Chapter 36

Andria's paradise turned into a nightmare as she was shackled with a device that prevented her from accessing her abilities. It was the terrible existence for her as she was forced to come to terms with her own limitations.

With the realization that everyone exposed to the device had in fact ascended and sent themselves back and could be trapped reliving their lives over and over again Daniel made sure everyone knew they must let go of any regrets or they will be trapped in the Do Over for an eternity. Letting go of regrets and accepting one's fate was the hardest part of ascension. That was his downfall the first time he ascended with the aid of Oma. She helped him through the process but he never really let go of those regrets and when placed in an ascended state mentally his mind chose to go back and relive his life. He could have gone all the way back to when he was a child as well but chose to help Jack in some sort of compromise between the need to help his friend and help himself.

Sam figured she must have sent herself back to when Jack would come to the SGC so she would be with him. She figured if she never remembered then she might have married Rodney or even Pete and that would be regretful. She pondered why she didn't send herself back to save Janet and then realized Jack already did. When Jack went back he saved more than just his son but the good doctor as well.

Teal'c sent himself back to save his people and to make sure Jack would not be alone in the Do Over. He had gone back the furthest overall and impacted the Goa'uld the most. He already accomplished his goals but now feared his friends would not escape and thus he would remain as well.

John Sheppard so far had kept Liz Weir safe and sound. He knew they needed find the city of Atlantis and bring it back to earth but feared losing her again. Thus, he would be trapped in the Do Over if she was left to a tragic fate.

Rodney went back to help his friends and if he failed to help them he would be trapped as well. He understood regret more than anyone. He didn't go back to help himself. For that matter no one did. They each went back for a reason even if they forgot what the reason was.

Daniel walked through the halls of the SGC thinking about the Do Over and how to get everyone out of it. He pondered if they should try group therapy to help let go of any regrets they still carried. He rounded the corner and came face-to-face with someone he had not seen in a long time. She was dressed like a tourist with blue jeans and a flannel blouse. She wore sneakers and makeup with her light brown hair styled short.

Oma Delasa cheered, "Daniel!"

He came to an abrupt stop, "Oma! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," she grinned.

"Um…" he cocked an eyebrow.

"I also came to see Jackie." she told him. She smiled brightly, "What a wonderful time this is."

"How's that?" he asked.

She grabbed his arm and started to walk with him down the hallway, "You see when Jack O'Neill got his 'Do Over' he had a daughter before his son was born."

"Yeah," he gave a nod.

"Well, humans are on the verge of discovering their true power. The new generation will usher in a new age and there will be a mental ascension like you have not seen before."

"Mental ascension?" he asked unsure.

She grinned at him, "It's the awakening! It's here! It's finally here. This is the true Age of Aquarius. The children will lead the way."

"The awakening?" he tried to recall but wasn't sure.

"Ascension in its raw form is what you and I achieved. It can and should evolve to a more sophisticated form. A mental form where the body can be utilized as needed. Jackie showed me how to do that when she took out Anubis for good."

Daniel came to a stop, "What?"

"When I tried to stop Anubis all I did was weaken us both to the point we were barely traceable. He would eventually come back as he regained his strength. When Jackie ascended she found Anubis as he was starting to regain his strength and he was recovering much faster than me. I was still weak from when I tried to neutralize him. You remember that? It happened in your first life time."

"I remember," he nodded.

"Well, she muted him and placed him in a gold box and hid it in old ruins." she told him.

Daniel asked, "The Jin was Anubis?"

"Of course," she nodded. "Why else would he have avoided you when Sam released him? It's hard to neutralize an ascended being. All one can really do is contain it. She contained it and anchored Anubis to that box where he will forever be imprisoned. Her father has it buried in cement. He will be there a long, long time. The others are going to move on to another galaxy. One without ascended."

"That leaves our galaxy wide open," he figured. "The Ori…"

"Oh' pooh the Ori." she grinned. "The reason the others are moving on is to make room for the awakening. The humans in this galaxy are going to achieve a greater ascension that the others ever did. They have to move on, they are obsolete."

"Obsolete!" he gasped.

"Those of us who see the awakening and can take part of it will remain. You and me for example." she cheered. "The reason your ascension was so hard for you was because you were the first in the awakening and the others didn't want to admit to it. They figured you were just a fluke and no others would follow. When Jackie ascended and on her own they were taken by surprise. It took years of meditation for the others to gain ascension and for her it was natural. She can place herself mentally into an ascended state…many of the young can. Her brother will learn how in time. So will others. Children born today will lead tomorrow."

"Ascended state is different from raw ascension." he figured.

"It's when you can stretch your mind beyond the norms." she nodded. They can reach ascension and retain a body and then…and here's the coolest part…they can be reborn as a new baby if they choose."

"Reincarnation," Daniel figured.

"It's only part of what the awakening will bring." she told him.

"You came to tell me that," he figured.

Oma grinned, "Oh no! Jackie taught me how to flip the switch between ascension and physical form. I descended myself. I'm here to stay to help with the awakening."

"You descended yourself!" he gasped.

