Chapter 37
Daniel's lab and office was growing ever so crowded as Jonas Quinn was also placed in the lab to work. It was becoming evident that Daniel's lab was now the hub of a department and Daniel had no office or lab of his own. Jonas Quinn placed a chair by Jackie at the far table and settled in beside her to work.
He casually asked, "What ya doing this weekend?"
She replied, "Dad wants to take me and Charlie out for pizza and a movie. It's a family night out. We're taking Jon with us too."
"That won't take the whole weekend," he insisted.
She smiled, "I'm free Saturday night."
"How about dinner?" he asked.
"Would love to," she grinned.
"Great!" he agreed.
Sam and Rodney busted into the room next. Sam called out "Jackie, I have a question for you?"
She replied, "You're coming too."
"For what?" she asked.
"Family night out," she grinned. "Pizza and a movie on Friday."
"Oh' yeah, of course…" she shook her thought, "That's not my question. What happens to everyone exposed to the D.O.D. if we cancel the Atlantis mission and never go, thus never finding it and never activating it. Can we still get trapped in the Do Over?"
"You already are trapped in the Do Over," she told her. "It already happened. If you don't go to Atlantis, don't you think you would still have regrets by not going?"
Sam let out an exhale as he shoulders slunk, "I would regret not going."
"And since you are already in the Do Over you will…" Jackie motioned for her to finish the sentence.
"I will go back and live my life all over again." she confessed. She looked at Rodney, "You would regret not getting Atlantis too."
He nodded, "I would…Damn if you do and damned if you don't."
Jackie cocked her head, "Everyone has regrets. The problem is not letting those regrets go. You need to let them go to get out of the Do Over."
Rodney told her, "We all die! The city will be destroyed by the device."
She shook her head, "No! The city survives and so do you, Rodney. I saw it when I was meditating. The energy it released did not destroy the city. You were knocked unconscious as well. You were lying on the floor. The device shut itself off after that. It's safe to handle."
"Then why can't I just wake up?" Rodney asked her.
"Because you left your body mentally and went back in time." she told him. "You can go back at any time. You don't have to live the next fifteen years or you can stay and live it all over again. That's up to you."
Sam asked, "You mean we can go back home and not have to relive the Do Over?"
She nodded, "Your mind has already ascended. You don't have to wait to die. You can go back to your own time if you choose. That's like a baby step. You can even choose to not remember the changes you will make so you can surprise yourself."
Rodney asked, "If we go back will we forget everything that will happen?"
"No," she shook her head. "You can go home whenever you wish or you can stay and relive the next fifteen years until you catch up."
Sam confessed, "I didn't know we could do that."
"When you're ready…" she motioned. "You just let go of the Do Over itself."
"Then we wake up?" asked Sam.
"You wake up when you either go back on your own or catch up with the moment you left." she replied. "You wake up eventually. It's up to you as to when."
Sam asked, "The timeline changes?"
"Things change," she smiled with a shrug. "It's up to you when you go home."
"I can't go back unless your father goes back." she told her.
"He knows that," she nodded. "He's waiting for all of you to be ready."
"My ex is here! Atlantis is still in Pegasus and we are so far behind. I can't leave now…Can I?" Sam gulped.
"Pete's a prick," she agreed. "Atlantis comes to earth on time and the ships will be better than before." she assured her. "The only thing holding you in the past is you. Dad knows he can go back. He's just waiting for all of you."
"How do I send myself back?" Sam wondered.
"Just let it all go," she told her.
Rodney spoke up, "One thing!" He turned to Sam, "Before you send yourself back," he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Sam closed her eyes without much thought and just let the moment go.
Atlantis - 15 Years In The Future
Sam's blue eyes fluttered open. She blinked and looked about. She was in the infirmary on Atlantis. She looked to her right and found Jack sitting up in the next bed eating some soup. He looked over at her, "Took quiet a knock on the head, huh?"
She then looked to her left and found Rodney lying on his back with smile on his face as he too started to come around. She sat up and found she was in a hospital gown. She felt light headed for a minute. She steadied herself and slowly looked about. Daniel was sitting up on the bed next to Jack and Teal'c in the furthest bed. John Sheppard was in the bed beside Rodney. She asked, "The Do Over?"
Jack looked over at her, "Heck of a head trip."
"Did I dream it?" she wondered.
"If you did then we all dreamed it." Jack told her.
"I don't remember…" she rubbed the side of her head unsure.
A dark haired nurse soon came and tended to her, "Would like something to eat?"
"No," she shook her head. She looked over at Jack, "I had the strangest dream."
"As I said…It's a head trip." he smirked. He looked past as Rodney McKay smacked his lips together. "How many times did you kiss him?"
"What?" she asked unsure. She heard a familiar voice as the doctor walked through the door.
"How are my patients?" Colonel Janet Frasier stated. She wore a white lab coat over dress blues and smiled at her friends.
"Janet?" Sam asked for she wasn't sure which timeline was real anymore.
"I'm glad to see you are awake," she told her. She glanced over the charts. "You all took quite a hit from the device."
Sam asked, "Where is it now?"
"It's been secured." she told her. "It shut off after it hit critical mass when Dr. McKay tried to shut it down. You ready for some visitors?"
Sam slowly nodded, "I think so."
The door opened in walked Jackie dressed in jeans, sneakers and a flannel shirt holding the hand of a young blonde haired girl. The child appeared around seven years old and wore jeans and a red blouse. Jackie told her, "Mommy and Daddy are fine, Livy!"
The child rushed to Sam, "Mommy!" She climbed on the bed and hugged her tight.
Jackie went to her father and leaned over and hugged, "You're okay, Dad!"
"Fine," he replied. "I think Carter forgot some of it."
"That was her choice." she reminded him.
Jack smirked as he looked at Sam, "You like to surprise yourself!"
"The Do Over really happened," she figured.
Daniel spoke up, "You sent yourself back home first. Then me, Jack, Teal'c followed. John wouldn't send himself back until he knew Liz would be okay and he got Ronon and Teyla here. Rodney wouldn't come back until everyone else did."
"I forgot what happened after I found I could send myself back," Sam told them. "It's a blank."
Janet told her, "Give yourself time. You were hit with a huge energy spike from the device. That could have affected you."
Jackie assured her, "It will come back to ya."
Jack asked, "Where is the device now?"
"Charlie just secured it in a restricted area." she reported. "We don't want civilians or reporters playing with it."
"Good," he gave a nod. He looked at Rodney still smiling, "What the hell is he smiling about?"
"He had his own Do Over too," Jackie reminded him.
"That's the scary part," he huffed.