Sam pushed the door to her house open gingerly. Unanswered post piled up on the other side offered slight resistance but she slid through the gap and shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment as her eyes grew more accustomed to the gloom within. She flicked on the table lamp and picked up all the post; mostly junk mail she realised as she rifled through it. Her watch beeped to herald in a new day; the second day of her second life.
It had been an incredibly long day. There had been a barrage of medical tests to face, explanations to give, reports to write and file, arrangements to make... She had considered sleeping on base but something inside her had rebelled and she had driven home late at night, wishing only for the softness and familiarity of her own bed.
She stumbled up the stairs and undressed for bed. She brushed her teeth, avoiding her eyes in the mirror. Somehow, seeing the young woman's body wearing the old lady's nightshirt was too much to bear. She splashed some water on her face and crawled into bed, snuggling under the heavy duvet and falling asleep.
She awoke early the next morning, the birds singing annoyingly loud. A shaft of sunlight had pierced the shadow of her room through a chink in the curtains. The play of light across her face had undoubtably roused her.
No sense in wasting the day, even if she had only managed six hours sleep. She had thoughtfully signed herself off duty for the next week, needing some time to organise her life. She washed and dressed, made breakfast mechanically. She realised she was avoiding thinking, which was unlike her. She sat down at her breakfast table with a steaming mug of coffee and tried to force a mind still reeling with the events of the past few days into thinking straight.
She needed to buy some new clothes. Scrabbling through her wardrobe to find a suitable outfit had made her realise that she dressed like an old woman. Which had been fine when her body had been sixty, but baggy jeans and shapeless knitwear she had somehow slipped into wearing just looked strange on a body that looked barely out of its teens.
Half an hour later she pulled up outside the local shopping mall. She strolled through the shopping centre, quiet at such an early hour in the morning. She wandered into the nearest clothes shop, touching the purse in her pocket instinctively.
Meandering through the racks she instinctively began to look for clothes in a slightly too large, comfortable size and then realised what she was doing. Taking a deep breath she reached out for the nearest, smallest and brightest shirt she could find. Then she picked some tight jeans from the rack and, beginning to enjoy herself, another shirt. Five articles of clothing later she found the changing rooms and went inside to try on her potential purchases. A grin pasted itself across her features as she tried on top and jeans, cropped trousers and tee shirts. She had forgotten the joy of picking clothes straight from a rack that fitted well.
She spent nearly a hundred dollars in the first shop alone and after two hours of intense retail therapy had to drop the bags off in her car and return for just a *few* more items, and a haircut.
Passing a tatooist's with an advert in the window she suddenly realised that the earlobes of her new body weren't pierced. A pang of sadness rippled through her consciousness as she thought of all the lovely earrings she had amassed over the years she was now unable to wear. Then the stupidity of the sadness hit her and she walked inside to take advantage of the two-for-one offer on body piercing.
Her ears and navel were stinging when she walked out again but she felt.... happy. She'd never been brave enough to have her belly button pierced when she was younger.... the first time around anyway, but this was a new start after all. She had a toned stomach now to show off the piercing and she could see no good reason for not doing so.
Feeling that her credit cards had taken enough of a battering she returned to her car and added the rest of the bags to the pile in the back. She started the engine and glanced in the mirror and admired her new hair, cut in a more fashionable style that framed her face but still long.
She went home and put on a new outfit, feeling wonderful as she did so. The sunshine outside practically demanded cropped trousers and a tee shirt that showed off her new piercing. The 'phone rang and she ran downstairs to pick it up.
"Hello?" she said, the realisation that she had just run down stairs without a twinge from arthritic knees striking her as she spoke.
"Hi Sam. It's Daniel. Just wondering if you needed to talk..."
"I'm fine," she said, suffused with a happiness that refused to abate. "But I'd love a chat."
There was the mumble of voices off the line for a second and then Daniel spoke again. "Sarah asks if you want to come round for a coffee."
"I'd love to. Be there in fifteen minutes."
Sixteen minutes later she was ringing the doorbell of the Jackson residence. Daniel opened the front door and blinked. "Wow," he said. "I didn't recognise you."
For the first time since waking up Sam suddenly felt awkward. "Well-" she began, some of the guilt she felt at being in this fantastic new form when Daniel was still in his old one returning.
"You look incredible!" he continued and she felt the knot of tension in her stomach relax again, "I mean yesterday, in BDUs... you were still... old somehow. You hadn't changed too much. But now you look... well like one of my daughter's friends," he confessed.
"Thanks. I think," Carter replied, following him inside.
Sarah was in the kitchen. "Oh my God!" she almost shrieked when Sam entered, somewhat self-consciously. "I hate you. You look *gorgeous.*"
Carter blushed. On Thor's ship she had sat and worried about the reactions of her friends and family; expecting shock and horror. She had never anticipated this friendly kind of envy; other people were *happy* for her.
"I have to thank you," Sarah said, moving to slip her hand through Daniel's arm, "For the safe return of my husband."
Sam goggled, unable to phrase a suitable reply.
"Have coffee," Daniel said, kissing his wife on the cheek and then pulling his arm away. "I have gardening work to do..."
*
It was early evening of the fifth day of her new life. Having spent the day with Cassie, Carter had decided to go for a run. Now her knees were up to the exercise she felt the burning desire to keep her new form in prime physical condition.
The sky was heavy with storm clouds, the heat driven ahead of the thunderheads oppressive so she changed into a vest top and shorts; not caring if she should get wet.
She set off out of her house at a jog, steering a course towards the nearest park. Her muscles warmed, she upped her pace to a run, then a sprint. The air was hot and humid as she dashed, eliciting curious glances from the few other people in the park.
A rumble of thunder made her stop suddenly. