After quite an extended break, I bring you Chapter 12. I want to thank those who've left reviews and have followed/favorited this story so far in the past few months. Thank you for being so awesome. Like the song ;-)


Chapter 12: Strangers Are Friends You Haven't Met Yet

"I can't believe after all these years, I'll be serving with your ugly mug again."

Charles Kawalsky slammed his new locker shut, and spun around at the vaguely familiar voice that had spoken to him. Seeing who it was, his face broke into a huge grin, and he grabbed the other man in a loose hug, slapping his back thoroughly. "Who the hell did you have to kill to get one of these on ya?" Kawalsky adjusted the silver eagle on Ferretti's dress blues.

"I tell you, it was much easier without your lazy ass cramping my style!" Ferretti teased back.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet it was more like, without my charming self around, you actually had to man-up and stop coat-tailing your promotions!"

Ferretti ignored the insult. "Speaking of charm, I heard some bullshit going around that you got it on with Doc Fraiser," he said crudely with a grin. ""No way!", I said. No way can that loser bag such a hotty. There's just not enough alcohol in the world to make Charles Kawalsky marriage material…"

Kawalsky guffawed out loud, slapping Ferretti hard on the shoulder. He stared fondly at his best friend. "I missed you, man." Lou had died along with Jack during the fight for the mountain. He'd lost so many friends that day, but the deaths of those two had hit him the hardest.

Ferretti grasped his partner's shoulder. "I missed you too, bud. This place hasn't been the same without you. No matter which version." It was true. Carter had briefed them years ago about Alternate Realities. Rationally, he knew this wasn't his friend, that Charlie had died at the hands of the Goa'uld, but he also believed that people weren't all that different. Carter had said that certain realities were closer to each other than others. Charlie's closeness to Jack, Sam, and himself proved that. If this was a way to get his friend back, he would take it. Lou's expression lightened. "Hey, once the Pentagon sorts you all out, I'm taking you to O'Malley's for some well deserved drinks. I want details on the doc, you hear? I might even buy..."

Charlie shook his head. "You are one sick, puppy, Louis. You haven't changed one bit." He'd thought this reality was going to be hard to get used to, but he was relieved that some things might just be the same.


Jack stared down from the observation window at the Ancient woman asleep down in the infirmary's isolation room. They had put her into a hospital gown, and if he didn't know any better, she could be mistaken for an injured Airman who'd had an unfortunate encounter with something contagious off world, instead of literally being an Ancient being, millions of years old.

The kind of work they did under the mountain redefined everything the world knew about science, turning all their firmly held theories right on their heads. Each time they turned on the gate, something more unbelievable was brought back through it whether that be new knowledge, technology, or alien beings who provided a new insight on the human race.

When they rushed back to Earth to see what all the commotion was about, they'd found that Doc Fraiser had sedated the Ancient woman after she'd woken up confused, then panicked when she realized she was no longer on the outpost.

Watching the video recording at the infirmary, Jonas confirmed that she definitely spoke Ancient from the first few words she'd muttered. It was he who had gotten close to Ayiana the first time they'd encountered the Ancients. The two had bonded instantly, and Jack remembered how much her death had affected the Kelownan even weeks after the incident.

Jonas once explained, during a rare moment when Jack had actually deigned to converse with him, that he'd felt inexplicably drawn to Ayiana. It hadn't been a physical attraction, even though she had been beautiful, but a closeness that made him want to protect her right from the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

Looking down at the still body that reminded him of Ayiana, Jack suddenly related to the younger man's words. The protective feeling wasn't alien to him, it was just usually aimed at young children - a soft spot that he'd always had. He'd worshipped his son, and his utter failure at protecting him in the most fundamental way had made him more determined to protect the most innocent of lives. This woman tugged at his protective instincts, and he couldn't move himself away from watching her.

There were so many questions he wanted to ask. Why were you in that stasis chamber? Who put you there? Why did your people abandon you to your fate? Was this your punishment for some heinous crime the Ancients couldn't forgive?

He hoped fervently that they hadn't awakened something sinister, another being that would haunt them later on, another mistake that would come home to roost and bite them squarely on the ass.

He was so goddamned tired of all the battles, and for once he wanted to encounter a benign being who wasn't out to get them. Maybe a Furling, for instance. Despite the reversal in age, he wasn't willing to be in the front lines anymore. He was a father once again, and he just wanted relief from the burden of command, even if that meant just distancing himself from the middle of the war and moving to the periphery.

"You should go home." Daniel appeared by his side, still dressed in his desert tan BDUs. "Janet said they won't take her out of sedation until more test results come back tomorrow."

