Despite the weird configuration, Jack felt so relieved.
Robbie made him come back to reality, "Uh, Jack, don't wanna hurry you, but I'm hungry."
Jack turned to Robbie. The guy was glancing at a group of people waiting at a place, at the end of the street. It was certainly the soup kitchen.
"I'll meet you there, Robbie." Jack said without looking at the younger man.
Robbie didn't insist even if his friend's behavior was atypical. He thought that Jack was having the blues as he was an Air Force veteran, so, there was nothing to worry about. The best he could do was to give the man with the beard some space.
Once Robbie away, Jack didn't hesitate to walk to Carter.
"Sam!" he said when he was close enough to be heard.
The woman moved her head, realizing that someone was calling her. She looked at Jack with a stiff face that the man had never seen before, but it didn't perturb him.
"Sam, I'm so glad to see you…" Jack started, talking to Sam in the way he would talk to her.
Well, normally, he would call her by her last name or rank in a professional context, here, in front of military people. The context was quite strange though, Jack could make an exception. He didn't expect the next part. Or he should have anticipated it better before coming to her. Besides, the leaves on her collar and the abbreviations before her name on her jacket proved that something was awry: she was lieutenant colonel.
All of a sudden, a staff sergeant and an airman appeared from both sides of the Humvee and aimed their M4 at Jack.
The sergeant firmly shouted, "Don't move and stay where you are!"
"Excuse me?" Jack reacted, confused. What was that tone? Wasn't he a general?
The sergeant firmly repeated, "Don't move and stay where you are!"
Before Jack could really stop moving or say something, the airman grabbed him by the back of his jacket and pushed him to the Humvee hood next to Sam.
The lady passively observed the scene, still smoking. The airman made Jack put his hands onto the hood and split his legs so he could body-search Jack, while the sergeant was aiming his M4 at the suspect.
O'Neill attempted to explain the situation during the process, "Carter, what are we doing here? Where are Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c?"
"Silence!" the sergeant ordered.
The airman found the photo of Charlie in Jack's jacket. He took it and showed it to his two superiors, while confirming, "That's the only thing he's got."
O'Neill implored, "Please, don't take it, it's my son..."
"Silence!" the sergeant interjected.
Jack didn't insist. He understood that whatever he would do would be pointless, as the sergeant didn't look willing to give him a chance. The non-commissioned officer informed into his radio that he arrested a suspect and that the situation was under control.
Sam, who had remained silent so far, finally decided to say something. She approached Jack and rigidly queried, cigarette in the hand, "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"
Oh Lord... Definitely not a good sign.
O'Neill couldn't give up, though. He looked Sam in the eye.
"I'm Jack O'Neill, we've been working together over a decade, for the Stargate Program. We were part of SG-1 team. For some reason, this environment doesn't look anything like my reality. I was visiting a planet, Ender, with SG-1, and suddenly I woke up in Los Angeles. I need your help, to get back to my reality. Maybe I touched a quantic mirror or travelled through a wormhole that crossed a black hole, I don't know, but you're the only one who can help me." the general hastily but steadfastly explained, to not be interrupted by Sam or the sergeant.
Of course, Jack preferred to draw attention to the alternate reality theory and not the dream. How would he react himself if he was told by a stranger that he was part of this stranger's dream?
Of course, Jack didn't mention that in his reality, Sam and he were together and that this Los Angeles situation was the second reality he was experiencing. Giving too many details right now was insignificant. Especially when the woman he was dating didn't recognize him and looked stern.
O'Neill stared at Carter, who didn't seem concerned by his SOS at all. Worse, she was considering the possibility that he could be some guy who had run away from an asylum. Jack could tell it by the way she was raising her left eyebrow, glancing at the sergeant, and putting her cigarette back in her mouth.
She finally ordered after taking the cigarette away from her mouth, "Sergeant, take this person to the station.", without looking at Jack.
The day wouldn't get any better.