A/N: Hello all, long time no see! So here we are again. I just looked at the dates… this thing was published nearly 3 years ago! That's insane. I have come to the decision that I refuse to leave it hanging. So here it is. Please don't question the use of rigging the quantum mirror to the gate and how that would work. This is science fiction just let it be. Imagination is a beautiful thing : ) Also you gotta remember that we are learning about what happened through Hannah's memories so if Hannah wasn't there we can't see it (although through creative licence I do include little bits that Hannah's memories could possibly not account for but it makes the story flow better so just go with it also… :P)
Anyways, Thank u all for being patient and you wonderful reviews! Fanfiction really has a way of keeping ppl together! It's great for the soul and imagination… so keep on fictioning! Enjoy.
Again as a reminder, stuff in italics is from the other reality and stuff in normal text is from their present reality.
Previously on OBG…
Jack stoped walking for a second and sincerely looked into Sam's eyes, "Hey, wherever we exist, whether we know each other or not, whether we are together or not. I know us enough to know, that no matter what, the second we lay eyes on that little girl, we'll know she is ours, we'll know we would do anything to keep her safe, we'll know instantly that we love her". Sam knew what he was saying was true. Any version of themselves could not look at that girl and want to let her go.
Seeing Sam reassured, Jack again picked up the mirror and they headed down the corridor together, ready to carry out the plan, to send their Hannah to a place far away from the danger that lay ahead of them.
What's goin' down now…
Hannah was held tightly in the arms of her Grandpa as he rushed down the corridor, a look on his face clearly mentally arranging what he had to do next. Her parents, his daughter and son-in-law, were laying their lives on the line to set up a means to save their daughter. The least he could do was make sure she got to the gate, prepared, when they gave him the go. No matter the situation on the lower levels he would get her there. Safe.
As he turned a corner into a red-lit hallway, he had come to his destination entering a door to his right, closing the door quietly and placing a silent Hannah on a bench.
The occupants in the room witnessing the memory recognised this scene as the one they saw earlier. Hannah on a bench surrounded by tools, with her Grandpa, locating something and asking her to be brave while he exited the room. The rest of this memory began playing out when Jacob re-entered the room some minutes later.
"Hey sweetie. How you going? Still being brave for Grandpa?" he smiled reassuringly, noticing Hannah becoming withdrawn and overwhelmed by the situation. But still she nodded defiantly determined to make her Grandpa proud.
Jacob had re-entered the room with a radio in his hands and a zat safely tucked in his side belt. He would have preferred not to have a weapon in Hannah's presence but his main objective was to get his grandchild to the gate. He would do what was necessary for that to happen.
Jacob wiped a soft hand down Hannah's face as he passed her to walk around the bench to a desk nearby. Hannah turned keeping her Grandpa in her line of sight, watching as opened a few drawers before locating what he was looking for and holding it tightly in his hands.
Jack and Sam recognised it as the tape they had viewed earlier. The one that held their alternate reality selves' last message to their daughter and the images of the happiest day of their lives.
That's when Jacob was distracted by a little figure sitting in the chair under the desk. He smiled when he saw Lisa's furry little ears poking up and grabbed a hold of her paw. He was glad to see Hannah's 'best fwend', she would have a calming presence in this stressful time.
Just before turning to entrust Hannah with her friend Jacob paused at a photograph in a frame on the corner of the desk. An incredibly broken smile adorned his face as he recognised the photo he had snapped of the beautiful family at Jack's cabin. Hannah loved the woods and the butterflies and Jacob relished the memories that flooded his mind of that day, a solitary tear falling from his weathered eyes. A realisation that he would never see days like that again.
He delicately removed the photo from the frame, as if it were a priceless jewel and gently inserted it into the front pocket of Lisa's overalls. He then turned, putting on a bright face beaming at Hannah, relishing in her excitement at seeing Lisa in her Grandpa's hand.
She bounced slightly on the bench reaching out desperately for her friend and hugged her tight when she was received in her arms. That was when Jacob crouched slightly at Hannah's eye level, making it very clear that what he had to say next was very important and that he needed her to be an especially good girl.
Hannah sat stock still and concentrated solely on her Grandpa. She might only be three years old but she had inherited a great deal of intelligence from both her parents and new when it was important to listen.
"Hannah sweetie. It's important that you listen to Gandpa right now ok?" he returned a small smile at Hannah's concentrating face.
"Soon I'm going to take you down to the special ring. You'er going to go for a little ride. Grandpa needs you to be very quiet on the way down there ok? There might be some bad people and we need to stay away from them…" he whispered seriously.
At that Hannah clutched Lisa even tighter, her Grandpa noticed this and gently pushed a lock of golden hair behind her ear, that reminded him so much of his daughters when she was this small, and continued.
"Don't worry, your Grandpa will be with you the whole time… When you go through the special ring people on the other side might ask questions. You let them know your Grandpa gave you this ok?" and with that he held up the memory recall device he had procured earlier on the lab bench and also placed it in Lisa's overalls pocket along with the photo.
"What mama and daddy?" she questioned obviously wondering where her parents were going to be.
