A/N - "The Road Not Taken" has to be one of my fave episodes. I just wish they'd had Jack in it...So here's my look at what it could have been like, and I daresay you might be surprised...Remember, reviews are love. :)

"Major," Landry put a hand lightly on Sam's arm. "The Air Force Chief of Staff has just arrived, I know he'd like to meet you."

Sam nodded. She remembered what Dr. Lee had said to her earlier, that the Chief of Staff might be the only person who could change the president's mind about letting her go home…now was her chance. She turned and looked at the man who'd entered amidst the usual entourage of security men, and felt her jaw drop.

"General O'Neill!" At the last moment Sam managed to turn her exclamation of surprise into a greeting.

"Nice to see you, Major," he said, shaking her hand. On the pretense of stepping out of the way to let his security detail through, he leaned in closer. "Or should I say 'colonel'?"

Sam raised one eyebrow. "Sounds like you've had your full debriefing."

"I try to know what's going on in my own Air Force," Jack said, shrugging. "Especially if one of my top officers is replaced with someone from an alternate universe." He shot her a characteristic smirk. "How're you liking our reality?"

"I think I prefer my own, sir," Sam replied. "No offense."

"None taken. I'm sure I'd like yours better too." He looked around the room with a slight look of distaste. "Between you and me, colonel, I voted against the program going public."

"Really?" Sam wasn't too surprised. "But they didn't listen?"

"In the long run we didn't really have any other choice," Jack said. "But I knew it wasn't a good idea. And now look at us…completely screwed…" He'd said the last part a little louder, and Landry, who was standing only a foot or so away, overheard.

"Which is exactly why we have Major Carter," he said, walking over. "Because she can help get us out of this mess."

Sam smiled weakly. "And that's why you keep parading me around at parties, sir?"

"Leave the politics to me, Major." Landry said with a slight frown. He nodded to them both and turned away.

Jack laughed. "Bureaucrats…gotta love em, eh Carter?"

"Yeah, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeves…"

"What sleeves?" Jack raised an eyebrow, glancing down at her dress. Sam felt herself blushing.

"You should know I don't usually dress like this," she said, wishing that whoever had picked out the dress had found something that showed a little less skin. Much as she liked to femme it up for special occasions, this was still a bit much.

"Didn't think so." The stream of people coming in the door was getting heavier, so Sam and Jack headed off to the side of the room. "I half expected you to show up in fatigues and combat boots, truth be told." His lips twitched in the faintest of smirks. "That's what you…or should I say the other Samantha Carter, was wearing the one time I met her."

"Yeah, well, President Landry's secretary insisted."

"Ah well, then, what can you do?" he patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Colonel, you look great."

The party wore on, more and more people came over to congratulate and thank Sam, and she found herself pulled away from Jack. Finally it grew to be too much and she retreated to the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out at the lights of D.C.

"Bit chilly out here."

She turned to see Jack stepping out of the sliding doors, holding two glasses of champagne.

"Thanks," she said, accepting the one that was offered to her.

"Want my jacket?"

"No I'm fine," she sighed, leaning back on the railing and sipping at the champagne. "God…I'm not used to this."

"Not used to what?"

"The attention. I'm not a performer, I can't do this…"

Jack nodded slightly. "You'll get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it!" Sam snapped, turning to face him. "I want to go back to my universe! You know, I save your whole goddamn planet, the least you guys could do is let me go home."

"I had nothing to do with it!" Jack said defensively. "It was Landry who said you can't go back, not me."

"I'm sorry." Sam looked down at her feet. "I just don't understand it."

"He doesn't want to let you go. You're a symbol of hope for the whole planet and Landry knows that without you, people would be acting a whole lot crazier."

"So no pressure, right?" Sam said, smiling weakly.

"Right," he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You'll get home, Colonel, don't worry." He glanced at his watch. "You know, all they've really got in there are fancy hors d'oeuvres, what do you say we ditch this place and get some real dinner?"

