Chapter 10

Let It Go

Vala huddled against John but he didn't seem to notice. He was half turned toward the window, head tilted up to gaze out. Samantha drove with her head ducked like she was planning to dodge something—bombs, weapons, stones…? Vala had no idea but she was absolutely certain ducking was not the answer.

Jack Crichton leaned over the driver's seat, one hand clutching his wife's, the other tapping Samantha on the shoulder. Mrs. Crichton, for her part, had closed her eyes, her lips moving silently in what Vala assumed was prayer.

She'd never had much use for prayer; much less now when she saw the destruction the Ori had wrought. She had both lived as a host for a being that thought itself a God, then later used that to her own advantage. Blind worship had only led to slavery in her eyes.

Yet…at this moment, she hoped every prayer John's mother uttered would see them safely through this situation.

Even within the heavily protected Hummer, she heard sirens, saw orderly columns collapse as people on the streets ran toward shelter. Fighters screamed overhead, smoke in the distance and coming closer to the population.

"They're here," John said. He ran his hands through his hair. "They found me."

Jack Crichton still had his hand on Sam's shoulder but he turned toward them. "Dr. Jackson, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Peacekeepers, Scarrans…I don't know."

Crichton shook his head in disgust like the words he'd heard were gibberish. Vala reached for John's hand, found it, squeezed it in hers. He didn't seem to notice. "Daniel. It'll be all right."

"What kind of nonsense is this? Colonel Carter!" Crichton was at Sam's ear but his voice was no whisper. "What are your orders? We're sitting ducks out here!"

"Colonel, right now we're just trying to make it to the base."

Vala turned away from the ongoing discussion between the two in front of her. Mrs. Crichton was still quiet, eyes closed, names falling from her lips, part of her litany.

John had turned away from the window, his eyes on his mother's bowed head then he turned to Vala. "I have to tell her."

"No. This is not the best time."

"Time, time, time…it's always about time. There's never enough time, there will never be enough time. Time doesn't heal all wounds. Don't you see that?"

"Daniel, what's going on back there?" Carter glanced into the rear view mirror. Vala could just make out the disapproving look in her brows.

"That's a damned good question, Dr. Jackson." Jack Crichton turned to him. "Can you keep a lid on it? You're a professional." His voice was calm but Vala saw the worry in his eyes, the way he leaned against his wife. Leslie Crichton raised her bowed head, turned to her husband.

"Let him be, Jack."

"Leslie, this is wrong. All wrong." He pointed at John. "Something's not right about this guy. I was never a fan, Dr. Jackson, but at least you had the good graces to keep your comments to your yourself. This?" He pointed at John, then at Vala. "This is something else."

"We're almost at the base," Carter said. "Can you all just simmer down?" Carter hit the gas. Vala felt the vehicle buck under her as Carter threaded her way through traffic, taking pieces of the sidewalk when the traffic wasn't moving to her liking.

"No, we can't," Jack snapped. "O'Neill. You, Colonel Carter. This guy. Her." He pointed at Vala. She pressed herself into the seat back.

"I'm sure we'll get answers soon enough." Leslie smiled at John. "Dr. Jackson, he means no harm."

"Don't, Les. They pull us out of our house in the middle of this shit storm and expect us not to ask questions? What are those things out there and what does it have to do with us?"

"Space invaders," John said. "Here's how it lays out, Jack. There's a wormhole. I opened it. I led them here. All this?" He pushed Vala away and spread his arms out. "All this crap is because of me."

"Daniel…" Carter's voice had taken on a threatening quality.

His gaze rested on his mother's. Vala put her hand on his arm but he shook her off.

"And because of you." John Crichton held his hand out to his mother. Her smile faded away; she shook her head but reached out to him.

"I…I don't understand." Leslie's hand gripped his; Vala thought it looked like she didn't want to let go.

"Because this is all nonsense." Jack's voice had lost some conviction.

"Johnny Crichton died in 1986, didn't he," John said. "And you didn't go on the Challenger flight, did you? That kept you from dying."

"What are you talking about? Nothing happened to the Challenger."

John snorted out a laugh, pulled away from his mother's hand, sat back with fists on his forehead. "Oh, right. Right. Different times, Jack. Once, on another Earth, there was a boy named John who became an astronaut just like his dad always wanted."

