Jack J. had to admit he really liked the peaceful atmosphere on Orilla. But after 8 days stuck in a lab with Asgards taking both his and Jack's blood, putting them both into various machines, and running simulations with an oblivious Sam, he was going nuts.
Today, Thor had finally allowed him to rest a little and he had chosen to go hiking. He had slipped into his BDU and military boots with indescribable pleasure and gone outside the city into the forest. He had found a nice spot overlooking the Asgard city complex and had stopped to enjoy the scenery for a while.
Humans should really take Asgard advice when it came to preserving the environment, he mused. They were probably the most technologically advanced race in the entire galaxy and yet, no pollution could be detected around the city. Vegetation was luxuriant and judging by the many sounds he could hear in the forest, animal life was abundant too. He could live here… Except that there was no lake or trace of running water. The latter brought a frown to his lips.
"Water runs deep underground," Jack interrupted his thoughts before sitting next to him on the ground, matching his cross legged pose. "Ouch!" he grumbled, quickly extending his legs. "Guess you must appreciate not feeling that pain, huh?" he mumbled, smiling briefly.
"Yeah well… There's that…" Jack J. retorted while continuing his quiet observation of the Asgard world. "You say there's water underground?" he asked after a moment.
"Yeah, they have no rivers nor lakes or oceans here… Water is underground. They have vast amounts of fresh water in huge caves resulting from ancient subterranean glaciers. That's why the vegetation is so important."
"And how do the animals drink?" Jack J. asked, watching the other man with curiosity.
"Ah that I don't know… I only know about the water because I once asked Thor about fishing…" Jack smiled.
"And here I thought this was Paradise!" Jack J. snorted.
"Look I…" Jack started.
"It's okay, Jack, you don't need to explain."
"I wasn't gonna…" Jack dismissed. "I just…" he sighed. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"
"It's not easy, Jack…" Jack J. replied, playing with small rocks between his feet. "You of all people should know that. And now that I know about you and Sam…"
"We're getting married, and I'd like you to attend," Jack blurted out clumsily.
Jack J. looked at him in surprise. "Talk about twisting the knife in the open wound!"
"I know Sam would want you there," Jack said softly, looking at the scenery before him.
"I don't know…" Jack J. said after a moment. "It would be too painful…"
Jack rose on his feet. "Well, promise you'll think about it, okay?"
"Why did you allow me to live?" Jack J. asked softly.
Jack sighed. "If I remember correctly, you were far from opposed to the idea…"
"That's because I hadn't foreseen all the consequences…"
"So you want to bite the bullet because Sam and I are together?" Jack said irritated.
"I'm not suicidal, Jack! I just want to know the reason you asked Thor to modify my DNA so I could live… I'm not so sure I'd have and I was you… Or you were me… Well… you get what I mean…"
Jack sat back down and looked ahead of him. "Do you think it's easy for me?" he asked softly. "Sometimes I'm feeling horribly guilty for putting you through that bullshit but I've done despicable things in my life and for once I wanted to do something good, except it seems to be biting me in the ass every time I get the reports on how you're doing."
"Oh?"
Jack looked at the younger man. "I'm proud of you, Jack. I'm proud that you've chosen to go through the academy again, I'm thrilled at the prospect of your career path, you'll make full bird at 30, maybe even sooner, and you'll have years ahead of you for field action with a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge… That's what I miss the most, action. My knees are shot, I'm an old warhorse, but I knew field operations were done for me when I accepted my first star. Once again I did it for the greater good, because I couldn't stand the thought of not being there for them…. For her… Even if she was engaged to that cop…"
"Pete?" Jack J. asked.
"Yeah… I loved her enough to let her go, but it hurt like Hell. So I know the feeling." he added in a softer voice, his look becoming distant. "I still asked because somehow this time, she's not with a stranger…"
Jack J. snorted. "No, she's not… But it hurts like Hell…" He threw a stone ahead of him. "I'll be there," he finally said, looking at Jack.
"Thanks…" the other man said, starting down the path he had come up. After a few steps, he stopped and turned back to the still immobile young man. "By the way, Sam's in the lab until late tonight, she had something important to ask Thor. The weapon is ready and currently being adapted to ships. If you wanna know, it'll spread a cloud of retrovirus which will attack the cells of the people un-harmfully and deliver the correct genetic sequence. They'll pray but the battery will be depleted… The Ori are in for a severe power complex."
"Okay…" Jack J. nodded looking at him before turning back to his observation of the lush forest in the valley.
Jack stared at him a moment, a soft knowing smile briefly softening his features, then went down the trail.
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The three stepped down the ramp at the SGC to meet a forlorn Hank Landry. Jack looked at him inquiringly and the other man shook his head with a worried look.
