When they both looked up at the room where she stood, Sam couldn't help but flinch. She had seen Ellie, of course, through the monitor. But her and Jack side-by-side…
It shocked her, to say the least.
The pair of them had walked out, Jack sending an SF to come tell her they moved to her lab. Well, the lab. Technically it hadn't been hers for a long while.
Sam insisted Sheppard take his leave, knowing the colonel would want to know what was going on just as much as the rest of them. But he understood her desire to limit the audience, and thanked her. She, in turn, promised to fill him in on his way back through.
Her and Daniel were making their way down to the lab when he finally spoke up.
"Do you know what they were talking about? About Jack being right? What was he right about?"
She gave him a small smile, surprised it had taken him this long to ask. She figured he was simply waiting for them to be alone. As much as everyone in the Stargate command was a family; SG-1 – the initial SG-1 – team was even closer to being a family, in the truest sense.
And this was quickly becoming a family issue.
"Sam?" He looked at her curiously.
"Sorry. Jack had brought it up a few years ago. He was…concerned about possible problems… repercussions of our time travelling through the gate."
"Repercussions?" He sounded dubious, and even slightly amused. Just like she had been.
"Lasting effects from everything that's happened to us. Goa'uld implantation, ancient viruses, Ancient repository-head-sucking, computer viruses, nano-tech. He was worried that somehow, after everything, there might have been some imperceptible change that didn't really affect us, at least not noticeably. But maybe something that could affect our children. If we had any…"
She dropped off, looking over at Daniel. His face grew solemn as, she knew, he started thinking of all his past experiences. And what effect it may have had – or may yet have – on his son. She stopped short to stand in front of him, stopping him with a hand on either shoulder.
"Daniel…"
"How did I not think of that? How could we have –"
"Daniel, don't. I did the same thing. I couldn't imagine… But I'll tell you the same thing I told Jack. We have always had the best possible medical care here. Janet…and Carolyn – they've all gone above and beyond to make sure we were okay."
"Yeah, but Sam, come on! Think of everything –"
"And while they can't know everything, they have done their best. Whatever else may happen, we can handle because of that." She looked at him earnestly, willing him to believe her; and was rewarded as he relaxed under her grip.
"Yeah…yeah, of course. It's just…" He looked solemnly at her again. "She said he was right, Sam."
Sam blinked back sudden tears, not wanting to think what that truly meant. But, as she and Daniel continued down the hallway, she found a tiny spark of hope.
"She did. And maybe we can find out exactly what that means."
And please god, let it not be that terrible…
Of course, knowing their luck, Sam couldn't help but think it was an empty plea.
Sam's old lab had become Bill Lee's new playground. Of course, Jack had no qualms about kicking the scientist out. And Dr Lee had equally no problem leaving, dissection of Ellie's belongings scattered across the table.
The young girl walked up to them; the closer she got, the further her jaw dropped.
"What did they do?!" she quietly squeaked as she picked up a few pieces.
"They were just trying to see what made 'em tick. Or…something…" Jack remained at the door, watching as Sam and Daniel made their way down the hall.
"What'd they use, the screwdriver and hammer method?!"
He turned to find her delicately trying (and, apparently, failing) to put the pieces back together.
He wasn't quite sure how she would do it through the tears that were suddenly threatening to spill over.
"What is it, anyway?" he quietly asked, trying to distract her with what would hopefully be a ramble of techno-babble.
Works with Carter, anyway.
"This," she said waving at a pile of random bits, "is – was a watch. Fancy one at that. We'd managed to get it to track local time of anywhere you are, no matter what planet. Basically, it takes environmental readings of your surroundings. Then, it computes the day/night cycle. And it was dual-time, so you could have local and Earth times side-by-side."
Easy as pie. Jack was slightly proud the plan worked. Almost. Still some glistening. Next gizmo it is.
"And this?" pointing to the bits she was holding.
"This…" Tears started reappearing, one trickling down her cheek.
Oh crap. Mission failing. Abort! Abort!
"This is – …was…pictures. Mom – my mom said it reminded her of the keychains you could get at amusement parks. You look in one end, and a lens would magnify an image inside. This was the same principle, just using crystal-tech for more than one picture."
