Sam let out a deep breath. She'd been looking over the reports for hours. Johnson had shown her the projected models and it didn't look promising. If these were correct, it would be at least another hundred years before Earth thawed enough to be hospitable again. Sam thought that estimate was overly optimistic. And, trying to prevent a complete climate shift? Not likely. She saw her signature on so many of the reports. It was weird to say the least. This wasn't some alternate reality where another Sam Carter made the decision to evacuate the planet. This was her future. Her head was splitting by the time Cassie arrived with food.
"I figured you'd forget to eat and it would be tough to talk you into taking a trip to the commissary." Sam was pleasantly surprised to see some of her favorite things on the tray, but she wasn't surprised at all that Cassie was looking out for her. "Blue jello for dessert, of course. I personally don't think it tastes quite the same from the food replicator, but it still makes a nice treat," Cassie smiled.
While they ate, they reminisced. Sam noticed Cassie was keeping the conversation away from the missing 37 years and decided to steer things in a different direction. "So, still a Fraiser?"
"Yes, I guess I followed your lead. I didn't take John's name when we married. It felt right to be Dr. Fraiser. I will never stop missing Mom, and my husband understood."
Sam looked pensive at the mention of Janet. Some wounds just don't want to heal, and she was her best friend. "Have you been happy?"
"I've lived an extraordinary life, Sam. I'm very happy. I love my job. I love my sons. I have two of them, you know. And, I am currently sitting here having dinner with you. That's a pretty amazing thing since I gave the eulogy at your funeral a few years ago."
Cassie laughed and Sam couldn't help but join her. "Any chance I'll be meeting your husband while we are here?"
"You already have, Sam. John and I had no intention of falling in love. He just needed a friend from the past and we were so close to the same age that it just happened. I think he was disappointed in himself when he realized how he felt about me."
"Holy Hannah, you married John O'Neill! You're married to Jack's clone."
"I am. You'll probably see him before you leave. He lives on the surface. He said he couldn't stay nice and warm while people were freezing on the planet even if it was their own foolish choice. I miss him. I have to be here, of course, but we spend as much time together as possible."
"Wow, that sounds like something he would do alright. Cassie, I'm really glad he found happiness. Jack's going to be positively mortified."
"I'll let you handle that one," Cassie said with a smile. "How are you holding up?"
"I have so many questions, but I'm honestly not even sure what to ask. What if I don't ask the right questions and I don't have everything we need to convince them we need to evacuate? What if I go back with information I shouldn't have and it causes something not to happen? Just knowing you marry John could potentially alter the time line. I don't want to cost you your family, Cassie. I don't have the right to even look through this telemetry. Cassie, we're talking about changing the timeline here. But, if we do nothing, well, that's not even an option."
Cassie reached over and took Sam's hand. "Believe me, I know you're afraid. You've always held yourself to such high standards. Would it help if I told you that the future you agonized over how much you should be told and exactly what you should take back with you for years? She and Kate spent a tremendous amount of time preparing for your visit. Trust yourself."
"About Kate, it sounds like she and I were pretty close. I guess it makes sense that I'd groom my replacement, especially in light of the extenuating circumstances, but I get the feeling she's not telling us some pretty pertinent facts, Cassie. I have a hard time believing there's not a solar flare that could send us home earlier. What's her angle?"
"Sam, of course, she's hiding something. We're all hiding a few things from you. We don't have a choice. We are trying to follow your orders, Jack's orders. Honestly, there are a lot of things we don't even know. You kept quite a bit about your stay in this time to yourselves, but we trust you. You had your reasons. Can you show us the same consideration?"
Sam looked at her surrogate daughter. She knew Cassie was telling her the truth. There had to be a very good explanation for the decision to keep some things secret. Who was Sam kidding? She knew it had to have been her idea to begin with and she'd convinced Jack it was for the best. But, it was still really bothering her. Why would they need to be here so long? What was coming that needed them? Sam had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer when she finally got it. She was also more convinced than ever that this timeline was right. There was nothing she could do that could keep the people on the planet. This ice age was going to happen, and it was up to her and Jack to save as many people as possible. That was a pretty tall order.
When Sam arrived on the moon base that evening, she was a little taken back to see Jack playing catch with a little boy. "New friend, Jack?"
"Hey, Carter. Let me introduce you to Carter, Jr." Jack said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"I'm not Carter, Jr." the boy giggled, "I'm just Carter."
"Oh, sorry, Carter meet just Carter." Again, the boy giggled, but this time he attempted to tackle Jack. He was so small that Jack didn't budge. Instead, he picked the boy up and put him on his shoulders. "This is Kate's boy and apparently your namesake."
"I'm not named after her, I'm named after-"
"Carter, time to go get ready for bed. I'll be there to tuck you in shortly," Kate said as she rounded the corner. "Sam, did you have a productive day? Were you able to find everything in your lab?"
"Yes, the reports were very thorough. Thank you."
"Any chance you've already found a solution?" Jack asked.
"Jack, I really don't think there is another solution. I'll keep looking, but I honestly don't think there's anything we can do."
"Well, keep looking and I suppose I'm going to have to take you up on the offer to let me see those settlements, Kate."
Kate smiled, "Of course, I'll start making the arrangements. Sam, you really did spend years looking for another answer. I have no doubt you'd have found it if it existed. Sometimes saving the world doesn't come in the form of a Hail Mary. When you get home, you'll have over thirty years to save the people. That's really pretty good." Kate looked toward her door, "Guess I'd better get my son to bed. Goodnight."
