[Updated 12/09/2017]

FINIS: Conclusion

[Hours later]

Soaring on the wings of time, feels so good, so free. I feel so light.

Wait a minute! Nah can't be. No way!

I'm alive – not dead. Heart's beating slowly, and the ol' limbs, they're unresponsive. Eyes definitely weary – what Jaffa trick did I fall for this time?

Wow! It's really cold. Why is it so cold?

Need to get up. Nope; nada, not gonna happen.

Interesting, I can't hear my own breathing, but I can definitely hear the heart monitor bleating in my ears. Turn that off will ya?

Oops I forget, why am I here again?

"Wakey, wakey Jack 'em bakey." A familiar voice teased.

"Oy!" O'Neill groaned, his face creasing in discomfort. "Ugh, that's the worst wake up call, ever."

"What are talking about? That's the chirpiest one so far."

"Daniel." He managed before sudden pain jolted through his muscles. "Ooh, that hurts like a son of a gun."

"I betcha it does." Daniel declared in a sardonic fashion.

"Not helping the bedridden man here." He replied peeved.

"That's what you get for meddling with the future." Daniel relayed in a playful scolding tone.

"Nothing wrong with helping." His eyes scanned the infirmary room. "Where's Carter and why am I in isolation?"

"Sam's running the show while you're in recovery."

"Recovering from what precisely?"

"What do you remember?"

He thought a while before responding assertively. "Uh, a strange woman appearing in the Gate Room claiming to be from an alternate universe, when she was really from the future, torture, reactive codes, and then Darth Vader happened."

"Wow, Sam's theory was dead on."

"Daniel." He interrupted exasperated. "If I didn't hurt so much, I would slap you. Start making sense."

The archaeologist rolled his eyes at the command, and then answered, "Your DNA showed no signs of tampering, so Sam surmised it was a ruse, and that the microchip's initial purpose was to release a temporary A.I. into your bloodstream and when Telum scanned you . . ."

"It reacted both ways then." He said now convinced that he was on the same page as his friend. "Did I faint or something? Is this the reason why I am locked up in Isolation?"

"The A.I. took control of you Jack, and attacked Malum, so that Telum's A.I. could finish with its download, which apparently was a suit of armour. Very cool by the way." Fascination shone in Daniel's eyes as he continued. "They disappeared – probably back to the future. You are here because the A.I.'s still working its way through your system. Dr Lam believes it will be gone by the end of the day."

"Really?" His eyebrow raised in question, mind comprehending the information relayed, and then suddenly declared, "That's just so wrong on so many levels."

"It's brilliant actually." Daniel exclaimed excited.

He rolled his eyes in retort. "This coming from the man who objected to my hospitality."

Daniel ignored him, continuing with his previous statement, eyes sparkling.

"Grandeur created the perfect weapon, but knew its existence placed his life and that of his family in danger, so he had to hide it. Ostensibly, the enemy was intelligent, knew of its existence, forcing him to turn to the past, where he knew the enemy would not care to inspect. He came back to a time and place where we had just defeated Anubis, the nations were fighting over Antarctica – basically everyone's attentions were scattered except for yours of course."

"Yeah, I was pretty attentive." He replied somewhat distracted, mind mulling over Daniel's hypotheses, when suddenly, Grandeur's secret visit made sense, for he had no idea what the man looked like. They only had Telum's word, and the microchip as proof.

"You have a point?"

"Grandeur chose you because he was counting on your natural gift of assistance. And with earth in danger, knew you would listen to his daughter's reasoning."

"A big gamble." He affirmed.

"Correct, means Grandeur had the specifics . . ."

"I was just thinking that." He said surprised.

"Of course you were."

"Don't be snippy with me Danny boy."

He smirked at his friend's annoyed expression, then tried to adjust himself on the bed, and once satisfied, said. "Okay, let's say this is what Grandeur had in mind, he had gone through a lot of trouble to save his future."

"Yes, even going as far as to use you as a vessel."

"Means Stargate Command messed up somewhere."

"He picked you for a reason." Daniel said thoughtfully.

"Don't remind me. Still feeling the aftereffects of my decision."

"Anyways." Daniel said dismissively. "The chip's gone, so is the peculiar substance and earth is saved yet again." He declared cheery.

Jack eyed him, expression turning studiously. "Ever thought why the weird emergencies always happen when I'm at the S.G.C.?"

A devious smile curled Daniel's lips. "Now that you mention it . . ."

"It was a rhetorical question." Jack relaxed, eyes closed as a comfortable smile graced his facial features. "Now if you don't mind getting me Sam, all this saving the world nonsense has me reminiscing the natural beauty and lakes of Minnesota."

"Ouch! That's a brush off as any." Daniel retorted mockingly. "You're welcome by the way." He added for good measure.