"Are we allowed to?" Sam asked, straightening up. The idea certainly sounded appealing…

"Hell, I'm a joint chief and you're the woman who saved the planet. We can do whatever we goddamn well want." He winked at her. "Just s'long as you don't mind the security guys. They'll follow us everywhere."

"As long as they don't bother us, I'll be fine."

"Great." Jack offered her his arm. "Shall we depart then, Colonel? Or can I call you Samantha?"

"Samantha, Sam, whatever." She linked her arm through his as they headed back into the main room.

"Sam isn't elegant enough," Jack said thoughtfully. "I think Samantha fits you better."

Sam looked up at him curiously. "Really?"

"Really really."

As they wove in and out of the people, Sam found herself wondering if "her" Jack O'Neill thought the same thing…certainly on the rare occasion that he did use her first name he usually called her 'Sam', but still…

True to Jack's word, the security team followed them out, hovering a few feet away until the limo pulled up and Jack helped Sam inside.

"The hotel I'm staying at has a nice restaurant, conveniently located and the foods good," Jack said as the car pulled away. "Besides, they'll add it to my room tab and the Air Force can foot the bill."

"Way to cheat the system, sir."

Jack rolled his eyes, turning to give her a serious look. "Ok, I don't know if that's something you do back in your reality, but the whole 'sir' thing is starting to get on my nerves."

"Sorry, Jack."

"That's better," he grinned, then his expression grew serious. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"In your reality…what am I like?"

Sam blinked. No one had really asked her that so far, not so outright. "You're not the chief of staff. You were my CO for eight years…leader of SG-1…now you're doing some desk job in Washington."

"Huh. They asked me to join the Stargate program years ago, you know," Jack said. "But I had Charlie and I didn't want to risk leaving and never going back to him."

"Oh…" Sam shifted uncomfortably.

Jack sensed her nervousness and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Charlie…the reason you joined the Stargate program in my reality was because Charlie killed himself." Sam said, quietly.

Jack looked shocked. "Jesus…I couldn't imagine…I must be an ass!"

"Not really," Sam chuckled, smiling weakly. "So I take it you're still married here?"

Jack hesitated a moment, watching her curiously. "Technically. But my wife and I are…separated. Haven't lived together in months. We always had our issues and it got really hard once Charlie went off to college."

"I see."

Jack watched her for a few minutes, then abruptly he asked, "Anything between us? You and I?"

"Complicated question," she said, smiling tightly. "Feelings? Sure. But we haven't really…done anything. Regulations and all that."

"Right, riiight…" Jack leaned back in his seat. "Sorry if this is making you uncomfortable."

"Not at all. But, why did you want to know?"

Jack shrugged. "Just curious, I guess. The way you looked at me, the way you talk to me, it's not what I expected. Our Samantha Carter…I met her once…really liked her too." He tilted his head to one side, frowning. After a long moment he spoke again. "We've really screwed things up here, haven't we?"

"Yep," she raised her eyebrows. "You seem a little insecure for a joint chief."

"Eh. I don't think Landry likes me very much." Jack said, throwing in a roguish grin. "I go against too many of his ideas. Honestly, I really don't think I'll last much longer if things keep going the way they are..."

Sam was glad for the dim lighting in the restaurant, because it meant that most of the other guests didn't recognize her. She attracted a couple stares as the waiter showed them to the table, and they weren't exactly inconspicuous with the two members of Jack's security team standing at attention near the door.

"This is nice," Sam said after they'd placed their orders. "For once I don't feel like I'm being forced to perform."

"I know what you mean," Jack said, nodding. "I have a hard enough time and I'm not even their 'poster child'."

Sam scowled. "Is that what they think of me as?"

"Ohhh yeah, sorry to break it to you, Samantha, but that's exactly what you are." Jack flicked his wine glass with one finger, making a slight ringing noise. "You're not the first, and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"Has anyone ever called them on it?"

"Yeah. Few years ago. An F-302 pilot named Cameron Mitchell." Jack made a face. "Poor kid, got all the celebrity treatment and then the minute he asked them what the hell they were doing, they dropped him like a rock. Now no one knows where he is… probably better that way."