She was trying to fit the pieces back together, but her hands were shaking.
"I'm sure you could fix it. Easy," Jack said encouragingly, floundering with every tear.
"Yeah, piece of cake. Except…" She turned the small object on its side and a heavy dust trickled out. "Crystal's busted."
"So…we get anoth – " he stopped himself, but not soon enough. He hadn't figured out yet where, exactly, she was from; or even if she could get back. And…what "back" involved. If his hunch was right…well…
"Even if I could get home… There's no replacing these. Everything's gone…" She tossed the little piece aside and started piecing together the watch. "Everyone…"
Jack wanted to say something – anything! – but was saved the task of thinking exactly what that something would be by Sam and Daniel walking in, followed by Mitchell.
"Sheppard said you'd move the get-together. Whoa!" He startled when he saw Ellie sitting at the lab table fiddling with pieces. He leaned over to whisper in Sam's ear, "That entirely wise, there, General?"
"It's alright Cam," Sam returned, glancing up at Jack to confirm it really was okay. He nodded, looking a bit more dismal than just a few moments ago. She silently signaled her concern and just got a shack of the head in response.
"Alright, Ellie. The smart kids are here," Jack quipped as he snagged a stool. She gave him a look Sam had given him more times than he could count – a look that said he wasn't fooling anyone. Uh huh…sure… "You were talking about exploding Asgard splitting things."
"Do I need to explain the general idea of timelines and alternate realities?" Three no's and a groan was the response. "Okay…the Asgard felt that there was more to the Ori then what was seen. Or, rather, not seen." She continued fiddling with pieces as she talked. "I think the fact that the Ori were so un-seen, it must have clicked with the Asgard."
"The Ori are these Unknown, you mean?" Daniel queried.
"Seemed more likely than not. Like I said, as far as any one knows, they hate humans. They'd live a peaceful happy existence without 'em."
"But becoming gods? Some almighty power for humans to worship?" Daniel whipped off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he tried to piece the puzzle together. "I mean, that doesn't really fit. You hate something, why would you want that something fawning all over you?"
Ellie stopped her fiddling to look up at him.
"I said they worked subtly; behind the scenes, working to eliminate the human race. What better way than with religion? Can't get more subtle than that."
To that, Daniel had no response. It was yet another variety of what they had all bore witness to each time they stepped through the gate.
"Not to, um, appear rude or anything," Jack said, "but…what's that have to do with, well…us." He motioned to himself and Sam.
"Oh my god." Jack wheeled in his chair to stare at Sam, who seemed to have come to the conclusion on her own.
"Sam…?" he gently asked. She just stared at Ellie, almost afraid to speak.
Afraid, but angry.
"I believe Thor once told you you were the next step in human evolution, right?" Ellie broke her gaze with Sam to look at Jack. At his look of annoyed confusion, she continued, "If you want to cut a line, it's easiest to cut it at the beginning."
And now he was pissed. He still wasn't quite sure why, or how, he was pissed. But he was.
"I still don't see the connection with the Asgard…" Daniel spoke up, trying to get everything out, so they could deal with the whole rather than pieces.
"The Asgard had been tracking whatever movements they could of the Unknown, trying to determine exactly what they were after. They were going across timelines, into dozens – hundreds – of alternate realities. The Asgard followed, but couldn't see what they were doing. Again – subtle. So tiny and seemingly insignificant." She paused, seeming to steady herself. "It wasn't until the Asgard caught Loki, when he was creating your clone. When they realized your potential, they went back. No matter what the circumstances were, in any of the realities, they maneuvered it to ensure it stopped at you. Whether it meant you never married, or got divorced, or…other results…either way – no children. None beyond –" she stopped short to look up at him again. "None beyond Charlie."
The silence rang around the lab as they all took in what had been said.
"That's…well…wrong." Mitchell was the first to break the silence. "I mean…wow."