"While you're at it, bring me a piece of paper will ya!" He shouted after the archaeologist, and smiled like a Chessire cat as the door closed behind his retreating footsteps.

You did good O'Neill, saved the world to live another day. Now for a quick nap before my wife gets here.

Then . . . write my will.


[Minnesota]

O'Neill positioned a deck chair on the edge of his dock, and stretched the kinks in his back before taking a seat. A satisfied sigh echoed as he soaked in the silence.

The sun was on the verge of disappearing, colouring the horizon and its clouds with a beautiful shade of pink, crimson, and vibrant auburn colours. It was truly a remarkable display mirrored flawlessly on the water before him. His eyes combed the lake bit by bit; ears attuned to the chirping birds hidden within the trees that skirted its banks, and listened to those nesting amongst the reeds that swayed gently with the soft breeze.

After what had happened at the S.G.C, a holiday at the cabin served as a promising distraction. Yet somehow, in the recesses of his mind, he knew the events would not fade away.

The Seeker had left unannounced, leaving behind a string of assumptions. And he hated not knowing the real motive behind the infiltration, loathed to have only part of the puzzle, especially if it had to do with the future, and detested being lied to, manipulated for selfish reasons. Frankly, it had been a cruel joke, and as he recalled, laughter was not a part of the debriefing that day.

His frame suddenly illuminated on the pond, and triggered a wry smile on his lips.

"I hope there's fishing in the future." He said coolly, gaze focussed on the water. "Can't imagine one without it."

"Yes, fishing's still very much alive."

Telum stood a few feet away, gazing at the beautiful sunset, engrossed with its peacefulness. She had really missed this scenery.

"Where's your wife?" She asked

"Sam's inside. She's burning to see you, but thought the conversation would be too lopsided, considering that she wouldn't stop asking questions she knew you couldn't answer. This is her attempt at pulling in the reins; nevertheless, she wants to see you before you go."

"I see and you are different?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"Since we had our brief encounter, I do not think I have the liberty to say what is on your mind."

He snorted. "Like that's ever stopped you."

Annoyance fleetingly crossed her expression, and then calmed down.

"I am here at your invitation, at your cabin, which is one of your most prized possessions. That in itself speaks volumes."

His gaze lifted to the sky. He asked, "What's the first?" Then, vacated the chair and turned towards the Seeker.

"Samantha of course." She said without blinking,

Jack strolled forwards, lips quirking knowingly. "You're lying." Then halted when he was within her personal space.

"It was a mere assumption." She countered, feeling uncomfortable with his close proximity.

He shook his head. "You're lying . . . again, just like you did in the elevator. I hate it when I'm lied to, especially if the other person knows I hate it too."

"Understand . . ."

His raised hand forestalled her. Telum's muscles tensed, eliciting a satisfied smile on his countenance.

"You don't have to explain it to me. I know the laws of time travelling: the less the present timeline knows, the better, but really, did you think we're that stupid?"

"I never implied that you were. My actions were always in your best interest."

"You meant to protect me, I get it. That much is obvious. But, I still get the feeling that you're hiding something from me. Something important and right now you're considering the easy route out."

His smile grew as he observed the sudden change in posture, how her eyes sought to avoid his scrutiny and how her jaw clenched, but she remained steadfast in her demeanour.

"You have the same mischievous look about you. You know, when you're about to pull the wool over someone's eyes. Sam has seen this particular expression in my eyes, specifically in our SG1 days. Apparently, it runs in the family."

Surprise registered in Telum's eyes. She quickly blinked it away.

Gotcha! Jack thought. A wryness graced his countenance.

"Sucha shame I never met your dad. Being stuck in stasis kinda prevented me from introducing myself, but I guess that's why he chose that particular time. I was in no condition to identify him. I only had his word."

He paused briefly studying the Seeker standing before him.

She was stubborn, irreverent at times, yet concealed it behind humour. Avoided certain confrontations like suricates predators, but still attained her gregarious personality.

He backed away slightly as he admired her silence. The longer she remained so, the closer he got to the truth, seeing that it would not come from the horse's mouth unless guided to do so.

"It was Daniel actually, that brought it to my attention. I thought your dad had guts doing what he did. Then Danny boy said something interesting – 'Grandeur must have had the specifics'. That narrowed it down a bit: it meant he had access to the S.G.C. and Homeworld's classified files, and could only have had sucha privilege if he were a part of Stargate Operations. Or, if he knew the leader personally. A third possibility would be that Grandeur hacked our servers . . . if you still call it that in the future. A fourth would be that the Stargate was public knowledge. Four possible scenarios narrowed down by one mistake: he had used his voice, and boy did it sound familiar."

Her eyes relayed what he needed to know, nevertheless to hear her confession verbally would confirm his theories, if only to settle his heart.

"Everything's out in the open now Telum, a conclusion I came by on my own. Please, just put me out of my misery. Doesn't my help count for anything?" His brown eyes pleaded for the Seeker's surrender.