The Hummer had made it to the gates of the airbase. Vala held her breath against the train wreck she could see on the horizon.

"Daniel, this can wait," Carter said. "We're almost there and then we can make contact with SGC and get back home."

The guard at the gate took her credentials, peered into the vehicle then nodded her through. John and Jack Crichton shook their heads at the same time in response to her suggestion.

"It's waited long enough," Jack Crichton said. "Spit it out, Jackson. What are you trying to say?"

John turned to Vala, his eyes searching for what she supposed he always found in the woman beside him—support, comfort. Strength. Aeryn Sun was the one who should be sitting here now, not her.

He sighed, turned away from her to his father. "My name is John Robert Crichton, Jr. I…" His eyes met his mother's. "I'm your son."

He'd said it. Watching her sit in front of him, twisting her ring between the fingers of her right hand. Her head on his father's shoulder, the way she seemed half turned toward him sitting in the backseat.

He'd been waiting to exhale. It should have been relief.

Carter continued forward, her hard stare reflected at him in the mirror. Beside him, Vala-not Aeryn-held his arm, vise like.

Jack Crichton's nostrils flared, his face red from holding back the explosion that John knew was fighting its way out.

Leslie…Her mouth was open, moving but there were no words. Then she shook her head. "No. No. Why, Daniel? No." She turned away, squared her shoulders as she sucked in a breath. Shut him out.

"Pull over, Colonel. Pull over so I can kick this son of a bitch's ass." Jack Crichton shook free of his wife, reached over the seat and grabbed for John's collar. John retracted himself toward the window, Vala caught between them. She shifted forward, caught Jack's wrist before the old man could make it over the seat.

"Stop it! Please. Colonel Crichton. Please."

"Jack." Leslie's voice floated over his father's heavy breathing. "She's right. This…just don't."

Jack turned away, faced forward in his seat. John stared at the backs of their heads. Mom and dad, right there. And not.

"You're an idiot," Vala whispered into his ear. She pressed her body against him, trapping him between it and the door. "Don't move. Don't say another word."

"Bad timing. Always."

She snorted softly. "That's your mantra isn't it. If you know that, then why? Why blow your second chance?"

"No time like the present." He couldn't take it back. The genie was out of the bottle. He looked toward Sam; she'd just placed the radio back in its cradle.

"Good news." She sounded like the exact opposite. "Colonel, your daughters Susan and Olivia are here, along with their families."

Jack Crichton squared his shoulders. "Then drive on and get us the hell out of here."

Susan. Olivia…would they be more willing to accept the possibilities?

Leslie gave him one brief, backwards glance, granting him the kind of smile you might give to a lost stranger, then turned away.

Two women stood at the far end of the conference room into which an unarmed escort had left his parents. John caught a glimpse of them as the door opened, allowing Leslie and Jack inside.

The women and Leslie met each other half way; in a whirl of movement he saw Olivia and Susan, their faces drawn with worry. No trace of kids, from what he could tell. Olivia cast a quick glance toward the door then turned her attention back to her parents as the door closed him out.

It felt like the freakin' Godfather.

Vala tugged on his sleeve and pulled him along. They followed Carter into another set of rooms. To the group here, they were members of SG1, with a tag-along in the form of Vala Mal Doran.

"Nothin'. I got nothin'." He shakes the walkie-talkie he holds in his hand. Harvey stands beside him.

"Mayday, mayday!" Harvey shouts into his own handset. He pries the back open, shakes it. "No batteries, John. As always, unprepared."

"Shut up."

"What was your plan? Or rather, which plan? The one to close the wormhole and refuse Scorpius' assistance?"

There's a chalkboard in front of them, John's name on the top, one category for winner, one for loser, split down the middle with a thin line of pink chalk.

"Hmm." Harvey marks the loser column. "I'd say 'close the wormhole to earth' is probably a lost cause."

"You don't know that. Let me think."

"Are we any closer to Moya? Aeryn? Peacekeepers? There had to be more eloquence than blurting it out to her." Harvey tapped his chin, then affected a resonant voice. "'Luke, I am your father'" He smiled like he'd told a joke. "If I recall correctly, that resulting in our young hero nearly falling to his death."