She nodded, "I'm here to stay. I figure you use a hand un-programming Adria."

"I could," he agreed.

"I figured," she replied. "You know what they say when you are hit with evolution: change or get out of the way."

"The others are getting out of the way," Daniel figured.

"They are," she nodded. "Now, I need basic needs met while this form: food, shelter, clothing and the ability to provide these things for myself. I believe you call it 'a job that pays'." she told him.

"I'll talk to Jack," he assured her. He heard a rumble from her stomach, "Hungry?"

"Famished!" she cheered. "I always wanted to try that blue desert your friend Sam seems to like."

"Blue gelatin," he gave a nod as he walked her to the commissary.

"You know, I haven't had to eat in ten thousand years. This will be so much fun." she told him.

He glanced at her, "I'm sure it will all come back to ya."

Meanwhile

Sam figured they had fifteen years to let go of the regret that trapped them in the Do Over in the first place. Upon retrieving Atlantis they would have to find a secure the device that caused their dilemma. Sam never considered she might be sent back more than once but she knew inside that was true, she could be sent back over and over again until she finally came to terms with any regrets. The key in the Do Over was Jack. If he sent himself back again then the rest would follow like before. Jack sent himself back first, he initiated the Do Over. She needed to have a heart to heart talk with him. She needed him to understand if he went back again she would likely follow even if she had no regrets just so she could be with him. As she rounded the corner on the way to Jack's office she came across a sight she wished she never, ever saw.

Pete Shanahan stood with other officers recruited to work the SGC and off world. He donned a pair of green BDU's with a special patch that read "Star Gate Command Civilian Tasks Force." The Letters: TF-1 was in the center of his patch. He beamed upon seeing her. "Sam!" he called out grinning.

Sam came to a dead halt and cocked her head with most bizarre look upon her face, "Pete!" She gasped as the regrets started to unfold before her eyes. Pete in the SGC could not be good.

He walked up to her all smiles, "I've been transferred to the newly formed Civilian Tasks Force. Check out the patch: Task Force One. TF-1!" he pointed to the patch.

She blinked shocked and then muttered, "Oh god."

Pete beamed for being on the Civilian Tasks Force was a big deal as the program was in a pilot stage. "We will be picking up the slack!" he told her. "I'm the civilian version of SG-1."

"Civilian version of SG-1!" she gasped. Sam was unaware of the changes that were occurring and it took her off guard.

"Yeah, it's the civilian initiative." he told her. "Cool, huh?"

"I suppose," she gulped.

"My team has been picked to go on the Atlantis mission." he beamed.

"Really?" she asked unenthused. Deep in the back of her mind she suddenly hoped they would find the Wraith and one would suck the life out of him. "What exactly do you do on Task Force One?"

"My police training and detective abilities put me in a leader position," he bragged. "I'm in charge of Task Force One. I got another cop, a fireman and a Paramedic under me. We will be doing search and rescue, research, investigations…" he noticed she looked a bit pale, "You feeling okay?"

"Fine," she gulped upon realizing there were going to have civilian SG teams and Pete just landed the flagship team and was the leader. Her day could not get any worse. "I'm late for a meeting. Nice to see you again, Pete." She walked by him biting her bottom lip as she figured Pete would likely need to be rescued himself in the near future.

Sam turned the corner and walked into her lab that she now co-shared with Rodney. She came to a halt as he stood in the lab with his trousers off and holding them up before his face. Sam's day seemed to be getting more bizarre by the minute. She cocked her head, "What are you doing?"

Rodney looked over, "Sewing my pants. The button fell off." He then gave a puppy dog look, "You sew?"

"No," she shook her head. She then asked, "Did you know they now have civilian SG teams?"

Rodney nodded, "They did that when the mission for Atlantis got leaked."

"My ex is on one of them," she huffed.

Rodney asked, "Who is your ex?"

"Pete Shanahan," she replied. "He was never in the SGC before."

"He's a cop," Rodney recalled.

"Yeah," she added. "He's leading the civilian version of SG-1."

Rodney shrugged, "You're married to Jack O'Neill, Sam. What's the big deal?"

"Jack and I are not married yet in this life time." she told him. "What if Pete is infatuated with me?"

"I'm sure you will let him down easy," he chuckled. "Ouch!" he stabbed himself with the sewing needle.

She came over and took the pants from his hands. She sat down and started to sew on the button. "So what was your regret, Rodney? Why did you send yourself back?"

"I think it's because I couldn't shut the device down and I couldn't save Atlantis from it." he figured. "I think that's why I went back. Maybe…" he tailed off.

"Maybe what?" she asked him still sewing.

"Maybe we shouldn't find the city? Maybe we should leave it where it is. A lot of people died: Liz, Carson, your career was nearly destroyed; we woke up the Wraith early and left all those people behind to be fed on. Maybe we should leave it there?"

Sam asked, "What do you think will happen to us if we never found the device? You think that would end the 'Do Over'?"

Rodney paused, "I don't know. I guess Jackie would the answer to that."

Sam bit the thread and handed him back his trousers and stated, "Let's go asks her."