He didn't take his eyes off their patient below. "Yeah. I should probably do that."

Daniel curiously studied him. "You okay, Jack?"

He finally turned away from the glass partition to address Daniel properly. "You coming with me?"

Daniel shook his head. "Jonas and me have too much to do… I want to get started on those translations." He eyed Jack speculatively. "It would sure help if we had someone already familiar with the language." Jack grimaced at Daniel's thinly veiled suggestion.

"Come on, Jack!" Daniel urged. "Don't think I bought that nonsense you fed the rest of the team about learning a bit of Ancient from that time loop. I know better, but I'm willing to keep my curiosity in check if you help us a little bit with this. No one has to know," he added in an attempt to sweeten what was effectively blackmail.

Jack sighed out loud in frustration. Leave it to Daniel to make coercion sound like he was actually doing you a favor. "All right," he relented. He pointed his index finger at the archaeologist. "But not here," he admonished, spinning Daniel around and pushing him towards the door. "Grab what you need and we'll do this at my house."

Daniel stopped moving to frown in confusion, then asked, "Can Jonas come?"

"You can bring a friend," Jack said in a mockingly sweet voice.


"Daddy, you're home!"

Gracie broke away from Cassie's hip, and shimmied down to the floor. She ran straight into Jack's arms, giving him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "Missed you, daddy. I drawed lots of pictures for you. Cassie stuck it on the new fridge."

Jack stood up, taking Grace with him. "Ex-cellent. I definitely wanna see what you've been up to," he told her, tickling her tummy, sending her wiggling and giggling on the way to the kitchen.

He passed Cassie, and stopped briefly to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, kid. You did good," he told her gratefully. She followed them to the kitchen, and poured a cup of coffee for Jack as he oohed and ahhed over Gracie's creations.

"Now, I'm pretty sure that's Uncle T," Jack studied the brown stick figure with a yellow circle on his overly large head.

"Uncle Daniel," Gracie pointed at the skinny figure with giant glasses drawn on his head, and what looked like a book attached to his hand. Jack grinned at the extremely accurate crayon drawing.

"He-llooo, anyone home?" Daniel stuck his head around the corner leading to the living room. At the sight of the thick Ancient book firmly clutched in his hand, Jack let out a rare laugh.

Daniel pursed his lips. "What's so funny?"

Gracie pulled away from her dad, and rushed Daniel for a hug. "Hey, kiddo," he greeted her by returning her kiss on the cheek. "I missed you."

"You're going to reads me more stories?" Gracie asked him excitedly. He'd become one of her favorite people in the short time they'd known each other. Gracie also had an Uncle Mark, but she didn't like him very much. He was too bossy, and was mean to her other uncle, Uncle Charlie. She liked having all these new people added into her small family. She only wished that her mommy was also round, but her mommy said that she was going up to heaven to be with her other Daddy and Grandpa Jake.

"It's a date, young lady," Daniel grinned enthusiastically. He glanced up at Jack. "Jonas is outside parking the car."

Jack levelled him with an annoyed look. "Daniel, what did I say about letting undocumented aliens drive? He doesn't have a license, fer crying out loud!"

Cassie laughed at his annoyance. "I'm assuming documented aliens are permitted to drive?" she asked him teasingly.

"You betcha, snookums," he said in his thickest Minnesotan accent. He accepted the coffee Cassie handed him. "I wouldn't have taught you to drive otherwise."

"He wanted to drive, and I wanted to get a head start on this," Daniel indicated the journal he was holding. "It's actually quite fascinating…"

"Ah!" Jack held up a hand to forestall what was sure to be a long winded account of what Daniel had read. "Later. Food first. Then bath for Gracie C-"

"And story!" Grace added, jumping up and down.

"And story," Jack repeated in agreement. "Uncle Daniel can probably handle that," he smiled back at Daniel. "After bedtime, you and Jonas can do your worst, and 'fascinate' me to death."

"Incredibly generous of you, Jack," Daniel gritted out with a smile. "I'll be sure to be particularly thorough in my explanations." He looked to Cassie. "Hey, any more of that?" he begged, pointing to her coffee cup.

"If I'd known the team was coming, I would've made more." Cassie moved around the counter to top up Daniel's cup with the dregs of the coffee pot.

"Nah, it's just me and Jonas," Daniel explained. "Teal'c's doing training tonight with the newer recruits."

"How about Sam?" Cassie asked absentmindedly as she rinsed out the now empty pot in the sink.

Daniel and Jack shared an uncomfortable look.