"Shut. Up." He looks up, sees ships moving in combat formations—Scarran Strykers, Peacekeeper Prowlers. There's US Air Force up there too and something else he doesn't recognize, something ancient and alien all at once. The skies are full of smoke and fire.

"Peacekeepers—how did you keep them from turning to goo? How was Scorpius going to defend my planet if he couldn't prevent them from turning to goo?"

Harvey shrugs. "Sometimes it's not all about you, John." He turns, slaps John lightly on the face. "Now, pay attention. Focus. What do you need to do to get home?"

What had he expected? Tap three times, there's no place like home? Wasn't that what Mitchell had said? Vala? Any of them, comparing him to Dorothy Gail from Kansas, summoning the wicked witch and opening them up to destruction—

Telling his mother hadn't solved the problem. Even if she'd welcomed him with open arms…it wasn't a whistle and a blink. It was art and science and it had collided with Samantha Carter's world.

"Daniel!" Carter stopped in front of an office. He'd been to this base countless times with his father, working on the Farscape project. He glanced at the name on the door: Colonel Douglas Knox…

"Won't get fooled again," he muttered.

Vala nudged him. "The less senseless mumbling from you at this point, the better. Don't you think?"

Carter glared at both of them. "I don't know this guy at all…"

"I do."

Vala raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess. Long lost brother?"

"Best friend. In my time, DK and I built the Farscape module that got me catapulted into another universe." He shook his head. "Never mind. I don't even know if he knows my dad….or knew me."

"Well. I guess we won't know until we do." Carter knocked once. The door opened and an airman led them inside.

DK was heavier than John remembered, his thick brown hair much shorter as befitted his rank, John supposed. He wore BDUs and was on the phone. He motioned them in, finished his conversation then hung up the phone.

"Colonel Carter, good to see you again." He went around the desk, shook her hand then turned to John. "Daniel." He extended his hand and offered a friendly smile. Seemed like Daniel hadn't screwed up this relationship. He turned to Vala, the same smile on his face. "O'Neill tells me you're on our side, Vala Mal Doran?"

She extended her hand, looking surprisingly nervous. "Yes, Colonel. Of course."

"Sit down."

Carter nodded, and they sat. DK returned to his chair.

John scanned the room. There was a portrait of an American president he didn't recognize. Family photos on the desk faced DK, leaving John with no more clues than what sat in front of him.

"General O'Neill has asked me to make arrangements to get you back to Stargate command using any means necessary."

"Colonel?" Carter shook her head. "What does that mean, exactly."

"The Stargate. He's sure about you all but not so sure about my in-laws. I think it's too much for Leslie to handle. Though…I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to keep a secret with all the shit going on out there."

One picture sat on the shelf behind Colonel Douglas Knox. John squinted, leaned forward. It was a family photo…DK in hiking gear, his arm around an attractive woman with brown hair and a big smile, his other arm around a little girl who looked a lot like her dad.

Olivia. It was Olivia. He sat back, gut punched. Happy for his sister, happy for his best friend…and dead to all of it.

"How bad is it?" Carter asked.

DK sighed. "Prometheus and the Korolev are taking the brunt of it right now. Russia's sent out their fighters, as have we. No major cities have been taken out."

"Yet," Harvey whispered, dressed in combat gear. He tapped a watch that took up most of his wrist. "Time is a-wasting, John. You saw it already."

John leaned forward, ignoring the images in his head, and tapped a finger on the desk. Colonel Douglas Knox—John let that one settle for a moment—raised an eyebrow at him. No annoyance, not like O'Neill or even Carter, but a look that seemed truly curious was aimed at him.

"So, you're married to Jack Crichton's daughter?" John said. "Didn't…didn't she have a brother?" He was going for broke. Vala turned to him, scowled. Carter looked like she was holding her breath.

"He died a long time ago." He cleared his throat. "Is that it on my personal life?"

John nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. So. The plan?"

"As I was saying, General O'Neill wants you back at SGC when he feels conditions are right. I told him we have the means to keep the Crichtons safe here. Seems kind of paramount to him, though he didn't say why. I mean, I certainly appreciate it but I don't think he's doing it for me."

