Dust fell to the floor. He ignored it. The sounds of battle filled the room from outside. He ignored them too. He ignored the pain, both physical and emotional. He ignored everything. Almost. The Mirror sat in front of him. Facing him. He looked at it, sat atop a table, his hands intertwined under his chin. He wondered. He thought. He considered.
She was dead. Was there any reason she wouldn't be in this one too? Would he spend his life searching the Universes? Or would that cascade thingy take him? Maybe he'd get brought down by Jaffa in another world. Another base… another SGC. But that was it. Another world. Not his, different. The same. Just not so. Would that be true of her? Would she be the same, but not? Would she love him? Would he love who she was?
More sounds from outside. People screaming, dieing, fighting, loosing. The SGC was overrun. Some had fled, most had stayed. So had she. Now she was dead. Lost to him. Forever. His Sam, anyway. There were others. He had met one. Dr. Carter. Married to his counter-part. He smiled. Slightly. It wasn't enough to take away the guilt that filled him. He had seen it. Stood there and watched as she fought. God, she had been brave. The warrior. The fighter.
He shifted. His knee was starting to ache. It was nothing, at least when compared to the gaping wound in his heart. He had loved her, loved her dearly. She had loved him. It would never have worked, though. They would never have let the other resign. Not for them. He sighed again. It was all about to be made moot, anyway. He could hear the battle being waged outside. It was coming to a close. And not the good kind.
Sliding off the table, he moved over. Raising a hand, he looked back at the storage room. Sending a thought out to those who died in their valiant attempt to thwart the take over of Earth, he let his fingertips brush the mirror's surface. He felt oddly nothing. The room was exactly the same, only there was no noise. He walked to the door. Looking out, he saw an empty corridor. No signs of a battle, though.
Stepping outside, he looked left and right. Then heard someone. Turning, he saw her. Blond hair, Military uniform. Whoa… silver eagle on the collar? Full Colonel Samantha Carter? He couldn't quite believe it. She froze. Looking at him with a horrified expression. Had he dumped her for some lab tech in this dimension?
She looked at where he had come from and then smiled faintly. "Jack?" She asked walking up to him, her grin increased when he nodded. "The Mirror?" Another nod. He was surprised by the hug, but hugged back. "Um, Colonel huh?" He asked, unsure where to go form here.
She nodded. "Yeah, um…you best come with me…General Carter will want to fill you in."
Jack blinked at her. "Jacob!?" At her confirming nod, he whistled. "Wow, didn't think Hammond would ever leave." At her look, he frowned. "What? Carter, what is it?"
She swallowed. "There's a lot you need to know…"