Cassie had no idea that Sam wasn't part of the picture. She'd naturally assumed that since Gracie's mother had been another Carter from a different reality, Sam would be involved. Jack had only given her the basics of the story, and not the honkin' big mess that was the reality.

"She probably went home to be with Pete," Daniel reasoned. Jack had ushered Gracie out of the room the moment her mother's alternate had been mentioned. Daniel couldn't blame him. It was hard enough accepting that the woman you loved was marrying another man, but to explain it to your daughter? He was really starting to see Jack's point of view.

"Mmm… I doubt she'd drive all the way to Denver just to see him."

Daniel looked at Cassie with sudden interest. "I thought he got a transfer to CSPD?"

"Sam said it didn't go through. Some other guy got promoted and took the Detective position he was going for."

That was news to him, and he would bet anything that Jack had no idea either. They were all under the impression that things were progressing well with Sam and Pete as their wedding day approached. She never said anything about her fiancé still living in Denver.

"He only comes to visit every other weekend, or when Sam's not off world," Cassie volunteered. "That's probably why he's so hell-bent on getting her to set a date."

Cassie had only met Pete once, and only briefly. He seemed to be a nice enough guy, if a bit over eager. He followed Sam around like a puppy, showering her with compliments and praise. Sam seemed to enjoy the attention, and Cassie couldn't find any reason to dislike the guy apart from the fact that he wasn't Jack.

The two officers that had rescued her all those years ago had always been professional around each other for as long as she'd known them. While she'd always thought they would have made a good couple, they never indicated anything more was between them except friendship.

Her mother had been extremely tight lipped about discussing her colleagues with Cassie. She knew how precarious Janet's position had been, balancing her role as base CMO and her strict adherence to doctor/patient confidentiality, so she'd never asked.

Jack came back into the kitchen sans Gracie. "She's taking Jonas on a tour of her castle in the backyard," he answered to their unspoken question.

Grace's castle was actually made up of several large boxes that her furniture had been delivered in. Jack had done something similar for his son years before, but Charlie's had been made into a rocket ship. Charlie would've loved having a baby sister, Jack thought sadly. He would've made a great big brother and Gracie would've absolutely adored him.

"You okay, Jack?"

He came back to the present. Daniel was giving him a worried look.

"I'm fine, Daniel."

"Jack?" Cassie addressed him hesitantly.

"What is it, kid?" She wasn't the hesitant type. Living with Janet had shaped her into a strong young woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. If she was nervous about something, it gave Jack reason to pause.

Cassie seemed to take a deep breath, then slowly let out before finally speaking. "I was wondering when I could actually see my- I mean Janet-" she grimaced. "Doctor Fraiser," she finally settled on the formal title. "If she's willing, that is," she tagged on at the end.

Jack had been waiting for this of course. It'd been foremost in his mind when he'd cooked up the idea of getting the Kawalskys to stay in their universe. One of his concerns had been how it would affect Janet's family who all believed that their daughter and mother had been killed months before. Charlie was less of an issue since he had no family to speak of.

The Pentagon was still working on a cover story for how they've come back from the dead, but he'd known that Cassie would have to be told right away. As far as he knew, Cassie hadn't existed, or at least never came to the SGA in that universe, and so Janet had never met her. He couldn't expect that Doc Fraiser to suddenly feel obligated to act as a mother figure to a young woman she'd never met.

But just like all the Janet Fraisers of the universe, this one also had a huge, compassionate heart. When he'd explained about Janet and Cassie's relationship, she'd jumped at the chance to meet the young Hankan who'd been such a big part of the other Janet's life.

Jack smiled down at Cassie. "She said she would love to meet you."

Cassie's eyes lit up. "Really? You told her about me?"

He nodded. "In her universe, they never visited Hanka. But she'd like to get to know you and become friends."

A sliver of hurt passed Cassie's countenance, but it disappeared quickly. "I know it won't be the same, but at least some part of her will still be around," she said aloud, mostly to herself.

Both Jack and Daniel reached out to squeeze her shoulder. "I'd bet you anything she's going to fall in love with you, just like Janet did," Daniel reassured her.

Once Gracie was put to bed and Cassie retired to the guest room, the three men got to work with the translations.

"If this is correct, then we totally misjudged just how old the structure actually is," Jonas said. They were seated around Jack's living room, surrounded by books and notes. Undrunk coffees sat cold on the side tables.

"Yeah. Give or take five to ten million years," Daniel agreed with Jonas. "This throws a lot of our theories out of the window and creates a whole slew of questions."