Sam set one fist heavily down on the table with a sigh, putting her other hand to her forehead and closing her eyes. She was surprised to feel Jack's fingers lightly close around hers a moment later.

"Samantha, you ok?"

"Yeah." She nodded, smiling and giving his fingers a squeeze. "This is just difficult, you know? I come here…save your world, and instead of giving me the access I need to go home, your president practically sticks me on a leash and parades me around Washington."

"Like I said, you've become a symbol of hope," Jack said. "As for the leash part, Landry wants to keep you close by incase something else goes wrong."

Sam could feel anger bubbling up inside of her again. "I don't care! Look, I'm sorry your Carter was killed but that gives you guys no right –"

"Samantha…Samantha! Calm down, ok?" Jack squeezed her hand tighter, even as she tried to pull it out of his grip. "We'll get you back home, I swear. I'll do whatever it takes." He glanced up to see the waiter approaching with their food. "Right now, let's just try to enjoy a peaceful meal, ok?"

Sam slumped slightly in her chair, nodding.

"I'm not ready to go back," she said as they walked out of the restaurant later and into the foyer of the hotel. Jack knew she didn't mean back to the party, but rather back to everything Landry was having her do, everything this reality was expecting her to do.

Besides the clerk behind the desk they were the only ones out there, the security detail was mercifully out of sight. Jack turned to Sam, one hand resting lightly on the small of her back. "Well, there's a mini bar in my room if you want a drink," he suggested.

Sam felt her breath hitch in her throat. Part of her still responded to him like he was her commanding officer, thinking that whatever they did together could get them in trouble, that she would have to watch her every step, every word. The other part, meanwhile, was shouting that now was her chance to steal a moment, a night with the man she loved. "But he's not really Jack," she whispered to herself, barely noticing that she'd said it out loud.

Jack raised his eyebrows. " 'Scuse me?"

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Sorry."

"Look, Samantha, if you're uncomfortable with this…I don't want to make you feel like I'm imposing. I can call the limo and have them take you back to your hotel."

"No," Sam said, almost too sharply, grabbing his arm. She smiled reassuringly. "No. Let's go." She wanted to catch this before it slipped through her fingers, like so many other moments with her Jack had.

"Ok, then." Jack smiled and, arm in arm, they walked over to the elevator.

Either it was the fact that she was suddenly in a small, enclosed space with him, or that the tension that had been building was finally at a breaking point, but either way Sam felt like her heart was trying to pound its way out of her throat. She leaned against one wall of the elevator, trying to look anywhere but the soft brown eyes that were gazing at her. Some niggling sensation in the back of her mind was telling her to stop, that she was doing something wrong, but she told it to be quiet. This Jack wasn't her CO, there were no rules saying that they couldn't enjoy one another's company.

But there was something else, and it bothered Sam that she couldn't put her finger on it.

Being the Chief of Staff of the Air Force certainly had its benefits, Jack pointed out, and one of them was getting the best rooms when he had to stay in a hotel.

While Jack poured the drinks Sam stood in front of the huge picture windows looking out at the city. She was feeling immensely lonely all of the sudden and was grateful when Jack came to stand at her side, handing her a drink.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Jack murmured.

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "It looks just like it does in my reality but…there's still something wrong, something different. I could just be imagining it, though."

Jack gave her a sideways look. "Would it help to just forget you're not in your reality for a while?"

Sam smiled, stepping a little closer and lightly resting her free hand on his arm. "I'd love to, but I'm not really sure –"

Jack took their glasses and set them on a nearby table, then leaned down and, putting his hands on either side of Sam's face, lightly brushed his lips over hers. Sam froze, standing there with her eyes closed as her pounding heart finally caught up with her lungs, causing each breath to come out short, shaky and rushed.

"Is this ok?" Jack asked, sounding worried that he'd done something wrong.

