August-Charlie

I'm still not completely used to my new name. So when I hear it being called on the first day of school I figure it's got to be some other Charlie. Nope, they mean me. See, college starts before high school, so all of the Carter's have come to cheer me on with banners, and sparklers. Yeah, sparklers.

"Guys! Go home!" I scold as I walk toward them.

"It's your first day," Sam says.

"Usually we have a pancake breakfast, but since you weren't there for one…" Mark explains.

"How about you go home now, and I'll come over for a pancake dinner," I say.

"Sorry we embarrassed you dear, but can't I walk you to your first college class?" Mrs. Carter asks.

"No," I say with an eye roll.

They head back to the car, but Sam holds back a little. I make eye contact which is all she needs. She gives me a quick hug. Her face turns bright crimson as she runs back to the car.

"Hey, that's a sweet little girlfriend you got there man," a fellow freshman says.

"It's not like that, things between us are totally innocent," I tell him.

"That's the best kind, 'specially at you age, you are young, right?" he asks.

"Yeah, I graduated a 'coupla years early," I say.

He examines my face for a second, "My name is Will, and we're going to be best friends Charles," he proclaims. And I'm supposed to be the prophet.

September-Charlie

Jack hated college. Almost as much as he hated high school. When he went to college it was on the GI bill, after Vietnam, and he was older than all the other students. More than that he was just wearied by life, like an old man. So he sort of missed out on the partying.

Really, I should be wearied by life a whole lot more than Jack ever was. I mean the stuff he saw after Vietnam adds up to a hell of a lot more than he saw during it. But, there is so much perspective to it to. I mean he was a father for goodness sake! And he saw the sun rise over the water in that one palace by the sea on the planet with the psycho lights, that was pretty amazing. And he's been to over 600 individual planets. I mean, who can be tired of life when you have memories of all that, and you're only fourteen.

I've been thinking lately about all the things I can do with my new fourteen year old body. Particularly about fatherhood. This is one of the areas that I differ from Jack. He is absolutely sure he doesn't want any more kids. I'm pretty sure I do.

Jack doesn't remember Charlie like I do. For him it's just the bloody death, and the times Jack didn't do something that Charlie asked him to do. I don't remember that stuff as much. Maybe it's because he wasn't really my son, I don't know. But I remember the cuddles, and the bedtime stories, and the games of catch we did play together. I remember the good stuff way more than the bad stuff. And I want that again. But I'm sixteen in the eyes of the law, and really fourteen so it's going to be awhile. That's for the best. I'm not financially ready for a kid yet anyway.

I wonder how Sam feels about kids. But I try not to think like that. I've got to keep things light between her, because she really is fourteen, with only fourteen years of memories.

"Hey, what dream world are you in?" Will says.

"Mmm?" I mutter.

"One filled with Samantha?" he teases.

"Ah, shut up," I say.

"Ah, Charles, sometimes I think you are so old, and then every once in awhile you prove to me how very young you are."

December-Sam

The bird outside my window is getting really obnoxious. Although it almost sounds like it's singing "Jack and Diane". Yeah, I must be going nuts if I'm starting to think that birds are singing famous songs. It needs to go away, right now. But getting out o bed is hard, sleep is so nice, and it's Saturday, and it's early, and it's my birthday.

Ok, I can't take another second of this. "Shut up!" I scream opening the window to see Jack's startled face on the other side.

"Ok, so this is not going as planned," he says.

"Charlie!" I exclaim.

"Sorry," he mutters.

"No, it's ok, I'll be right down." I throw on a bathrobe and rush downstairs where I open the kitchen door. He walks in.

"Sorry, that was way cooler in my head."

"No, I'm sorry. It was cool. I mean, not that many people are actually serenaded by their," I suddenly blush.

"Friend," he finishes.

"Right," I say. So we're still there. He can stand outside of my window and sing to me, but he can't call me his girlfriend.

"You want coffee or something?" I ask.

"We're sort of young for that, don't ya think?" he asks.

"Are you trying to tell me that you don't drink anything at college that you're not supposed to?" I ask. It's one of the things that mom frets about ALL the time, that Charlie is going to start drinking. The way she talks about college you'd think that's all people do.

"I like beer on my eggs," he replies.

I raise an eyebrow.

"Better than you'd think," he assures me.

"That's it?" I ask.

"Geez, Carter, I have a beer every now and again. It's not like I'm getting drunk at an all night keger."

"Any alcohol is illegal at your age," I remind him.

"Look, I know. It's just sometimes I miss it," he says.