"Carolyn wants you to be checked out before debriefing, suffice to say you won't be happy, Jack…" Landry said quietly.
Jack frowned. "Well you tell that CMO of yours that after an extended stay at an Asgard facility, we're perfectly well, even better than when we left here, we don't need medical check-up."
"General?" Hank raised an eyebrow warningly.
"What happened?"
Hank sighed and motioned for them to go to the briefing room as they gave whatever equipment they carried to the SFs. "I'll tell Carolyn you'll go to the Infirmary after the debriefing…"
They joined SG-1 minus Daniel and plus Malek around the table. Cameron looked at Jack worriedly.
"What's going on?" Jack asked.
"Jackson has been taken by Adria…" he started "but the worst is: he has Merlin's unfinished weapon with him…"
Jack sat down heavily "Crap!"
Jack J. and Sam exchanged worried looks and a heavy silence fell upon the room.
After a while, Sam cleared her throat. "At least we have the Asgard weapon available…" she said. "Cameron," she asked her teammate, "Was he injured?"
"No, just very weak after protecting us. We met Merlin but I guess an indefinite time in a stasis pod doesn't leave you unscathed. He sensed he was not strong enough to finish building his weapon, so he transferred his powers to Jackson and died in the process. After that, Jackson started working on building the weapon, but Adria caught up with us…"
"She was on the planet where we discovered the Sangraal," Malek supplied. "She tricked us into leading her to the cave where we had several trials to accomplish, the last one being confronting a real dragon."
Both Jack's and Jack J.'s eyebrows shot up.
"The protector…" Malek supplied.
"Ah…" Jack made a face halfway between a wince and a smile. "And?"
"I knew the name of its creator… Morgan La fey, according to Baal's knowledge… Except it was not really the name. Daniel Jackson called it in Ancient and the dragon disappeared. Then we went back to the first cave and were transported to another room where we found Merlin in a stasis pod, as Colonel Mitchell stated. Adria was left in the cave, but it did not prevent her from trying to find us, so every time she was on the verge of finding us, Merlin would transport us to another location. Only the last time she succeeded before we had time to lose her, and Daniel Jackson was caught."
Once again silence descended upon the room. Jack J. broke it.
"I don't know much about this Ori business since I was kept outta the loop for a long time… But I think we should try and use Thor's weapon while searching for Daniel. This will give us some insight about the efficiency of the weapon …"
Landry approved silently and looked at the men and women seated around the table suggestively.
"I think it's the least we can do while waiting, Sirs," Cameron finally admitted.
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Jack J. was getting dressed in the VIP quarters he had been given indefinitely. He was stuck on base with nothing to do but go to the recreation room several levels up and play flipper or rip off the unknowing guys who engaged him in a game of poker. In short, he was bored to death. He smoothed the jacket of his BDU on his sides and checked his image on the mirror. It still felt good to see himself dressed in BDUs again. He heard a soft knock and turned to see Jack enter the room.
"Hey!" the General said softly.
"Hey," Jack J. answered with a smile.
"I came to give you the all clear…"
"Oh?" Jack J. frowned.
Jack winced, knowing full well what the other's reaction would be at his next words. "Look… for your own security it's been decided that you resume your vacation at the cabin."
"What?! So they can use me, mess with my DNA, create a super weapon, and then dispose of me like trash?!"
"Jack…"
"What?! You're gonna give me a lecture?!" Jack J. snarled, his anger rising more by the minute.
Jack sighed wearily. "No… If you must know, I was against that decision. The joint chiefs and the President think it's best this way."
Jack J. slumped on the bed behind him. "I'm back to same old, same old, then…" he muttered.
Jack laid a hand on his shoulder. "Look… it's only two years…"
"Easy for you to say!"
Jack resumed in a firmer tone, "The Cabin is yours for the time being. An extended leave has been arranged with the academy. If I have to make it an order, I will."
There was a short silence then Jack J. looked at his counterpart frowning, his anger slowly dissipating. "What's the catch?"
"You need rest, there's no catch…. And I promise I'll keep you up to date with what I can in the foreseeable future, until you get assigned to the SGC. You're not the only one waiting for that, you know?"
"Oh?"
"I'll finally be able to retire," Jack raised his eyebrows suggestively.
"So that's the real reason you kept me around, right?" Jack J. quipped.
"Boy, what a smartass you are!"
"Backatcha…."
Jack chuckled. "In the meantime, I have work to do…" he started toward the door. "Oh, Sam will see you shortly."
"Any news on Daniel?"