"Well, not necessarily," Jonas was quick to point out. "It suggests that our understanding of the Ancients is far from complete, this discovery merely tells us that there's more to the story than what we'd assumed. "

"And if you boys are lucky, someone might just be able to fill in those blanks you want so desperately filling in," Jack said tiredly from his reclined position on the sofa. He'd long stopped trying to keep his eyes open. When something needed translating, he translated. Otherwise, he stayed out of their convoluted thoughts and theories. "Are we done?" he asked in a slightly whiny voice. This was so not his idea of fun.

"We're going to head back to the base," Daniel said as he picked up the scattered contents of folders and replaced them. "I want to be there when she wakes up."

Jack cracked his eyes open. "Don't get into Fraiser's way. If the doc says she's ready to talk, fine. Otherwise, you guys stay away from the infirmary," he warned. Fraiser had already complained about the Science Department's curiosity getting in her way. Everyone was curious to see a real live Ancient. Janet had stern words about turning her domain into a freakshow.

Daniel promised not to get underfoot, and the two men left his house, with Jack making sure that Daniel was the one behind the wheel.


Sam carefully balanced her items of precious cargo as she passed through the wide open doors of the archaeology department that was Daniel's and Jonas's domain. She found them hard at work, bent over texts, notebooks, and laptops running linguistic software. She carefully placed the large cups of coffee and box of donuts on a clear counter, the only spot that wasn't being used.

Daniel looked up over the upper rim of his glasses and smiled tiredly at her. "Hey, Sam," his eyes zeroed in on her gifts. "Please tell me that's for us," he said with a hint of desperation. Jonas looked up from his frantic scribbling and grinned at her.

Sam returned the smile, and opened up the box of pastry from their favorite coffee shop downtown. "I figured you guys would need it. How's the translating going?"

Both men got up and stretched their backs before reaching for coffees and selecting their donut flavor. Daniel went for a cruller while Jonas grabbed a Boston Cream.

"We're almost done with the second book," Jonas informed her. "When Nyan gets in, we'll get him started on the third."

"Wow! That was pretty fast," Sam remarked, impressed at the speed of their progress. "I thought it would take longer since most of the texts dealt with scientific observations."

Daniel and Jonas shared a quick look, before Daniel responded. "We got a good baseline translation, and with the two of us working on it, we managed to make quick progress."

Sam observed the two for a moment, trying to figure out what that look was all about. She nodded. "Great. I'm really looking forward to reading what those notes say. I bet it's going to change a lot of what we know about the Ancients, their technology…"

Jonas started nodding frantically. "It's incredible, Sam. We thought that the structure was millions of years old, but it turns out that it's far more recent than that. Around ten thousand years."

"What?" Sam asked in surprise. "But what about your theory of the structure being built next to an ocean? It would take far longer than thousands of years for something that massive to evaporate into the atmosphere."

"According to the second book, one of the reasons they picked this particular planet was because its sun was well on its way to becoming a red giant. This would account for the longer days and high temperatures, as well as the incredible rate of evaporation."

Sam frowned in confusion. "But the Ancients have known about that phenomena for millions of years. They would have had to use it in order to build the gate. What's so important about this star?"

"Nothing," Daniel replied. "As far as we can tell, they picked it precisely because of its insignificance and undesirability. No one in their right mind would want to live on a solar system with a dying sun,."

"Weird," Sam said, slightly baffled.

"Maybe not," Jonas remarked.

"Go on," Sam encouraged the Kelownan. This should be good, she thought to herself.

"This planet was important enough to have its gate address mentioned on the columns we found on P3X-666. The Lantians clearly thought this planet had significance-"

"I'm sorry, the Lantians?" Sam interrupted.

"It's the name of the race that the writer of the journals referred to as his people. The reference was so brief, we almost missed it. Luckily Ja- Jonas spotted it," Daniel explained.

"That sounds kinda like-"

"AtLantian?" Daniel provided. "Yep. We thought so too. Which would explain, so many things."

"Oh my god. That's-"

"Mindblowing. We know," Daniel finished for her. He stuffed half a donut into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"We figure they picked this planet because, as Doctor Jackson pointed out, no one would be insane enough to attempt populating it. It's the perfect location if you wanted to conduct research that you didn't want to be found," Jonas speculated.

"Yet, we did," Sam was quick to point out.

"Only because we were able to translate the colonnades, and even then the laboratory was only accessible because of General O'Neill's ATA gene. Without it, there would have been no way to know it even existed."

Sam thought back at how easily they'd missed the laboratory all those days they'd investigated the structure. The door had blended seamlessly with the walls, and she still had no idea how the General had spotted it. Another mystery to add on to the growing pile that were concerning her about her boss. "So you think they chose that particular planet because they wanted to hide something."

