A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed Chapter 1. The following is the same story, but from alternate Jack's perspective. I'll be honest, I have no idea what kind of toys are new and appeal to young boys, so I'm not sure if there's some inaccuracy there. Other than that, this was a fun and interesting story to write. (Sad, I know, but an interesting character study all the same.)

I hope that you enjoy it as well. As always, feedback is appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the following story. The story also contains lines from Stargate: Continuum.


Jack O'Neill peered into the toy store window, looking to see if the crowd was too large for him to find what he was looking for in a reasonable amount of time. He knew that Jake wanted the new X-box, and Jack had vowed to himself that he would do everything possible to make this Christmas the best that Jake had ever had. It had been too long since Jack had been able to spend Christmas with his son.

Eleven years ago, your son shot himself… As much as he tried not to think about it, those words reverberated in his head. He found that he was constantly telling himself, Jake's fine. He couldn't imagine why that Jackson guy had said anything so insensitive. Well… Jack thought. Unless they really are from- But Jack didn't know if he could believe that it was true, even with everything that he had seen.

The store was full of people, but he could see the X-Box boxes stacked in a corner behind a counter. The salesman was already looking harried, but Jack decided that it would be better to get the gift now, so that he would not have to fight for it later.

Just as he was about to take a step towards the door, he caught the glimpse of a familiar blonde head in the store window. He turned and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Sam Carter, just as it had the first time.

She had just turned away from a store window, and she looked like she had been crying. But he knew that she saw him too.

Jack knew that going over to her would be a bad idea. He did not need the pain. But, as always, something drew him to Samantha Carter. It had when he first met his Sam. And when this other Carter had shown up, he had known, though he didn't necessarily believe, that it was her, even though all he had seen were her eyes.

Jack walked over to Sam. She looked the same, despite the glasses, as the woman who he had lost four years earlier. But she was not the same. Her face was more battle-hardened and her blue eyes had less light in them than his Sam. Jack could see that she was not happy here.

"Hi," he said as he neared her.

"Hi," she responded, though she avoided looking directly at him.

Sam looked as if she was about to cry again, and Jack had no idea how to respond.

Finally, she looked back at him and asked him what he was doing there. Jack was taken aback. She sounded as if she thought that she belonged there. "I could ask you the same think," he retorted.

She explained that she lived in the area. He answered that he was looking for a present for his son.

Against his better judgment, he knew that he wanted to talk to her. He didn't admit to himself that it was because he was curious and because he missed his Sam.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," Sam said.

Jack dismissed this. The Air Force could hardly expect two people who had met before to not talk if they bumped into each other. At least, that was what he would say if asked. He led the way to a coffee house close by.

"What do you want to talk about?" Sam asked after they had found a table in the far corner of the place.

She did not seem comfortable with this at all. "How are you?" he asked.

"Fine. Holding up, I guess."

He flinched when she accused him of not caring before. He had tried not to, when his world was being shaken by their arrival. But he was trying to be fair now.

"I had some time to think. This can't be easy for you," he said.

"And being able to do nothing. It's been tough. I'm not the type of person to sit around the house."

Jack remembered well. Sam was always doing something, whether it was working on an upcoming shuttle mission or playing with Jake.

As the awkward silence descended upon the table, Jack considered the woman sitting across from him. It was true that he was hurting, seeing her, but she had lost everything and everyone that she had ever known. And, from what he had been told, she had been forbidden from working on anything in her own fields of expertise. She had to be feeling truly alone.

She brought him out of his thoughts when she asked about his son. Eleven years ago… he heard Jackson in his head.

Would it be wise to tell her? What would she think? He had no idea what kind of relationship she had with the Jack that she had known. But he could not think of what else to say. He shook his head. "He's nine."

"Oh."

Jack's suspicions were confirmed. She had no idea that they had been married. He hesitated before telling her.

"Married?" she asked.

Jack nodded. He could see her making the connection.

"So your son is…"

"Her son too. He was five when she died." He remembered all too well sitting on the couch with Jake as they watched the failed mission. He sincerely hoped that it was something that Jake would never remember.

"I'm so sorry. This must be hard for you. I'll go."

Jack saw the pain in her eyes. He had to know. "No, stay," he said.

Sam sat back down. Jack opened his wallet to the picture of his Sam holding the newborn Jake. He showed it to her as he explained how they had met.

"What's his name?" Sam asked.

"Jacob."

After Sam's dad. He had died a year before Jake had been born, content to see his daughter join NASA. His Sam had said that she felt that going on the Intrepid mission was a way to honor her father's memory.

"Who takes care of him when you're away?" Sam asked.

"Sam's brother Mark," Jack replied as he took the wallet back. He looked down at his smiling wife. "She didn't want to go." He looked up and saw Sam's questioning expression. "On the mission. She didn't want to leave Jake. But…"

"You told her to go," Sam finished.

Jack looked up at her. She knew him, just as his wife had. "Yeah. She would still be here-"

Sam interrupted him. "You can't blame yourself. Whatever she said, it was her dream. She let you talk her into it."

Jack blinked. All he could think was that he had taken Sam away from his family. From their son… He looked down at the picture. "Nothing was supposed to go wrong," he said, more to himself than to Sam. He looked back at her. "She was always the one who knew what to do. At NASA… with Jake…"

"I'm sure you're a good father."

Jack raised an eyebrow at her.

"In my timeline, you had a son too. He loved you."

This was it. This is what Jack had been wondering about the most. "The one who died?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "It was an accident."

Jack could not fathom what it would be like to lose a child. He did not want to.

"He's been through a lot, the you in my timeline," Sam said.

"Doesn't sound like it was much of a life," Jack said, as he considered the pain that her Jack had to have gone through.

"He had a heard time dealing with it. But he's come to terms with it."

Jack nodded, though he was only partially attending. It was hitting him that she really had experienced a different lifetime.

"In my timeline, you were my commanding officer for eight years. We got together after we were out of the same chain of command. But we were happy."

She had answered his second question. They had been together in her timeline. "Can't you see that I can't think about that?" Jack asked loudly. When he noticed heads turning in their direction, he continued softly. Restoring her timeline would not solve anything for him. He had Jake to think about. Jake was the most important thing in his life, and he would do nothing to risk losing his son.

"I understand, believe me," Sam said. It was the first time that she made direct eye contact with him. He stared into the blue eyes that were not his wife's. "I get that it's not fair of us to ask. But you have to understand something too." She explained about the Goa'uld in her timeline. "So I can't sit back and do nothing."

"What choice do you have?" Jack could not see what she and the two others could do under the circumstances.

"Right now, I can make sure that I don't forget where I came from and what we've done. And I will make sure that my husband didn't die in vain."

Jack was taken aback. It had not really occurred to him that her husband had died before they had come. Still, he couldn't do anything to help her.

"I understand. And I'm sure that, deep down, you understand where I'm coming from."

Jack shrugged. "I don't even know if I believe in this whole alternate timeline thing."

"You do. Because you know that I'm not her." She stood. Jack was shocked at how well she knew him. Apparently, he was not so different from her own Jack. "It was nice seeing you again. Take care. And take care of him," she said, pointing to the picture of Jake.

She left. Jack watched her walk away. Regardless of what he hoped, he had the feeling that she would find a way to restore her timeline, and he wished her happiness if and when she did. But for now, he was determined to spend as much time with his son as possible.