"It's fine." Sam smiled at him. She took a step back, slipping out of her sandals and kicking them aside. Her toes curled in the soft carpeting as Jack swept her close for another kiss. This one lasted all the way over to the bed, where Jack sat down heavily, staring at Sam who remained on her feet before him.

"You are so hot…" Jack murmured, his hands resting on her waist, eyes sweeping up and down her form, finally glancing up to gaze into hers. "Though I'm sure you get that a lot."

Sam was nonchalantly toying with his tie, and in a smooth motion she tugged it off and tossed it over her shoulder. "Sometimes…" She ran one hand through his graying hair as Jack leaned forward to kiss her collarbone.

As Jack sat back to look at her, Sam found herself unsure of what to do next. In the past, in her reality, they'd never managed to get anywhere near this far, and she now felt a worry that something was going to go wrong. But the look in Jack's eyes told her not to worry, and before she was even thinking about it, Sam found herself hiking up her skirt so she could sit in his lap facing him, running her hands down his chest and undoing his shirt buttons.

"Samantha…" Jack let out a slight groan as her hips ground lightly against his.

"Something wrong?" Sam whispered, completely sure now that she'd lost any remaining scrap of sanity she'd had. Her clouded mind managed to convince herself that this was Jack…she twisted her hips again, pressing down against him and eliciting another groan…this wasJack, her Jack, the Jack she loved…

And this Jack O'Neill obviously liked being in control as much as hers, for in one swift motion he stood and set her on the bed, dropping to his knees before her. As Sam pulled his face close for another burning kiss he slid his hands up under the material of her skirt, brushing his fingertips over the damp cotton of her underwear.

The fleeting touch sent a shock through her and Sam gasped. Jack pulled his head away, eyes burning darkly and a smile twitching his lips. Sam threw her hands out behind her to support herself, lifting her hips so Jack could slide her underwear off. He gave her one last smoldering look before lowering his head.

The first sweep of Jack's tongue caused Sam to throw back her head, her mouth gaping soundlessly. A shudder ran through her as his tongue began moving over her clit in a sweeping side-to-side motion, his fingers clutching at her hips. Jack picked up the pace and Sam heard a moan escape her lips, then another, and another, short, fast and breathy, urging him on. He continued until Sam finally cried out, her arms giving way as she collapsed against the bed.

Then the warm weight of his body was above her, his lips on hers, and she could still taste herself on him. Finding her strength again, Sam all but ripped his half buttoned shirt off of him and Jack chuckled at her desperateness as he himself slowly slid her dress off her shoulders, hands following the curves of her body as he slid the material all the way off, tossing it to the floor.

Sam blushed at the way he looked down at her, his dark eyes scrutinizing as he brought one hand up, brushing his thumb over the inner curve of one of her breasts. Then Jack leaned down to kiss her again, this time slow and burning. He pulled back after a moment, making a face that was half-grimace half-smirk, and the way he pushed his hips against hers left Sam in no doubt what that was all about…

Sam made short work of the closure to his pants, and when she finally had her hand pressed against his hot flesh she stared into his eyes, marveling at the response she could get for applying a slight pressure with her fingers.

Jack shifted, kicking his pants the rest of the way off. He lowered his head so his lips were next to her ear. "God…Samantha…"

He might have said something else, but Sam didn't hear. She was too busy concentrating on the way it felt as he settled between her legs, and keeping it from driving her totally over the edge. The feeling of him against her made her moan again, eyes sliding shut, but Jack put his hands on either side of her face.

"Open your eyes."

She did, and caught the expression on his face as he thrust into her. Jack lowered his head to her shoulder as their bodies found a rhythm, pushing and clenching, harder and deeper each time. Jack leaned his weight over on his right arm, bringing his other hand up to cup her breast; Sam inhaled sharply at the new added sensation.

"Harder…" Sam gasped, and Jack slammed into her with enough force to cause the headboard to thump against the wall slightly.