"As Jack pointed out, the quickest way to know for sure is to ask." Daniel picked up his cup, another donut, then exited the room, leaving the other two occupants to follow.


As per his instructions, Jack was the first person to be informed by the infirmary that their newest visitor was awake. Coming out of heavy sedation, she was far more calm than her first waking from stasis. Janet had summoned him the moment she began to stir, and he'd arrived just as the first signs of real consciousness appeared.

"Where am I?" The woman asked in her own language.

Jack resisted the instinct to look at the camera that was trained on them from above, inside the observation room. The windows were bulletproof, and to protect the cameras they'd been installed behind the glass. Without the microphones inside the room turned on, he knew that no-one outside would be able to pick up sounds.

He deliberately kept his back turned, subtlely stepping forward to also keep the woman's face blocked from the recordings.

"Terra. You're on Terra," he replied back in the same language.

She blinked her brown eyes at him. "It cannot be."

"You've been asleep for a very long time," Jack said without inflection.

She stared at him in dawning comprehension. Her eyes closed slowly, pain evident on her expression. "How long?"

"Ten millennia, give or take a few centuries."

She opened her eyes, a storm brewing behind them. "Why have you taken me?"

"We thought you dead. Your body had been in stasis and it wasn't until we brought you here that you began to awaken," Jack explained softly.

Her eyes shifted away from his face and finally observed the room she was in. "This technology is archaic," she observed not unkindly.

Jack shrugged. "To you perhaps. We are several thousand millennia behind your race. It is to be expected."

Her breath hitched in sudden realization. "Terra. The primitives…"

"Easy there…" he said defensively in English. She shot him a confused look. His joke clearly going over her head, he reverted back to Ancient. "We've come far since you last saw us. Probably not far enough in your estimation, but we're making progress."

"I apologize. I meant no insult."

Jack waved his hand in easy dismissal. "Already forgotten." His eyebrows rose in interest when he saw the corner of her mouth quirk in amusement. Ah, we've finally found a superior race with a sense of humor!

He moved closer and pointed at his chest. "Jack O'Neill."

She studied him for a moment, searching his face for something, before finally returning the gesture. "Ilana."

She bit her lip, an expression so human that Jack found it endearingly reassuring. They may be millions of years ahead of us, but they have the same emotions and feelings running inside them.

"Jakonyl, was I the only one…" she didn't get to finish her question at his sudden laughter. She gave him a perplexed look.

"It is simply 'Jack'. O'Neill is a family name. Jack is actually shorter for a much longer name, but we won't go into that."

She acknowledged his explanation with a nod. "Then you must call me 'I-La'" she deliberately enunciated the shortened form. "Jack?" she tried out his name. "Was I the only one you found?"

He nodded shortly. He could see how much she was hoping it were otherwise. "The planet you were on has been completely abandoned. The ocean is no longer there. You were the only thing left alive."

"The ever growing proximity of the star would have left the planet barren of life," Ila confirmed.

Jack shifted on his feet, forcing himself to ask the question they were all wondering about. "Apart from you... Why is that?" he asked her carefully. Gone was the brash Jack O'Neill who never cared much for diplomacy. Her cooperation was far too important for him to risk antagonizing her. She was the key to answers of so many questions. He had to keep her talking before she realized just how little they did know, and she clammed up just like every advanced race they so far encountered.

"An experiment..." she supplied after a pause. "that clearly did not function as we had anticipated." She set her lips on a firm line and Jack recognized that it was all he was going to get from her. Not wanting to push her further, he decided to leave things for now.

"I will leave you to rest Ila. A physician will be here to see to your needs."

"What is to become of me?" Ila asked him quickly, her dark eyes shining with moisture as she stared questioningly at him. He was sure the question had been foremost in her mind.

"I do not know," he told her honestly. It wasn't up to him. When they'd brought her back through the gate, they had no idea what they were actually bringing back. It was one thing to study a corpse, it was completely another thing to study a sentient living being.

For very obvious reasons, they were very interested about what she knew. It was a whole different ball game if she was unwilling to share that knowledge. In the end, they couldn't very well force her if they were to retain any semblance of ethics and morality that was wholly lacking from their counterparts in the NID.

But once news of her existence spread, the choice might no longer be up to him and Hammond. With a war steadily building in their galaxy, and with Earth a prime target, they might not have the luxury of morals any more.


We finally have a name! If you're at all curious, I pictured Famke Jansen as Ila. Feel free to picture someone else of course. I look forward to reading what you guys think of this new character, and the possible impact she'll have in the story. Angst ahoy!