"What conditions is he waiting for?" Carter asked.

"He didn't elaborate. He said you'd know and asked me to give you access to command." He stood up. "Let's go."

Vala held fast to his arm down a few flights of stairs John didn't remember, past guards and what appeared to be heavy leaded doors. Her grip on him seemed designed to hold him in place, like if she let go, he'd float away.

"You can give me my arm back." He tried to pull away from her but she hung on tighter.

In front of them, DK and Carter spoke. John caught words like alliances, unidentified craft, bunker…in short, lots of shit.

"I don't think so." Vala pulled harder. "You're the one screwing the pooch. Don't you understand? It's not just you. It's me, and Samantha and every person on this planet. So just shut it until we can get back to Stargate Command. Do you think you can do that?"

"I helped that guy cheat on his SATs…"

"What is an ess A tea?" She shook her head. "Never mind. I'm sure it's another Earth term I don't need to know."

DK turned to them, squinting at John like he was trying to figure something out.

"Something wrong?" John asked.

DK shook his head, blinked. "Nothing. That SAT thing—"

"You heard that?" Vala smacked John on the arm.

"Just reminded me of something." He turned to Sam. "When the chips are down, I guess you start to appreciate where you started." He slid a key card through a reader which then opened up another reader. He placed his thumb print against it. John heard tumblers falling into place then DK pushed on the door and led them inside.

It was nothing John had seen before. He'd been to this base hundreds of times. He and DK had refined the module here, working with some of the best astrophysicists and engineers to bring their dream to fruition. Jack Crichton had been stationed here before John had even started high school, when he and DK were still junior high nerds waiting for their growth spurts.

Grief hit him in an unexpected wave. D'Argo hadn't spared any details about DK's and Laura's deaths. Had he wanted to make the point that John was dangerous? That Earth was unwelcoming? That there were things beyond their control that could and would destroy all that he loved? Lakka wouldn't hide it, fleeing Earth for the Uncharted Territories hadn't stopped it.

He was living that now, in a way he'd never imagined. Two worlds, side by side. Both of them with an open wormhole as the golden ticket. Had this little u-turn meant his own reality was safe? Or had he now sent two Earths straight to hell?

He, Vala, Sam, and DK stood on a deck enclosed in glass. Bulletproof, John guessed. Even Sam gazed at it through wide eyes, enough that DK nudged her.

"Come on, Colonel. You have one of these at home."

One of these was the Stargate.

He moved to the control panel alongside a man who looked more scientist than military, much like the Douglas Knox and John Crichton of John's own reality. "Sergeant, do you have General O'Neill on comms?"

"Sir, as you requested."

DK gave the man a curt nod then leaned toward the microphone. "General, I have Colonel Carter and her team here."

"Thank you, Colonel. Can we have a moment?" O'Neill didn't sound like he expected anything other than a yes.

DK nodded to them, then tapped his Sergeant on the shoulder. The two of them left and closed the door behind them.

A Stargate. There was one here, and there was one there. Sam apparently knew nothing about this one. O'Neill did, yet had flown them to the base, albeit with armed escorts.

Why not just use the Stargate? Why not just have Colonel Douglas Knox act as their calling card? Why let them all step in it—?

John scrubbed his hands over his face, knocking the glasses off in the process. Vala squatted down to pick them up; he met her half way.

"O'Neill's on to you guys," he whispered.

"What?"

He held her hand, keeping her close to the floor. "The Stargate. There's a Stargate. Why didn't he send us through that thing?"

Vala's mouth dropped open then snapped shut. She turned, glanced at Sam, but it was apparent Carter had already done the math.

Carter leaned over the console, flipped some switches as O'Neill's face appeared on the monitor above. Carter gave them a look that clearly communicated she was doing the talking. John wasn't about to argue.

"Sir, we've secured the Crichtons," Sam said. "Colonel Knox says they're not going to accompany us?"

"Colonel Knox is wrong. They'll be getting here later, along with Knox himself. I want you three back for debriefing. Questions?" O'Neill raised his eyebrows, his expression forbidding questions.

"No, sir."