"Miss it?" I ask with alarm, and his eyes go wide, "Did you used to drink when you lived with your mom?"

"No…" he stammers, "I…visions," he mutters.

"You remember drinking in your visions?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Who'd you hurt?" I ask with concern. I know he's got some pain involved with his whole son's death, and I really hope this isn't the cause of it.

"No one," he says sounding confused.

"But doesn't just bad stuff get into your visions?" I ask.

"No," he says with a smile that makes me really wonder what he's remembering.

"No?" I ask.

"I remember the day I met you," he says, "I mean…in the visions I didn't meet you when we were young. We were like…middle age."

That's a long time to wait. Do I have to wait that long now that we changed everything?

"How did it go?" I ask.

He smiles, "You'd just come from…a bad relationship. And you'd had your job switched without your permission," by now his eyes have drifted off in a way that makes him look like my Grandpa telling a story, "You wanted to be a pilot forever. They all do. Once you've been in that cockpit there is no going back. But you never wanted to be a pilot originally. You wanted to be an astronaut, and in order to do that you had to be a scientist, and you had to be a soldier. And you fell in love with both of them," (he says with a grin). "But you didn't know what they were pulling you out of the cockpit for. Most Captians get pulled out to lead a group of people, and you weren't sure you can do that. You're a good leader, but you don't know it, you always need to be told." It occurs to me that if he were to realize I was actually in the room right now he'd stop talking. So I determine not to move. Even though I have a sudden itch on my forehead which takes all of my focus not to scratch.

"And then you found out it was for the Stargate program. And it was better than you'd hoped for, better than your dreams. And you knew you were qualified, more than qualified. A lot of Captains who are getting pulled out of the cockpit get put in charge of a few hundred men, you weren't even the head of a four man team. But you didn't really care, because you got to see other planets."

"What?" Crap. I said that out loud.

His eyes get huge for a second before he laughs, "You know sometimes my regular dreams and my visions get a little mixed up. Clearly…visiting alien planets was part of my dream."

I look at him for a long time, "Charlie?" I ask.

He sighs, "Anyway you walked in and felt all threatened, because you thought he was a jerk, and you said, "Just because my reproductive organs are on the inside doesn't mean I can't do anything you can do!"

I blush bright red.

"Yeah, you're not really the person who says these things yet. Maybe you'll never be," and it's a sad sort of smile playing on her face.

"You wish I was more like her?" I ask.

"No, I miss her. I miss all of them, but you're better than her, in almost every way," he says still obviously more caught in the dream than real life.

I'm not sure where to start with that one, "How is she better than me?"

He blushes a bit, but doesn't answer.

"You miss them?" I ask.

"I give a lot away when I just start talking about visions this early in the orning. I'm going to tell you someday what I mean by missing them. But they…aren't mine. Never were, especially Carter."

"What part of her is better than me?" I ask.

"Geez, I shouldn't tell you, but if I don't, you're going to keep wondering, and make it into something it isn't, and maybe even change who you are. And you don't need to do anything of that, you're perfect. You'll grow into both the ways that she's better than you."

"What are they?" I ask again.

"Happy birthday," he says walking toward the door. When he's almost out it he turns and says, "hand to hand combat, and hotness. Thirty-year old you, is much hotter."

Ok, that's a little disturbing.

March-Charlie

"Hi," a voice says on the phone. I love that Sam and I are beyond having to actually identify ourselves. Carter and Jack never got there. He knew her voice, but still there was always this, "Sir, this is Captian/Major Carter." There was some formality in it.

"What's up?" I ask.

"What's up?" she asks uncertainly. Right, we're a couple decades before people said that.

"Never mind, what is going on?"

"Ah, look I know we're not dating, but you wanted me to share my high school experience with you right?" Sam sounds nervous. I don't know if I ever heard Sam nervous. Carter a couple times, but that was when a planet's fate was in her hands.

"Yeah, what's going on?" I ask.

"Prom is coming up," she mutters.

"You want to go to prom with me?" I ask, and my heart leaps a little at it. Yeah, I'm deficiently falling in love with Sam. And not like a fifty year old man falls in love. I'm falling for her like a teenager. It's not just the birthday serenade either. There was the Christmas "friendship" poem I stuck in with the microscope (she may pretend she doesn't like biology, but she does). There was the Valentine's Day chocolates, and the just 'cause teddy bear.

Yeah, we're going to have to start dating. But I can't do that until I tell her the whole truth.

"If you don't want to go to prom…" I hear her stammer on the other end of the phone.

"I'd love to go to prom with you Carter," I say.

"Ah…ok," she mutters.