Chapter 03
A year later, George and his family flew to Washington to spend Independence weekend with the Carter family. George packed the binoculars in his bag before leaving.
When the Hammond family showed up at the Carters' house, they all greeted each other and George finally got to meet Mark who was two months old. Once the family was settled in they all went outside for drinks while the kids played.
Early the next morning, George got up and got the wrapped binoculars out and walked out of the guest bedroom and quietly walked down to Sam's room. He opened the door to see her awake. He walked in and closed the door and walked over and sat on the bed
"Uncle George, why are you in my room?"
"To show you this" he unwrap it and passed it to her.
"It's light."
"I know, look into it." Sam looked in to it.
"Pretty lights" then she froze.
George knew what was going to happen so he waited. When Sam lowered the binoculars, her eyes closed and she fell back against her pillow. George wrapped up the binoculars and stood up. Then he pulled the covers up and over Sam before leaving the room.
He return back to his room to put them back in his bag before walking out and down into the kitchen where he made himself a cup of coffee and waited. A few minutes later Sam walked in and sat at the table looking at him.
"Sam, are you OK?"
"Yes, now I know what's going to happen in the future, did you see Daniel and Jack?"
"Yes."
"You know, Uncle George, I dreamed of going to college before joining the Air Force..." then she smiled.
"Now I can do both, plus so much more."
"Sam, I don't want to know."
"I know, but can you do something for me?"
"What is it Sam?"
"I want to meet Jack. Can you let him know?"
"Sure where and when?"
"First of June... 1985 at O'Malley's at 1700 hours... before I start the Academy."
"Sure I'll tell him."
"Thanks. So how are you?" He smiled then told her how things were. They talked until the rest of the family showed up for breakfast.
Over the next fifteen years, there were many changes for Daniel, Sam and Jack. Daniel was able to save his parents' lives. When he knew from the memories about what was going to happen and when, he knew he had a chance to save them.
So the morning that he knew what was going to happen, he walked over to where his parents were. They were work at the museum putting artifacts together.
"Mom, Dad."
"Not now Daniel" his mother said.
He walked over to them and grabbed their hands and pulled them. "Daniel, let go."
"No, remember what I said years ago that you need to listen to me, it's now. Please, trust me"
"Later" his father said.
"No Dad, now, please!" then he started to cry.
"Please trust me before it's too late" his parents looked at each other and they let Daniel pull them away from where they were till he knew it was safe. Then he stopped.
"OK son, what's going with you? You've been acting strange in the past couple of years."
Then they heard a noise and turned around to see the cable on the crane break causing the roof it was holding to collapse onto the columns, which caused them to collapse.
"Oh my god" his mother said in shock.
Then she turned to Daniel "Daniel, you knew what was going to happen."
"Yes... I've been given a second chance to save you both" then he hug them both, which they very affectionately returned.
"Come on lets' go and see how bad the damage is" his father said. Daniel smiled and followed them over to where the workers were.
Daniel felt a weight lifted off his shoulders, now all he had to do was talk to his grandfather when he got back from his trip overseas.
When Sam was twelve years old, she was about to leave home to go to California, where she was to attend the University of California at Berkeley to study theoretical astrophysics. Even though she knew a lot about it, she wanted to do this before joining the Air Force.
She knew her mother was going away the next month, so the day her mother took her to the airport with some of her things since all her others things would already be at the university, she knew she had to do something to save her mother's life.
When it was time for Sam to leave, she gave her mother a hug "I love you Mom."
"I love you too Sam, take care"
"I will... can you do something for me?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Next month, when you go to see Auntie Jane and Uncle Joe, when you come home... whatever happens, wait for Dad, no matter how late he's going to be." Sam mother frowned.
"Sam, what is this all about?"
"Mom please wait for Dad, just please."
"OK, but why?"
"Trust me Mom... whatever you do, please don't get into a taxi!"
"OK, Sam."
"OK, just remember what I said and I love you"
"I love you too Sam" Sam walked towards where her plane waited. She stopped and turned to wave to her Mom before turning around and walking towards the plane.
A few hours later, Sam was in her dorm room getting her things sorted out, knowing that she been given a second chance of going to university.
A month later, when Sam's Mom was returning home she was at the airport waiting for Jacob. She looked at her watch and realized he was over an hour late, so she walked to the taxi stand. Then she stopped when she remembered what Sam said. She shook her head and had started towards the taxi stand when a car pulled up and a man got out.
"Mrs. Carter?" she stopped and turned to the guy.
"Yes."
"I'm here to take you home ma'am."
"I've been waiting for my husband."
"I know ma'am. His meeting is running late." He walked around to the back and opened the trunk then stepped forward and picked up her bags and then put them in the trunk, then closed it. Then he walked to the passenger door and opened it for her. She stepped forward,
"Who are you?"
"Colonel O'Neill ma'am."
"Thank you Colonel." Then she got into the car.
When Jack got in and his seat belt was fastened, he drove away from the airport. He took a different route to her place.
"Why are we going this way?"
"It's quicker ma'am, the other way, well the traffic is slow between the Pentagon and the airport."
"Oh, well thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Aren't you too young to be a colonel?" she asked when she noticed that he was wearing his dress blues.
"Thank you ma'am. It's lieutenant colonel, I was promoted two days ago."
"Ah, how old are you colonel?"
"Twenty eight, ma'am."
"That is young; my husband didn't reach that 'til he was in his forties."
