Where Did I Go Wrong, I Lost A Friend

Eighteen Years After Sam's Death:

Jack sat on the bench, the bright sun doing little to warm him. He loved this time of day. The only time that he could be truly alone, whilst every other person in America worshipped the Ori. In another couple of hours, everyone on earth would have completed their worship for the day, strengthening the Ori, and adding to their power. They weren't gods, Jack still firmly believed this, but… hell, they had everyone else fooled.

Jack closed his eyes, leant back and thought about this day. Twenty years ago. When he first saw that fatal wound to Samantha Carter's head. And, not surprisingly, it had all gone pear shaped from there. He had receded into his own world again, just as he had when Charlie died. But unlike then, he hadn't pushed his friends away when they tried to help him. He'd just started thinking that it might just turn out all right… when he had received that dreaded telephone call. To tell him that the whole of SG1 had been killed in the line of duty. Three days later, the Ori had successfully established a beachhead in the Milky Way. Four days after that, they had conquered Earth. And pretty much the entire Universe had gone pear shaped.

The armies of the Ori had destroyed almost everything that the human race had been proud of. Technology, religion, basic human rights… the right for Jack to ignore everything they said… They had regressed the human race on Earth to about… the Dark Ages. Jack grimaced. Then they had taken everything else of use and had pretty much left them to get on with it.

And there he was. Sitting on a park bench (the only one left in DC), reminiscing about his past. And how he wished he could change it…

Then he noticed the one other figure in the park. Dressed in a long dark robe… crap, a prior. Jack got up as fast as he could without hurting… oh, his entire body… and made for his… "house". If you could call it that.

The figure turned to look at him. He took his hood off and flicked his dark hair out of his green eyes. He was no prior.

Jack grunted at the sound of a knock at the door. He checked his clock. Odd, everyone should still be worshipping… unless it was that prior. Oops. He hurried to the door… as fast as his back would let him. He opened the door.

"What do you want?"

Jack blinked in surprise. It wasn't a prior… it was a youth of about 18 years… with dark hair and blonde flecks… and he had just stolen his line.

"Er, role reversal kid, I ask you that."

The youth grinned a slow, lazy grin. He flicked his fringe out of his eyes and answered. "I'm asking you."

Jack paused for a second, taken aback. Most people did not argue with surly Jack O'Neill. Especially on the anniversary of one of the worst days of his life. He opened his mouth but the boy interrupted before he could say anything.

"Would it be, perhaps, to see Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson or Teal'c one more time? Or maybe to see these Ori get their asses ki…"

Jack pulled the kid inside and slammed the door. He looked mildly surprised for a second and then straightened his shirt. He stood, looking at Jack, one eyebrow raised, a slight smile on his face, waiting for him to decide what to do.

Jack frowned and muttered, "crap" to himself, running his hands through his hair. What was left of it.

"Ok, how the hell do you know about them?"

"The Ori? They invaded your planet, I'm pretty sure most people have heard of them."

He grinned that infuriating grin again, and Jack found himself struggling not to strangle the kid. Then, without being asked, the boy, answered seriously.

"I know them. In the personal sense."

Jack opened his mouth.

"Ach!"

Jack shut it again. Then he frowned. He was pretty sure he used to say that, before… everything.

"And no, I'm not a medium."

"Oh thank God," Jack managed to get out before the kid could stop him.

"I'm from an alternate reality. And, in this reality, they're alive and you're… not."

Jack wasn't dumb. Well, ok he was if compared to Carter, but hell, who wasn't? And he had been kinda… dumbing himself down for… well if he was honest, most of his life. But… he wasn't quite sure whether to believe the kid or not.

"How did you get here?"

"Quantum mirror."

"The futzing thing?"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry, I know what you mean. I thought we destroyed ours?"

"There are others. And, no, I'm not here to take you back with me."

"I didn't ask that question."

"I thought I'd speed things up a bit."

"Oh. Well, in that case, please continue."

"Your reality isn't supposed to exist."

At the look on Jack's face, he grinned but didn't stop.

"And, before you say anything, neither is mine. Mine is probably more right but… both of our realities were created when Samantha Carter died in your universe."

"I'm going to pretend I followed that."

"Ok then. Unfortunately, that wasn't supposed to happen, and now, time, space and all that crap is tearing apart."

"It wasn't supposed to happen?"

"No. Someone went back in time from one of our universes, and killed her, therefore creating these universes."

There was a silence.

"I don't get it."

"Neither do I, but that was what mom said to say."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Anyway. That's why our universes aren't supposed to exist. And here's the problem… space, time and all that crap are tearing apart."

"I got that."

"Right. Unfortunately, this means death for all of us. So, as usual, someone needs to go on an almost suicidal mission to stop it."

He paused and stared at Jack. Jack winced.

"I suppose I can't say that I'm retired?"

"Nope."

"Oh for crying out loud. Ok. Now, you answer questions."

"Fine."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm from an alternate universe. My mom is Samantha Carter."

Jack stared at him. He should have guessed. There was something about his smile, the glint in his eyes… his green eyes…

"Carter had blue eyes."

"Her mom didn't."

