long time, and couldn't have any. Their names are Iris and Alexandros," Daniel says.
The words are the sort of thing she'd expect to hear when Daniel is going off on one of his culture chats, but there is no pressure behind it. Usually Uncle Daniel's speech is pressured, because he's sure someone will cut him off. Daniel's steps have slowed as well.
Then Daniel catches himself, and speeds them up.
"I can walk," she says, trying to lighten his load now that he is moving quickly.
"You don't have any shoes," he says.
"Why does it matter if Iris and Alexandros wanted a kid?" I ask.
"You're going to stay with them," he says.
"For a while until you get Mommy and Daddy?" she asks.
It's a full four steps before he answers her, "Your parents are dead honey, they aren't coming back." He can feel the sobbing of her chest against his, but no tears are coming out. "Honey, you are going to stay with Iris and Alexandros forever."
"Don't leave me," she says, clutching onto him desperately.
Tears start rolling down his chest. He stops walking and sets her down on the ground. He sits down cross legged next to her. "I have to go back honey, the whole world is in danger. I have to try to save it."
"And then you'll come back?" she asks. Mommy and Daddy and Grandpa Jacob and Uncle Teal'c and Uncle Daniel go to save the world all the time. When that happens, she stays with Grandpa George or Auntie Janet for a while until they come back.
"If I can, I'll come back, but they died to give me a chance to save you. The least I can do is die to save the world."
"No," she demands, slamming into his chest and clutching to him desperately. She sobs for a while, "You can't leave me. You're all I have left."
"Look at me," he says, pulling her away. Her hands still clutch his shirt, but he can see her face. "I'm not a dad, Debbie. I spent most of my childhood bobbing from family to family. I don't know what to do. You deserve really great parents, and that's what I'm giving you. You're going to be safe here. They will take care of you. You won't ever have to pack up your clothes in a garbage bag, and go to some new family you've never met." Then he realizes what he's said, "I mean, this time you have to go to a family you've never met with almost nothing. But then it's over. The bad parts are over. You're going to live here with them forever. You're going to build a new life with new parents."
"I don't want new parents," she says, burying her face in his shoulder.
"I know, honey. You're going to miss your mommy and daddy for a long time, for forever, and that's ok. But your new parents are going to take care of you, and some day you're going to love them, and you're going to feel guilt about that, but you shouldn't."
She looks at him with shining eyes, and his heart melts.
"Your parents didn't get to say goodbye to you. But I do. So listen to me. You are brave, honey, and strong. You are smart, and you can do anything. Your parents? They were amazing. They saved the world, the universe, all the time. And you have that in you. I see it in you. Your parents were so proud of you, and they loved you so much. The same goes for me, ok? Just think, you were the one thing we thought worth saving when the world fell down around us. Don't let that sacrifice be in vain."
He stands up, and starts to pick her up. But she shakes her head. He reaches down, and touches the sand. It's as soft as a beach, and his arms are getting sore from carrying the child, so he takes her hand.
"I am brave," she repeats to herself, "I am strong, and smart. I can do anything."
Once they reach the village, they walk down several streets before he knocks on a door.
A tall woman with long dark flowing black hair meets her eyes. "Hello," she says uncertainly.
"You don't know me, but I know you. Is Alex home?" Daniel asks.
"He's in the andon," she explains.
"I'll get him," Daniel says. Therman culture has moved away from male-only living rooms, but the move is recent enough that woman are still bashful at entering the andon they were forbidden from in their childhoods. Daniel disappears for only a few moments before returning with a tall muscular man in tow.
Alex comes out, and picks up Debbie. Her body goes stiff at his touch, but he pulls her to his chest.
"Our whole marriage we prayed for a child, have you brought us one, stranger?" Alex asks.
"I am from a place where we are not strangers. A place where you helped me free your world from your gods. And after killing your gods, you invented Gods to pray for a child too."
Debbie feels her muscles release, and she snuggles into Alex's chest. She doesn't want to be here, but they want her to be, and she does need comfort.
"Her parents died a few hours ago," Daniel says quietly, "Actually, there isn't much left of our world."
"I am sorry," Iris says.
"Thank you. I have to go back and fight for my world. But this little girl needs a home. Her parents asked me to find her one," he says.
"You're trusting us?" Alex asks.
"Like I said, in the place where I come from I know I can trust you. My parents died when I was young, and there was no one there for me."
Iris walks over and rubs Debbie's back, "That isn't going to happen to her."
"I couldn't bring any of her things… clothes or anything," he says.
"We can take care of that," Iris says, "But this is for real? We can really keep her?"
Daniel nods.
"For sure, and forever?" Alex asks worriedly.
"I promise," Daniel says.
"You said you'd come back for me," Debbie wails, reaching to him.
He stops close enough that he can hop into her arms, "No, I promised I'd come and visit if I could. And I will. But I told you I might not be able to come back."
She clings to him.
"I love you honey, but I have to go," he says, slowly pulling away.
"No," she sobs. "Please don't leave me."
Daniel finds that he can't quiet escape from her hands which are constantly grabbing and clutching him. He pries her hands free gently, finger by finger, but she re-grips as soon as he gets one free.
Isis steps between, and gently holds the child's hands.
"I'm sorry, Debbie. But they need me," he turns to leave the room.
"I need you too," she pleads.
"No, you don't. You need them, and they need you. I'm sorry, Debbie. I am. I wish I could change what happened today. But if there is the smallest chance that I can salvage part of our world, I'm going to do it," her uncle says.
Then he walks into the setting of the second sun.