"It's a quick fix," Ellie continued. "It obviously won't stop humans all together. They seemed to just want to stop the progress… But they don't get it! I mean, their goal was to stop human potential. They don't realize all humans have potential. It's not their genes, its what they choose to do with their lives on the whole." She seemed to collapse into the stool, energy spent from more than just the last couple of hours.
"So…these Unknown…" Jack wanted to ask – had to ask. For Sam's sake more than his own. The words just wouldn't come.
He was shocked when Ellie suddenly popped up on her stool.
"No! No…sorry… It doesn't seem like they've been here…yet… I think that was part of the Asgard's plan. Splitting the timeline would throw off anyone coming to look – you hit a timeline and run into empty space, because that one is now two…"
"But, you said the decision…"
"I said the Unknown were most likely behind it, but not directly. The Asgard took the decision out of your hands when they split the timeline. They needed a starting point, a point in the timeline that would result in another reality being created. So…they made one…"
"But why that? What good could come…" Sam drifted off as she slowly came to understand all the implications. She looked at Ellie, who just nodded. "Oh crap," she finished as she winced in Jack's direction.
"What?"
"Um…Jack…" Daniel cautioned.
Ugh! Why am I always the last to figure this stuff out.
"What?!"
Daniel looked at Sam, who just shook her head. Looked like it would be up to him…
"Do you remember why Loki was so intent on, well, using you for his little…theory?" When Jack just glared at him, Daniel continued. "You were a step closer to the Asgard being able to fix their cloning issues."
"Yeah…but they ran out of time," added Mitchell. "That's why they gave us all their tech and blew up, right?"
"That was plan B," Ellie said. "Plan A involved creating the altered timeline. Doing so meant they could, essentially, hide both timelines from the Unknown, while they continued work in the alternate one."
"While playing mad scientist with me and my wife!" Jack hopped off his stool and began pacing behind the table, cursing "lil grey bastards" under his breath.
"No mad scientist necessary." She watched him pace, slowing down as he realized what she meant. "All the pieces were there already. That's why it's this timeline that got split. This is the only one where everything fits together."
Jack leaned over the table to glare at her.
"It's still not right."
"I know!" He jumped back at the anger in her voice. "You don't think I have my own reasons to hate them? I was barely 4 years old when they took me from my parents. Shoved in a time dilation field for three years, and popped out the other side at 25. I should be 7 right now, worried about 2nd grade and monkey bars…" She paused, shaking her head like she was trying to get rid of thoughts. "They took my life. But, in turn, they gave me life."
Jack continued to lean over the table, but his glare changed to abashed sadness. As he looked into her eyes, it was as if he could see everything she'd had to go through.
Alone.
Because he knew, without her having to say it – they had let her go.
She stared back at him, knowledge written all over her face.
"I could talk before I was 1. Full sentences, soliloquies even. Only problem was, it was all in Ancient." She looked down at the partially re-formed watch in her hands. "It scared them. I could tell. So…I stopped talking. By 2, the headaches started. Later, small seizures. It was too much, everything I had in my head – all the Ancients' knowledge, plus all my parents'… They worked so hard to find a way…" She looked back up at him, a pleading look on her face.
She wanted to be forgiven for being what…who she was.
"The field would allow her body to develop along with the knowledge," Sam sniffled, forcing herself to focus on the science. "It would be gradual, just like it was for you, Jack. Slowly at first, picking up speed the more it developed. A time dilation field can be controlled, to an extent. You can manipulate how fast or how slow it moves."
"The variations made it harder to find, as well." Ellie looked back and forth between them, her voice heavy with an attempt at reassurance. "No one came in once it closed. We couldn't risk the Unknown finding…"
"And the Asgard? They get their magic cure?" Jack asked quietly.
"Magic, indeed," Ellie laughed. "You wouldn't think dead nanites could evolve, but they did. And that was the magic trick the Asgard needed."
"Nanites? You have nanites?" Sam asked excitedly. "Naturally occurring nanites?!"
Jack laughed quietly to himself, the smile growing at the smirk he got from Ellie.
Smart kid.
But the excitement slowly faded as alarms sounded and Sergeant Harriman's voice echoed out of the speakers.
"General Carter to the command center. General Carter to the command center."