Jack frowned. He'd hated genetics at high school.

"Ok. What's your name?"

"JJ."

"JJ?"

"Jonathan Jacob. And, if you care about your health, I wouldn't ever call me that."

"Ok. Jonathan Jacob… what?"

JJ glared at him. Then he grinned. He'd known there was a reason why his mom had liked this man.

"JJ Jackson."

Jack coughed slightly.

"JACKSON?"

JJ grinned. "No."

Jack panted slightly. "What?"

"My surname isn't Jackson. But I did warn you about the Jonathon Jacob thing. Your health… you looked like you were about to have a heart attack!"

Jack glared at him, stony eyed. If looks could kill, young JJ, if looks could kill…

"Yeah well, come on. Daniel and Carter… they were like brother and sister! That was just wrong… ew. So… what is your last name?"

The boy looked uncomfortable for a second before he answered, "Shanahan. Now, about this plan…"

Jack stared at him.

JJ looked at him. "What?"

Jack snapped out of it. Ok, so in the "right" universe, he was dead and Carter had a son called JJ Shanahan. Beautiful.

"Nothing. What is this plan?"

JJ grinned that slow grin. "You're not gonna like me."

Jack grinned the same grin back at him, as he remembered what he had said to his mother, almost 30 years ago. "Oh, I adore you already, JJ."

Jack sat back on his couch, momentarily thrown by what JJ had just asked him to do. He ran his eyes over his wooden house. A bed, a couch, a stove… so it wasn't the Ritz… but hell, it was the only place in the whole Universe where he knew he was … slightly safe. Jack had never been a "stay-at-home-and-do-the-dishes" type of person, but… could he really leave it behind for something so… risky?

Yes, he thought to himself. That was a definite yes. JJ was looking at him, concerned. Hoping the old guy hadn't chickened, perhaps?

"You don't like me do you?"

"Au contraire, young JJ, I adore you, remember?"

JJ grinned as Jack continued.

"So, let's go over this again shall we?"

"Ok. Step one in 'How to Save the Universe'. We access a Stargate.

"Good luck."

"Shut up."

JJ grinned at Jack, to let him know that he was joking. Jack glared back, mock annoyed. Hey, he was Carter's son, even if he also belonged to that… idiot.

"Step two. We use the powerful Ancient device that SG11 found on P4A-253 to send just your conscious… and possibly subconscious mind back to any point in your life, before Sam Carter died."

"Woah, woah. Any point in my life?"

"Yup. You could go back to being a baby… or maybe you could go back to the earliest stage when you actually had a brain…"

Jack did not like the sound of that. Any point… he could go back to Charlie… or to Daniel dying… or to his parents dying. He looked up to see steady green eyes staring into his.

"Can you do that?" JJ asked him.

Jack dithered for a second.

"For Sam."

Jack looked up again. But this time he didn't see JJ's green eyes. He saw Carter's blue ones.

"Yeah. For Carter. And how the hell did you make your eyes blue?"

"I… didn't." JJ answered, clearly disturbed.

"Ah."

"O…k. Step three. You live your life from that point, doing your best not to change history. Until, of course, you get to the day when my mom should have… died. In the meantime, we will try to find out who went back in time to kill her, from here. Well possibly not here…"

JJ looked around Jack's musty house. Jack frowned at him, and asked,

"We?"

"Come again?"

"You said 'we will try to find out who killed her…' Who's 'we'?"

"Oh. Daniel Jackson and me."

"Daniel?"

"Yeah. Well. You won't see him. We didn't think it would be good if you should see any of them because… if you know what will happen in the future then… it might affect you in the past."

"And knowing that you're Carter's son isn't going to affect me?"

"Yeah… I … erm… wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Oh…. Ok. What's step four?"

"Yeah, step four. If we find that son of a bitch, we kill him or imprison him or something so that he can't go back in time to kill her and if we don't… you kill him when he comes through the Stargate. And that is the one and only time that mom said you can change the past."

Jack nodded. JJ looked at him intently, the way Carter used to, as if she was trying to work him out. Jack suddenly thought of something.

"Are you like Carter, JJ?"

"Erm… I'm a dude?"

"Apart from that?"

"I guess. Daniel always said that I got half of my smartness from mom and half from my dad."

"I… see."

"Yeah, but apart from that, Teal'c said that I'm … intense, I think is the word he used. Apparently, once I've got my mind fixed on something, I don't actually notice anything else."

Jack smiled softly to himself. He muttered, "Oh yeah, that was Carter alright."

"Anyway, nice stalling tactics."

"What?"

"Are you gonna answer the question?"

"There was a question?"

"Mission? Yes, no, come back next week?"

Jack looked at him like he was mad.

"JJ, for the safety of the universe… I'll say yeah, go for it."

JJ grinned. "Awesome."

Thanks for reading that! I had fun writing it, even if there was… no plot. So, thankyou to my AWESOME beta, Sarah (Samandjackshipper) and please read and review, because I don't write these stories for me… (well, ok, I do write them for me), but I also write them for you! (and I'm the review monster… can't get enough of 'em!) thanks for reading again! x x x