"Really?"
"What do you do in the Air Force Colonel?"
"Black ops, ma'am, classified stuff."
"I know what you mean" then she looked at his medals.
"You sure have a lot of medals, Colonel."
"I know, some I recon I didn't deserve, but the top brass decided I did."
"Why do you say that?"
"All I was doing was my job."
"Well they must think you deserved them."
"I guess so."
Fifteen minutes later, Jack pulled up in the drive way. They both got out and Jack got her bags and they walked to the door way. She unlock it, opened it and walked in. Jack follow her in. He put her bags down next to the staircase.
"Would you like a drink before going colonel?"
"No thank you ma'am, I better get going."
"OK well thank you for being me home."
"You're welcome ma'am." Then he walked out the door, got into his car and drove away.
Hours later Jacob walk in the door "Mel are you home?"
"In the kitchen" he walked into the kitchen and smiled as his pulled his wife of fourteen years in to his arms, where they both hugged and kissed.
"Welcome home Mel"
"It's good to be home, where's Mark?"
"Staying at friend's place tonight" she smiled.
"So we've got the house to ourselves."
"Yep. What happened to you? I went to the airport. Oh sorry, I was late. The meeting took longer than planned and there was a car accident. Some drunk driver ran a red light hitting two cars."
"Oh no. Was any one killed?"
"No, but there were injuries, one in bad condition, he was in a taxi." Mel looked at Jacob in shock.
"Mel what is it?"
"Last month when I took Sam to the airport, she told me to wait for you and for me not to get into a taxi... I was just about to when Colonel O'Neill showed up and brought me home... he took a different route to get home." Jacob frowned.
"Colonel O'Neill. I don't know any Colonel O'Neill."
"Oh well, he seems to know you, he said he was just promoted a couple days ago to lieutenant colonel."
"Really, what else?"
"Jacob you're not jealous!"
"Mel."
"Well, he's twenty eight... that's what he told me. And he's in black ops."
"That doesn't sound right."
"What? His age for lieutenant colonel?"
"Yeah, anything else he said?"
"No, but from the medals he received, it showed Medal of Honor, three Air Force Crosses, Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars, two Defense Superior Service Medals, three legion of merit, two distinguished flying cross, three airmen metal, two bronze stars, eight purple hearts, four air metals there was some other but he received two prisoner of war medals"
"Prisoner... that would have happened during Vietnam."
"Well he did have the Vietnam service medal and...Republic of Vietnam campaign medal."
"What, two medals?" he shook his head.
"Yes. Wait three."
"Three, what was the third one?"
"RVN gallantry cross with palm" Jacob raise his eye brows.
"There is no way that someone could get all three of them."
"Well he did."
"I know of someone who can find out about this Colonel O'Neill."
Then he walked over to the phone and made a call. Mel listened to what Jacob said on the phone. She saw the look on his face before he thanked the guy then hung up.
"Well?" she asked. Jacob shook his head.
"He's real all right. From what Michael just told me, he's a hero."
"I think the medals gave it away."
"Funny. From what Michael told me, he was prisoner twice in Vietnam and both times he managed to escape, taking other prisoners with him, they escaped in a helicopter, he blew up both the prison compounds, he rescued over fifty soldiers in the three years he was there, and it was the second rescue where he was awarded the Medal of Honor."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and promoted to captain in '75, before the end of the war."
"Sounds like he was a hero alright."
"Yeah, he's been black ops ever since he returned. From what Michael could tell me, over eighty percent of his missions are classified."
"Well the Colonel O'Neill I met didn't seem to look and sound like anything like that."
"Cover, that's what black ops do so no one could see the pain that they are going through." Mel shook her head.
"Well, sounds like he's a good man."
"A dangerous man."
"Someone to watch your six." She walked past whacking his backside.
"Very funny, Mel. Just for that" he grinned. She knew that look and ran to the stairs and up them.
"Come here woman" he said as he chased her up stairs and into their bedroom laughing.
That night the phone rang so Mel answered it "Hello?"
"Mom?"
"Sam, how are you?" Sam relaxed.
"I'm good, Mom. How was your trip?"
"It was good, but it's good to be home."
"I bet, so Dad picked you up from the airport?"
"No Colonel O'Neill did." That got Sam's attention.
"Really, what does he look like?" (Well knowing what he looked like.)
"Samantha Carter!"
"Yes, Mom" she giggled. Mel knew she was teasing her.
"Very funny Sam, so how's uni?"
"Boring, no friends, too busy with my head in a book or two" Mel laughed.
"You should make friends and have some fun."
"I know, but I'm doing nine classes, Mom. That keeps me busy, that and tae kwon do and karate lessons are keeping me even busier."
"Sounds like it."
"Well, I am trying to get ahead before joining the Air Force, Mom."
"I know dear, I hope you do get a chance to make some friends."
"I will, I better go. 'Night, Mom."
"'Night Sam" then they both hung up.
Sam was pleased that her Mom was alive and that Jack had taken time off to pick her up. From what her mother said about his rank, it sounded like he was changing his own past.
When Sam graduated from university in the top of her class, her parents and brother were there. They were happy when they heard that she was top student of her class. After wards, she had her photo taken alone and with the family.
When they returned home to D.C., she knew it would be two years before she could enter the Air Force Academy and also to meet Jack. While at home she went to the gym three times a week as well running for two miles every day, knowing that it was part of the fitness test for training at the Academy.