"Knox will get you prepped and ready to go. We'll be waiting. O'Neill out."

The screen turned to pixels while Carter turned to them. "Just gonna hazard a guess but I think this world's SG1 just showed up in Stargate command."

"And?" John said.

Carter shrugged. "Daniel's still there. Aeryn. Cam and Teal'c are likely in the Prometheus. This doesn't change much of anything."

"This changes everything!"

Vala laid a hand on his arm. "Advice, John. Two Carters are better than one. At least, that's the guess I'll hazard."

The door opened, Knox appearing again. His demeanor had changed from cordial to solemn.

"Colonel?" Carter said.

"Just got my instructions. We'll be joining you once you're settled back at SGC." He perched his fists on his hips, glanced up. "Ride of a lifetime, I'm told. Not so sure Livvie's gonna agree."

Olivia. John took a deep breath, soaked it in. Olivia. Susan. A niece he didn't have in another life, a mother he'd lost in another life. A best friend who was a brother now.

Would staying be so bad?

"Colonel? Your wife? Livvie, right?"

Vala elbowed him. DK looked from her to John, a question in his eyes.

"I apologize. Daniel can be very nosy," she said. "Rudely so."

DK nodded. "Yeah, it seems so. O'Neill was very specific. No time for questions or discussions. We're already late."

Carter took his arm on one side, Vala on the other, and together they followed DK out of the room.

Aeryn stood between Daniel and Samantha Carter in the gate room, O'Neill in front of them like a guard.

Imposing, impressive…the Stargate was unlike anything she'd seen before. Its purpose, from what she understood, was to create a wormhole, transport them to places that connected with it.

She closed her eyes. If only it was that easy. If only she could step into it, find herself sitting at the base of Pilot's console, cleaning her weapons, the certainty of Pilot's movements behind her as Moya hummed beneath her.

"Aeryn?" Daniel tapped her on the arm. She opened her eyes, turned to him. Once John was back where he belonged, she didn't really care whose form he took.

Carter glanced at her, gave her a reassuring nod. The device they'd used on her had returned her to health, completely. The baby…she assumed that it was safe but there was no way to be sure, not without Peacekeeper tech. She was doubtful she'd see that again.

A voice came through the speakers— "General, sequence initiated."

O'Neill nodded without turning around. She watched as the Stargate turned then locked with a piece clanging into place, each piece containing a symbol, seven in all. Then there was a blue, almost liquid center, more familiar to her than it ought to be. A wormhole.

"Here comes the kawoosh," Carter said. Daniel glanced at her, smiled in recognition and nodded. Her translator microbes hadn't captured that one.

Three figures emerged from the center—Vala, Colonel Carter, and Daniel Jackson's body. He was shaking his head like he was trying to clear his ears, stumbling over his feet. She took a step toward the ramp but Daniel caught her arm.

"Wait," he said.

The wormhole seemed to get sucked back toward the gate's edges as the trio came down the ramp, Carter steadying John who stepped drunkenly. John accepted the help, found his footing. Stopped as he got to the bottom of the ramp and met her eyes.

"Aeryn!"

No one tried to hold her back this time.

"You're all right." John clung to her, arms around her like he wasn't going to let her go. His face was buried in her hair, ignorant of the people around them. "They're in Florida—DK, my mom and dad, my sisters…they're coming here." He still didn't move. "How…what…your leg and…." He pulled away, his hands cupping her face, thumb over her cheekbone. "You're healed."

"Vala Mal Doran…a different one…"

He nodded then held her hand and turned to face O'Neill. "Okay. The gang's all here." He lingered on the second Samantha Carter. "And then some."

Colonel Carter had remained at the foot of the ramp, considering her double. Then she walked up to where Aeryn stood with John.

"You were right, John." She stepped past them. "So," she said to her double. "You have any solutions to this?"

"Well, Daniel…or John Crichton or whoever he is there" —she nodded her head toward Aeryn— "All that needs to get straightened out."

They followed the dual Carters, Vala and Daniel, and General O'Neill. With the haze of pain no longer clouding her eyes, she saw it now. The vigilance on the base, the way people moved in tight formations throughout. She'd known it, for that little while in Florida, that Earth was under attack.