She could feel a tightness in her core, a burning urgency that brought a pleading tone to her voice, begging him, crying out his name…Abruptly her whole body clenched as every muscle seemed to quiver. Jack froze against her and Sam clung to him, riding out the force of the orgasm until they both collapsed limply against the sheets, breathing heavily.

Jack swore in a contented way and slid off her. He somehow managed to get the blankets over them, and Sam found herself nestled in the middle of the queen-sized bed, Jack at her side and her head cushioned by what felt like fifty down pillows. She rolled over onto her side, nuzzling her face into the curve of his neck and shoulder, her hand resting on his bare chest. Jack, his eyes already closed, smiled slightly, his arm looping around her waist as he listened to her breathing change to the soft rhythm of sleep.

Sam awoke the next morning and at first she panicked, then remembered that her flight back to Cheyenne Mountain wasn't until that afternoon. She sat up suddenly when she realized she was alone in the bed, but looked over and saw Jack sitting at the table reading the paper. A room service cart stood next to the table with all sorts of breakfast foods and a pitcher of coffee on it.

Jack glanced up, smiling when he saw Sam. " G'morning, sleeping beauty."

"Is there another robe around here?" Sam asked, looking around. "Or am I expected to eat breakfast naked?"

"Well, if that's the alternative, I don't think I will tell you where the other robe is," Jack replied, smirking.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "No, if that's the alternative, you can bring me breakfast over here."

To her surprise Jack folded the newspaper and stood, walking over to the room service cart. He picked up a plate and loaded it with food, then poured a cup of coffee and carried it all over to Sam.

"Here you are, your majesty," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and setting the plate on her lap.

"Hey." Sam glared playfully at him. "I saved this planet, the least anyone can do is bring me breakfast in bed."

Jack leaned over to kiss her. "Fair enough. There really isn't another robe by the way, sorry."

"Go figure," Sam rolled her eyes and dug into the food on her plate. "I have to meet Landry at the airport at 1300 to fly back."

"Fun," Jack's hand slipped under the blanket to rest on her leg. "I'm not going back until tomorrow. I have some stuff to finish up here, then it's back to Cheyenne Mountain."

"So you actually do have an office at Cheyenne Mountain?"

"Yep, don't use it much, but…whatever…" Jack shrugged. He watched her eat for a moment, then slid his hand a little bit up her leg.

"Stop it!" Sam said, giggling. "I'm trying to eat."

"And I'm trying to distract you." Jack stuck his tongue out at her. "I take it you and your Jack never did anything like this?"

Sam looked up at him, expression suddenly serious. "No," she said bluntly.

"Hey hey, don't get so defensive," Jack said, holding his hands up. "I'm just asking about myself, not some past boyfriend."

Sam set aside her nearly empty plate and cup, then stood up to go collect her dress and underwear. She was fully aware that she was naked and that Jack was watching her, but at the moment all her desire and arousal had fled, leaving her with a terse annoyance at the man sitting on the bed.

"Samantha, is something wrong? Did I say something?"

"You're acting different." Sam said, not really sure why she was saying it.

"Different? How?"

"I don't know, you just are." Sam stopped. She turned to look at Jack, ready to yell, or at the very least snap, but the expression on his face seemed to melt through whatever had been bothering her a moment before and made her laugh. "Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of her bare breasts then pointed up. "Eyes up here, flyboy."

"Sorry." Jack grinned and stood, walking over to her. "I am sorry if I'm acting weird, I don't mean to be."

"I know." Sam smiled at him, then gestured towards the bathroom. "I'm going to go wash up then I should head back to my hotel and change before I have to leave."

Jack nodded. "Ok. Come see me when we're both back at the base, ok?"

"Of course." Sam smiled, then turned and padded off to the bathroom.

If Landry suspected anything, he certainly didn't let on. They chatted about the party on the flight back, and Sam kept up dropping her usual hints about wanting to go home, but Landry flatly ignored them.

Back at Cheyenne Mountain Sam slipped off to her lab to do what research she could about finding a way home, despite the fact that she knew she didn't have all the resources she needed. Damn those politicians anyway.