Jack's face darkened and his brow creased with worry. "Not yet, we're still looking. The novelty is we've received strange reports of a Prior of a new kind and SG1's leaving soon for the designated planet but Sam wants to say goodbye first. I'll stay here at least until I get reports about this new Prior. It's good to be here and not in charge," He winked and pushed the door handle to open it, then snapped his fingers and faced the young man again. "I almost forgot! You'll be happy to know that on the first planet where the Asgard tested the weapon, the results are very encouraging. They've already started spreading the virus on other worlds and it seems to be producing the desired effect."
"Great… So we saved the world another time? It's beginning to get boring…"
"That's the first time YOU save the world… I'm too old for that crap now," Jack smiled.
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Jack J. parked his truck alongside the shed. He had insisted on driving, claiming that he needed the long hours in a changing landscape to feel really on vacation. He stretched his legs and took a deep breath, smiling as the cool air rushed into his lungs, invigorating him. A hawk chirped in the sky. His trained eyes quickly spotted it and he followed its elegant effortless flight patterns until the bird disappeared from sight.
He grabbed his bag from the back seat and went to pick the keys from underneath the wooden bench next to the entrance.
The smell of the wooden house assaulted his nostrils and, just as the fresh air had minutes before, gave him the sense of peace he craved. Jack had been right, he needed the respite. With the assurance that SGC matters would not be as closed to him as they had been in the past, Jack J. felt better. He closed the door and opened the blinds in the small living room before heading to the bedroom where he stopped in his tracks.
Someone was sleeping in the bed. The person moved slightly, revealing a wisp of blonde hair and his heart beat faster.
He swallowed and stepped forward cautiously. 'No this was impossible', he reasoned to himself. As he was nearing the bed, two slender arms came out from underneath the quilt and revealed a very young Sam Carter. Not that he thought that the Sam Carter he knew was old, but the woman before him was younger… Much younger.
"You're gonna keep your mouth open all day?" she asked, stretching and revealing more of her really bare shoulders.
Jack J. gulped. "What are you doing here?"
Sam rolled her eyes. "See, when I woke up, I told her you'd never figure this out…"
"Wo…Woke up?"
"… From the Asgard stasis pod. I asked Thor, well…. The other me asked Thor if we could repeat Loki's interrupted cloning, so here I am," she said, unfolding part or the covers in an inviting gesture and Jack had a tantalizing glimpse of what she wore underneath, which was nothing.
"But… why?" he stammered.
"Oh, I don't know… Because I wanted to revisit what a thrill youth and the academy had been, because I wanted to know if you were as much of a pain in the neck as your old self is…."
"Hey!" He interrupted. "I'm not 'old'! He's not old… Argh!" He sat on the edge of the bed, his back to her. "You're crazy, you know that?"
"I must be…" she crept forward and encircled his waist from behind. "I did this because I love you…" she said softly.
"You're my reward?" he said a bit sarcastically.
"Reward for what?" she asked, kneeling behind him.
"For my sacrifice…"
She slapped his shoulder.
"Hey!" he protested massaging the spot.
"Has the cloning process rendered you stupid?"
He turned with a cocky smile. "I was stupid before, remember…." Then he realized he was facing a very naked Sam Carter and his eyes grew wide.
She smiled suggestively. "You really want to pursue this conversation?"
Jack J. opened and closed his mouth several times until she decided to take things into her own hands. She leaned forward and kissed him.
Something switched in his mind and he held her when she tried to retreat from his embrace. The kiss escalated into something much more passionate which only the need to calm down a little before going further interrupted.
Jack J. was panting, his lips slightly apart. "Wow!"
She smiled sexily. "I'll second that…"
"You're not going to compare me with him, right?" he asked, suddenly worried.
She smiled languorously, her eyes shining with mischief. "Your evaluation has been done and validated, Cadet O'Neill." She raised her eyebrows suggestively and reached for his neck once more.
He stopped her. "So? Better?"
She rolled her eyes. "If you really want to know, it's the same, now I'm getting cold here, maybe I should get dressed…"
"No!" he said hastily, standing up and fumbling frantically with his clothes. "Same is good…" he said slipping inside the sheets and into her welcoming embrace.
Sometime later they were enjoying some relaxing time, quietly talking and taking pleasure in each other's company.
"You know, on your part this might seem entirely natural but on my side it's gonna take a while… I mean… You've been with him for what? Two years? It was my first time… With you, I mean…"
"I know," she said quietly, tracing patterns on his chest.
"Then we've got the academy to think of, but I have that covered… I think…" he said smugly.
She rose on her elbow frowning. "What is that?"
"Well we could nail two birds with the same stone…"
"Jack?" she warned.
He grinned widely and pulled at her shoulders so she came to rest on his chest, her eyes level to his. "I'm invited to Jack and Sam's wedding in a couple of months… Wanna get hitched?"
THE END