We can't leave them here to die. Not because of something I did.

John was right. She squeezed his hand, drawing his attention to her then leaned toward him.

"D'Argo and the others," she began. "They found us."

"What? You're sure?"

She nodded.

"Sonofabitch…I don't know if that's just made it better or worse."

"Worse. Scorpius is with them. And…and they have the module."

He pulled her to a stop. "Shit. How?"

She shook her head then pulled him forward. "Don't know. Prowlers. Peacekeepers. They're here."

"Peacekeepers. Scarrans. Scorpius." His expression said it all; she pulled him close.

"We are going to make this right."

"How? Aeryn? We don't have comms, we don't have any way to get out of this place. Even if I could fool anyone into believing I'm Daniel Jackson, your double's a criminal."

"There a problem?" Jack O'Neill brought his group to a halt and turned to them, eyes narrowed.

"General, I'm just glad to be back here with my woman," John said, a little too jovially. He wrapped an arm around her, hugged her and kissed her. Vala looked at them, then back at Daniel Jackson who stood next to Vala, mouth agape.

"Well…" O'Neill shook his head. "Try to tamp down your enthusiasm." He continued on. The Carters were talking, one of them filling in the details for the other.

"Maybe we can get Vala and Daniel to help us," she said.

"You're kidding, right?"

"What if we didn't switch back? O'Neill thought I was Vala…Maybe we can convince Daniel to play the same game."

"No. I'm done playing games. My family is on their way here. DK…here he's married to Livvie. They have a daughter."

She felt her stomach sink. His family…all of them. Olivia, who'd been so kind to her, his father—real people against any escape plan she could concoct.

"Is it bad out there?" Scarrans, Peacekeepers, Earth guarded by maybe two command carrier class ships. She'd only seen one.

"It's gonna get a whole lot worse unless we can do something. Scorpius…he can call off his dogs—"

She shook her head. "I don't think he's part of it. He's with D'Argo. And I think they might be using him as leverage."

"Yeah? For what. Wish I knew what he has in mind."

"The pod had a beacon, John. And D'Argo was too close for it to just be an accident."

"You think the pod's here?"

She shook her head. "I'm fairly certain it's not. But if D'Argo was using long range scans, it can't be too far from here. One of us needs to convince the general to get us there. Even if you go alone."

He pulled her closer. "Not a chance. Anyway for what it's worth, he doesn't trust any one of us. And that includes the team that came through when we did."

He nodded his head toward the path in front of them. "General, this isn't the way to the lab."

O'Neill came to a stop, opened a door and ushered them into another room, not bothering with an answer.

O'Neill sat them in a row on one side of the conference table: John, Aeryn, Daniel, Vala. John glanced over at his body, Daniel Jackson sitting stiffly in it. Vala had pushed her chair away from the table and had her legs stretched out in front of her, jiggling one foot and glancing between him and Daniel.

For his part, John held Aeryn's hand and hadn't let it go.

"So when do I get my old self back?" he asked. He'd taken off his sport coat, and had thrown the tie on the table.

"Good question," Daniel added. "Us staying like this serves no purpose."

"You two guys seem just fine." O'Neill had placed one Carter alongside him, the other at the far end of the table. It was clear to John which was which.

John glanced around the room. It looked to him like a strategy room, one wall of glass in the middle of it with a map of some sort. Various points of light glowed on the map, some clustered, some spread out.

O'Neill shot them a look while the Carter next to him punched something up on a computer. The glass wall came alive, holographic images projected on it. Aeryn leaned forward as they saw targets hit—homes, shopping centers, office buildings—on fire.

John sank back into his chair. "Florida," he said. The shape of things as the image scaled back.

"Did they get out?" Vala said. Her voice was solemn.

"No casualty reports as yet. We were able to engage these and chase them off. But I think you can see where this is going." He turned to John. "So which force is that? The Scarrans you keep talking about? Peacekeepers that she's talked about." He nodded toward Aeryn. "Or is it the third ship, your friends."

"Not them," Aeryn said. "They-us. You know we all want the same thing. I told you what that was."

"All your demands met, no questions asked. So reasonable." O'Neill nodded with a smirk, glanced at the Carter at the end of the table. "What about you, Colonel Doctor Samantha Carter? What do you think?"