Two days later she heard it mentioned that Gen. O'Neill was there for a couple days. Sam figured out where his office was and snuck up there when she was pretty sure he'd been in.

"Come." Came the gruff call when she knocked on the door. Jack looked up and smiled when she entered. "Samantha, hey."

"Hey, how're you?" Sam asked, walking over and leaning on the edge of his desk.

"Good…you?"

"Bored out of my skull. I want to go home."

Jack nodded. "I know, I know. I talked to Landry about it and I think he might agree to let you go soon."

"That's good." Sam glanced up, almost unconsciously scanning the walls and ceiling.

Jack settled back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap. "There aren't any security cameras."

"Huh?" Sam looked at him, surprised.

"Security cameras. That's what you were looking for, right?"

Sam could feel herself blushing and she had to force herself to keep looking at him. "I wasn't…that's not…"

"Samantha, c'mere," Jack said, chuckling and holding a hand out to her. Sam walked over and perched lightly on his lap, letting him wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her. "Missed you."

"I'm not going to be here forever, you know."

"I know, I know." Jack loosened his arms that were holding her to him. "I'm just trying to make the best out of the time we have." There was a suggestive tone to his voice and Sam didn't miss the slight glimmer in his eye.

She brought her hand up to his cheek. "Are you suggesting we…? Here…?"

"Whatever you want, Samantha." Jack murmured, covering her lips with his again.

It was then Sam realized what put her on edge about him, and that was his ability to completely make her lose her senses. She couldn't think when she was around him and the moment his lips touched hers she would forget about making logical decisions and simply follow the slow burning in the pit of her stomach. The obviousness of the reaction she could get out of him didn't help either.

Sam surprised herself even when she felt her knees hit the cement floor and realized she was kneeling before him. Jack looked down at her with an expression of surprise and lust. He bent over, almost in half so he could nuzzle her cheek.

"Whatcha doin' ?" he whispered, lightly stroking her hair.

Sam answered him with a burning look, her blue eyes blazing. Jack smiled, returning the look as he leaned back in his chair.

"Are you always this crazy?"

"No." Sam stopped with her hands halfway to the closure of his pants. "Does it bother you?"

"Uh uh, I like it." Jack settled back more comfortably in his chair.

Sam felt like she wasn't in control of anything, but even that thought was detached somehow. Almost as if it was still her mind, but somehow the other Samantha Carter, the strange Samantha Carter, had taken over. It was like a drug, an addiction, this finally being able to satisfy this hunger she'd had and now she couldn't stop, even though she knew it was a bad idea.

And part of her kept pointing out that something had to be wrong, because Jack O'Neill would never let her do this especially, of all things, right in his office where anyone could…

"Samantha," her name was barely a whisper escaping from his lips as he watched her, watched her fingers lightly stroking him, his own hands clutching at the armrests of his chair.

Sam didn't look up at him. Her mind was swimming and she knew if she tried to talk no coherent words would form. That pulsing desire was racing through her again, that one she used to be so good at suppressing but now all of the sudden it wouldn't be locked away. She lowered her head, grazing her lips over him ever so lightly. Jack groaned.

If she could only have him this way, in this reality, she would be sure to make him hers.

Sam left his office later, stepping out of the hall and wiping the backs of her fingers over her lips, feeling reckless. She looked around, but no one else was in the hall. Before she closed the door she cast a backwards glance at Jack and he smiled, winking. Sam returned the smile and closed the door.

Two days later Sam was called to a press conference. She hadn't had to do many of those, thankfully, and wasn't really looking forward to it, especially because Landry and his men would be right there, breathing down her neck and just waiting to pull her away if she said anything they didn't like.

Once there, sitting up in front of a room full of people and flash bulbs, Sam was having questions thrown at her like fastballs. She managed to answer most of them as diplomatically as possible, but it was getting tiring. Especially because every few seconds she panicked that she'd made some mistake, like a reference to something that existed only in her reality…

She took advantage of a break in the questions to take a sip of water, and when she looked up again a young woman with dark brown hair had stood up.