Her rigid posture relaxed and she sighed in defeat.

"If it weren't for your assistance we wouldn't have defeated Malum. So yes, I suppose it does give you a certain liberty."

"Excellent!" He exclaimed rubbing his hands in glee. "Let's start with your names shall we?"

She nodded in lieu of a verbal reply.

"My real name is Charlotte. After I enlisted, and joined the Special Forces division, the military changed it to Telum."

His smile grew a notch, but faded once her expression turned sorrowful.

"My father, Jonathan, said that my grandfather called me Charlie when I was born."

He felt the ground shift underneath him, his mind barely registering her next words.

"A few months after my birth, he died protecting my mother in an air raid – sadly, my father had lost them both leaving him with an infant daughter and a wailing mother. From that day forward, the enemy's attacks became more frequent, destroying key cities and regimes, until Homeworld Security was the only organization left standing. With the help of our off-world allies, Stargate Command remained the only viable opposition against Malum's forces, nevertheless, he became the sole ruler of earth, and the S.G.C. was forced into hiding."

Charlotte stopped as she observed his countenance, it was as if his world had disappeared from underneath him, and she knew the reason why. Charlie had been the name of his son who had died at a young age. She had also known of his deep sorrow and depression that followed this sad event. She could likewise identify with the pain currently rippling through his emotions.

She desired to embrace him, but his posture suddenly changed, and his impassive gaze locked with hers. A shiver ran down her spine as she sensed the anger surging within him.

"I am truly sorry." She quickly apologized fearing the possible consequence of his demeanour. "I did not know the extent of my father's plan until you stepped into the elevator. Even then, I was at a loss. It's only during our conversation that I had realized he had selected his own father as flag bearer."

He stayed silent, further fuelling his granddaughter's remorse.

"I knew there was a fifty percent probability of seeing you when I appeared in the Gate Room, but your son assured that my grandmother would be there instead. Which was a joy to hear, she was the one who had raised me. However, you, you were the sacred one. The person everyone admired and spoke of – I wanted to be you. The thought of meeting you, filled me with dread, so much so, that we postponed our initial mission by three weeks. A foolish mistake; inadvertently my delay had caused my father's death. Driven by hatred, I came here with my intentions set on seeking out the weapon by any means necessary, following the instructions to the last letter."

Tears streamed down her cheeks as guilt clawed at her and she felt the need to keep explaining, hoping her grandfather could forgive her actions.

"As much as it pained me, I had to deceive you, had to torture you, because you held the key to defeating the monster who had taken my family away from me. Now that I have done so successfully, I have the responsibility of depleting his forces, but my parents won't be there to support me."

It felt as if everything around her had entered into a slow state. Her expression begged for Jack's forgiveness, hoping he would see some sense in the ploy, whilst wishing it had not involved the deception and pain she had caused during her brief visit.

Across from her, her grandfather was sorting through the mess of emotions and thoughts her information had relayed. What would he do? What could he do? It had happened, and from experience, he knew dwelling on the past only caused more grief, some of which was unnecessary.

"C'mere." He whispered in adoration.

Those words Charlotte had desired to hear for such a long time shattered her fortitude, bringing with it a dam of tears. He stepped forward enveloping his granddaughter in a bear hug.

She held on for dear life as the warmth of his embrace melted away her military demeanour, which had driven her to succeed regardless of the loss she had endured. Yet now, with all said and done, there was nothing left to keep her distracted from the tragedy she was still to face.

"It's okay baby girl." He lulled. "Everything's gonna be just fine, I promise."

"I'm so sorry." She managed between sobs.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. You did everything in your power to save our family, and for that, I can't help but love you all the more." He paused briefly, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Strange as it sounds, I would've done the same thing. Not so dramatic, but close to it."

"I . . ."

"Let's not dwell . . . Charlie."

Tears welled in his eyes, and then laughter filled his chest.. Charlotte leaned back in the embrace, confusion written on her face.

"It's been years since I said his name out loud, yet this time it brings joy and not grief. You being here . . . shows me that there is hope in my future, and I will do anything, anything to make sure my family survives it."

Charlie smiled brightly, revelling in her grandfather's words. With a broad smile of his own, he pulled her closer and she melted into his side as if she belonged here with them in this present time.

His role of protector suddenly kicked in, and he declared with reassurance lacing his tone. "When the future comes, I want to hold my baby girl in my arms without wondering if a monster's going to snatch her away from me."

As he sensed her relax in his arms, he moved into a side stance, and with one arm around her shoulders guided her towards the cabin. "Come." He said, eyes sparkling with sarcasm. "Let's go tell Sam she's a grandma."

She chuckled under breath before replying. "Boy, is she in for a surprise!"

"Yea sure ya betcha!" He exclaimed excitedly.