"I think we're screwed unless we can do whatever we need to do to close the wormhole and get us—" she motioned between herself and John, then turned to Daniel Jackson. "Oh, brother. Daniel and I, and Cam, and Teal'c and, yes, Vala, back to our Earth. John Crichton, whether you like it or not, seems instrumental to that. They can be trusted."

"Can you?" O'Neill leaned on the table, turned toward her.

The Carter at his side tapped him on the arm. "Jack. She's right."

O'Neill stood up straight, eyed each of them, one by one. Daniel Jackson shrugged. Vala tossed her hair and looked away. His gaze settled on John for just a moment, then he turned to Aeryn. John reached for her arm but she shook him off as she rose out of her chair, healthy, fierce.

The General set his mouth in a grim line. "Well, Officer Sun. Looks like you're going to get what you want after all."

"Now what?" Vala pushed her chair away from the table and walked to the glass wall.

O'Neill had left it blinking at them, but the 3-D images were gone. It didn't look like much more than a Light Brite. How many had died, been injured? How many places gone?

Vala spread her fingers over the map but didn't touch it. "Do we have one of these thingies at home? You know, with the holograms?" She turned to Carter. "Samantha?"

Carter shook her head, stood up and paced. "I wish he hadn't taken the computer."

"Well, we can't all get what we want." Vala glanced at Aeryn. "And what is it you do want, exactly?"

Aeryn stood up, walked to where Vala stood. The other woman stepped back toward the glass wall.

"For now, I want to thank you," she said.

Vala blinked in response, looked at Daniel. "For what?"

"For…" Aeryn shrugged. "For taking care of John. For protecting what's important to me."

"That is no easy feat, believe me. Other than the lovely body he's wearing, you can keep him. But getting us back where we belong is on your wish list, though, right?" Vala sounded like she wasn't sure.

"She's two out of three," Daniel said. "John, her health…now it's the pod."

"What, was it like a genie and three wishes?" Vala said. "We can't have a few more?"

"Vala, you're pushing your luck," John said. "I'm guessing O'Neill will let us go to the pod. But my question is…" He rubbed his thumb over his lip in thought. "Why did he dump us in here and not get us back in the right bodie? I mean, it can be done, right?"

Carter took a deep breath. "I wouldn't. Switch you back, that is. Just like he let you and Aeryn see your parents through Daniel and Vala. The perfect hostage."

John snorted. "And here I thought you were on our side."

"I am." She walked to where Aeryn and Vala stood, eyed both of them. "Aeryn. I don't see General O'Neill letting you go, unless he has some way to keep you in line."

"That is not happening," John said.

"John," Aeryn said. "Let her finish.

"You're an officer of an alien military force and…" She looked Aeryn up and down. "And you're back to full health. There is no way I'd want you wandering around out there if I was General O'Neill."

"I was an officer." She turned to John. "We need to finish what we started before the costs go any higher."

Was she being purposely obtuse? Was there something else behind that pregnancy that she was willing to risk? He'd put it out of his mind—her capture, Katratzi, getting Scorpius off Moya, closing a wormhole…the issue of the baby's DNA just hadn't seemed that important.

Whose baby is it? Who's the daddy, Aeryn?

Sure, he'd been talking to a fembot but…what about that part of him that deserved an answer? Shooting the bioloid in the face, taking the chance that it was not Aeryn…Everything was a gamble.

We don't know who the daddy is, John….

The Scarrans had grabbed her as a means to him, had tortured her, almost killed her, because of whatever DNA she carried. And she hadn't given him up; she hadn't given up anything.

To anyone.

I would put my life in your hands…but not my heart.

God, he could be such an asshole. He covered his face with his hands, tried to wash away that particular moment: John Crichton at his shining best. Yet, it was still a question he wanted answered, even if the outcome would remain exactly the same.

"Sam, she's pregnant. So she's not exactly going to go in guns blazing. " Though he knew she could if she wanted to.

Aeryn glared at him as Sam Carter raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Whoa." She turned to Daniel. "Did you know that?"

Vala answered before Jackson could. "Yes, we did."

"And…? Vala?"