"So tell me, Major Carter, how does your personal relationship with General O'Neill, the Air Force Chief of Staff, affect your work at all? It must interfere at least on a few levels."

A brief flutter of fear passed through Sam, but she managed to suppress it. "I'm sorry…I don't really see how that's relevant."

"Oh I think it is." The woman smiled malevolently. "Even being the savior of the planet it must weigh on your conscience a little that you're the "other woman" in his marriage of 25 years, or doesn't that matter because you are the Major Carter, everyone's hero?"

A lump had formed in Sam's throat, not even allowing her to stammer out some semblance of a response. She stared blankly back at the other woman, who's brown eyes seemed to be boring into Sam's skull. Sam could feel a flush rising in her cheeks as the room broke out in excited murmurs.

"Well, Major?" the woman pressed.

Sam felt a hand on her shoulder, however, and looked over to see one of the president's men standing next to her. He leaned down. "Don't answer her, Major. Just don't say anything." He straightened up and addressed the audience. "I'm sorry, an emergency's come up. Major Carter is needed elsewhere." He gestured towards the door behind them. "After you, ma'am."

Not looking back, Sam stood and hurried out into the empty hall, walking as quick as she could towards the doors at the other end.

"Colonel Carter!"

Sam stopped at Landry's voice, turning around and walking back towards him. "What the hell do they think they're doing?" she asked, sounding just as flabbergasted as she felt.

"Huh." Landry shook his head. "What I'm more concerned with, Colonel, is what the hell you think you're doing."

"Sir?" Sam frowned.

"I don't know how it works in your reality," Landry said. "But here, using sex to get political favors is generally frowned upon.'

Sam's eyes widened. "I wasn't - !"

"Really? So that's why Gen. O'Neill has been after me all of the sudden to let you go home?" The president was glaring at Sam. "Colonel, what other reason could you possibly have to have an affair with an older, married man?"

"He told me he wasn't married." A panicked feeling was spreading through Sam as she realized what was going on.

"Why in God's name would you believe him?!" Landry demanded.

Sam shook her head, biting nervously at her thumbnail. "Because I trust the Jack O'Neill in my reality…"

"This isn't your reality, Colonel!" Landry shouted. "I certainly hope your oh-so-brilliant mind can think up a way out of this mess because I won't. You see, we respect the idea of 'family' in this reality, and people's opinion of you certainly will be far less once this all hits the news in an hour."

"He lied to me." Sam said, heart pounding. This was all coming on too hard and too quickly and she felt like she was being sucked under by a riptide. "He told me that he wasn't married, that he and the Samantha Carter had met before…"

"You of all people should know not to make assumptions." Landry's voice still held a large amount of disgust and it seemed to be directed at Sam. " Jack O'Neill is by far not the most chivalrous man I know."

"I didn't…how…" Sam shook her head, trying hard to keep control of herself and not lose it completely.

"Oh for God's sake don't cry." Landry said, rolling his eyes. "That's not going to solve anything. Come on, the car's waiting to take us back to the base." He turned and continued walking down the hall. Sam glared after him for a moment before wiping her hand over her eyes and following.

Back at the base, the first thing she did was stomp up to Jack's office, where he was sitting in front of his computer.

"Samantha, pleasant surprise," he said, looking up.

Sam slammed the door behind her and glared at him for a moment.

Jack frowned. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Don't you fucking call me 'baby'!" Sam shouted. She grabbed the phone off his desk and hurled it at him. Jack ducked out of the way just in time and the phone smashed against the wall.

"HEY HEY!" Jack held up his hands. "What the hell is your problem!?!"

"I am NOT your little whore, do you understand that?!" Sam snarled, pointing an accusing finger at him. "What, did it make you feel manly to have sex with the woman who saved the world? Well tell me, Jack, what does your wife think about that? What does Charlie think? Or haven't you told them yet?"