Jacob swallowed back a block in his throat at the mention of the parents she would probably never see again and tapped Hannah's nose lovingly.
"Don't worry about mama and daddy sweetie. You will go for a little ride through the ring and your mama and daddy will be there, waiting for you on the other side. They love you very much and will be so happy to see you…" Jacob stood then scooping his little princess up and held her close to his chest, the look on his face clearly willing his words to be true.
The Jack and Sam in the room still on either side of Hannah stared determined at the screen. They both wished that somehow they could let that Jacob know that his fears were unfounded. Despite knowing her for so little a time, they did love her as their own (because technically she was) and they would protect her to hell and back.
As Jacob held her, his radio sprung to life and the intermittent voice of Hannah's mother filled the room. "Dad…. Go…. Jack… holding off… hurry…" and with that the radio went silent.
Jacob couldn't allow himself to picture the scene that might be playing below them right now. His goal was clear and with that he sprung into action. He placed the video in his jacket pocket and clutched Hannah close asking her to hold tight and to close her eyes. Then arming himself with his zat, Jacob took a deep breath, closing his own eyes for a fraction of a second before exiting the room and exposing himself and his charge to the dark corridors of the unkown.
The memory screen went blank then and both Jack and Sam looked down at Hannah who had again took a defensive position, eyes shut tight, willing herself to not allow the next set of memories to pass. This pained them both but the truth of the matter was they needed to know what happened. They needed to know the state of her version of her family and whether it was even remotely possible that she be sent home.
At the pained expressions of both her parents, surprisingly it was Daniel and Teal'c who offered their assistance and calming presence on this front. Teal'c sat on the edge of the briefing table and deftly picked up the little figure, the size of one of his biceps, and gently held her on his lap as Daniel sat next to him and whispered soothingly in Hannah's ear.
"Hey bug. I know it's not easy and you're doing so well, you're just as brave as your grandpa said you were. We need you to keep remembering. If it helps you can hold my hand. Your uncles are here for you Hannah. You can do this…" he smiled encouragingly.
Hannah opened her eyes at her Uncle Daniel's large hand in her tiny one and looked up at both of her Uncle's who she had also relied on so heavily in her timeline and with that an onslaught of jumbled scattered memories flashed across the screen.
Hannah was being jostled about in her Grandfathers arms, eyes tightly shut as per his request. The screen remained blank as all that could be heard was the occasional shout and the sound of an electric bolt being emitted every now and again.
Sets of loud gunfire could be heard nearby and Hannah clutched tighter at her grandpa's shirt. She felt him grip her tighter back and heard the loud groan as a heavily armed door was automatically opening. Next thing she felt was her Grandpa placing her on a cold hard object. She clutched tight not willing to let go but at a kiss to the forehead and whispered assurances that everything would be fine, she loosened her grip and allowed her grandpa to place an object in her arms with Lisa (the tape).
There was a commotion all around as Hannah could hear banging on doors and loud shouts surround her. The thing she was lying on began to roll and her eyes shot open at the movement, desperately needing to know where her grandpa was, where her mama and dada was and what was going on.
Hannah was sitting on the F.R.E.D on the gate ramp and before her eyes stood the three most important people in her life. She tried to sit up and was figuring out a way to jump off the contraption she was on, that was moving her slowly away from the people she wanted so desperately to be near.
"Mama, Dada, Grandpa Jakup!" she yelled, causing three sets of eyes to shoot in her direction. Jack and Sam moved quickly to her side before she was able to jump off, Jacob holding his position at the foot of the gate ramp.
Hannah noticed her mama was walking funny and her papa had red all over his shirt but this didn't bother her as they both looked down at her with identical serene smiles on their faces. They were in bad shape but they had succeeded. The gate room was locked and although their enemies were attempting to get inside, for the time being it was secure. Sam had been able to rig the mirror to the gate and had selected a world that seemed calm, a world where Hannah could grow safe and loved by both her parents, a world they could not give her.
Tears ran down the bloodied faces of her parents as they held each other, watching Hannah slowly roll away from them towards the event horizon.
"Hannah, sweetie. Lie back down. Close your eyes and in no time you'll wake back up and we'll be there. All better and we'll be so excited to see you. We promise…" Sam whispered stumbling forward with an outstretched hand, the other clutching desperately at Jack.
Hannah obediently laid down exhausted in her own right, implicitly trusting her parents and knowing that everything was going to be ok, because they said it would be. The last thing Hannah heard before unconsciousness took over, were the whispered words of her father "Remember that you are always loved…" and the sound of heavy automatic doors opening and gunfire. The screen went black.
a/n: da da daaaaaaaa... *dramatic* well FINALLY after much too long i have completed the memory sequence! Now onto family tiems! complicated feeling tiems! angsty/fluffy/humour tiems! I apologise profusely at my inability to stick to a project (it is a HUGE flaw of mine) but i'm determined to see this through. I understand the frustration of loving a story and not being able to see it through to the end because it's author has given up... I will try super hard to not be one of them. Thanks for sticking with this. Catcha!