"I…" Vala turned to Daniel, as if looking for a rescue.

"Yeah, things could have gone really, really wrong," Daniel finished.

"But, you're stable, right?" Sam said. "Aeryn? Your baby…is it okay?"

Aeryn's expression gave nothing away. Questions bounced around in his head like ping-pong balls but he bit them back.

"So…if we shared this information with Jack, it might make him believe you were less likely to take a big risk." But she was looking at John when she said it. Assumption made—it's your baby, of course.

"Sam, I thought you were smarter than that. This whole venture, this whole thing—" John spread his arms, taking it all in. "You think this is the biggest risk I've ever taken?"

Aeryn lying impaled on a table. Kalish with a knife, ready to slice her open to steal what was inside. She and Chiana drugged—

Her body limp in his arms as they fled the Scarrans. His brain crying out "live, please live, please live…."

In his arms as Katratzi exploded around them

Separated when the pod crashed to Earth, waking up from a stupor and knowing/not knowing she was lost…one last glance at Pilot. Taken into someone's custody without her…who, what, when, where…How?

"Hell, this past few weeks we've saved Aeryn from death and dismemberment, blown up a Scarran base, pissed them off, pissed off the Peackeepers by telling them to shove it—crashed and burned and killed Pilot. I did all that. And you're afraid of Aeryn?"

His home, destroyed. His home, elsewhere, its fate uncertain.

He was shouting. He heard the quiver in his voice, the breath hitching in chest, couldn't stop it—

"Incoming!" Harvey grabs him by the neck and shoves him down into a foxhole.

"Get your hands off me." John struggles against him but Harvey's stronger.

"You're losing your marbles, Johnny boy. Cuckoo. PTSD. Death, death, death. If you don't clear your head, we're all dead! Aeryn, you, me, dad, beer, pizza-DEAD!" He flips John around, grabs him by the lapels of a WWI uniform. His body pressed against John's. "Buck up, soldier, or lose your head. Those are your choices."

He stepped back, fell against the table. Something felt like it was sitting on his chest, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

"John!" Aeryn at his side, pulling him to her. Her arms strong around Daniel Jackson's body with John Crichton inside it.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't know what happened…."

What happened? He'd outlined it, inelegantly. Left out the part where he couldn't save his mother. Where he could watch his family die, or leave them to die without him.

"It's not your fault. None of it." She pulled away, cupped her hands around his face. Forced him to look at her. "Everything you said. We're allcomplicit. It's not your burden." She squeezed his hand, helped him to his feet. "Come on."

Sam turned to Aeryn. "Is he all right?"

"I'm fine." John flicked at his ear. "Fine. Gotta get a grip."

Sam didn't look convinced. "One more outburst like that and you're not going anywhere in any body. You understand?"

He nodded.

"Good." Sam walked to the door, tried the handle. "Locked." She turned to them. "Can I trust you, John?" She stepped forward until they were eye to eye. "John?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. We're running out of time, right?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know."

"I mean I have no readings. I mean I've been in Florida with my parents. I mean I don't even know what day it is." He tapped on his forehead. "It's still here, humming. That's all I know."

"You said we had a limited window of opportunity. How much time do we have before we run out?" Sam paced back to where he stood, Aeryn at his side.

Aeryn pivoted in front of him, arms extended out with flat palms. Just defensive enough to send a message.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Jack's really going to let you and John go alone." She reached out, put her hand on Aeryn's arm and guided it back to her side. Aeryn squared her shoulders, nodded.

"We're all a little on edge," Daniel said. "But we have to work together. Guys?"

"Right." Vala answered for them all. "If you can behave, maybe you can keep the bodies you were born with."

Aeryn ignored that, turned to John. "Do you know, John? Are we too late?"

Time. Wormholes. The knowledge to unravel events.

Next time... your reality... forever

"Absolute engrossment." He shook his head. "Too many distractions, Aeryn." He squeezed her shoulder. She was real. He was real. His body stood a few feet away, looking at him like he was insane. An Aeryn copy cut her eyes between him and his body.

"Aeryn?" Carter said.

In front of him, Aeryn shook her head, her back to him, and still serving as a roadblock between him and Carter.

"I think I know," was all she said.