It was obvious that Jack himself was just barely keeping reign over his emotions. "Samantha, I'm not –"

"And don't you dare tell me you're not married because I already called your bluff on that one!" Sam glared at him. "Why'd you lie to me, huh? Why did you tell me that you and Sarah were separated? Was it to get a quick fuck and a blowjob? You're a bastard, you know that!"

Jack had turned away for a moment to try and pick up the shattered remains of the telephone, and when he straightened up to face Sam his expression was cold. "Oh I see, this is all my fault! Heroic, saintly Samantha Carter didn't do anything wrong here."

"Hey, you lied to me!"

"But it wasn't my fault you were so desperate to live out those little fantasies of yours," Jack said bitterly. "What? Did you think this would turn out all romantic and fairytale perfect? You should know better than that, Colonel. I'm not your Jack O'Neill."

"I figured that out, seeing as he's not an asshole!"

Jack took a step, almost lunged forward as though to grab her, but then stopped himself. Sam stared straight into his eyes as she backed for the door. His chocolate brown eyes that held none of the warmth she knew.

"I'll be leaving soon, going home. Don't bother saying goodbye."

"Sam."

She shook her head. "It's too late." She turned and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Landry finally agreed to let her go, to give her the things she needed to return home. It could have been that he felt sorry for her, or that he didn't want to have to deal with the mess she'd left behind.

She would leave, vanish from this world. How Landry would explain her disappearance would be no concern of hers.

There was a lot of research to be done still, however, and Sam found herself reluctantly calling on the help of Rodney McKay. She got down to her lab one afternoon to find him already sitting at the table, looking impatient.

"Oh there you are," he said. "Where've you been? Having a quick one with Gen. O'Neill?"

Sam didn't look at him. "Either help me, or leave. I don't want to talk about Gen. O'Neill right now."

Rodney snorted. "Karma's a bitch, isn't it?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, head snapping up.

"Well, you weren't exactly nice about it when we got a divorce."

Sam sighed heavily, sitting down on one of the stools. "McKay…that wasn't me. That was your Samantha Carter, not me." She looked him straight in the eye. "And yeah, karma's a bitch because guess what? Your Samantha Carter is dead now."

Rodney gave her an injured look. "Just so you know I did love her!"

"Yeah, and I love Jack O'Neill," Sam cried. "Just not…that one…"

They fell into silence and it took Sam a long time to realize that Rodney was giving her a pitying look. "He really screwed you over, didn't he?" Rodney paused. " . . .no pun intended."

"Yeah." Sam was avoiding his eyes again.

To her surprise Rodney walked around and put a hand on her arm. "Come on, let's figure out how to get you home again."

"So what was I like in that reality?" Vala asked perkily. The whole team, minus Daniel, was standing around in Sam's lab, full of questions about her whereabouts for the past few weeks.

"You were in jail." Sam said flatly. It felt so good to be home again, to be back among familiar surroundings and people, even if some of the latter annoyed the crap out of her.

"Oh, not again…" Vala sounded rather dejected.

Cameron turned to Sam. "What about the rest of us?"

Sam paused, looking around at all of them. "You know, to be honest I really don't want to talk about it."

The others accepted the answer and the discussion continued. Later, however, when Sam was eating dinner alone in the commissary, Vala plopped down with a rather pensive expression.

"Alright, Sam, you have to tell me! What was everyone else like?"

Sam looked up at her. "Vala, I said I don't want to talk about it."

"I kno – " Vala stopped, and the young alien woman suddenly looked uncharacteristically concerned. "Sam, did something happen to you? Something bad?"

"Let's just say I learned a really hard lesson about alternate realities."

"Oh." Vala looked down. "I'm sorry…but we really are glad to have you back."

Sam nodded, managing a weak smile. Vala looked back at her and when she returned the grin, Sam could feel a bit of the lead that had settled in her stomach beginning to vanish. "I know. And I really am glad to be back…to be home…"

"Good. If you reallyare back home." Vala got to her feet with a cryptic smile and walking off, leaving Sam wondering what the hell her problem was.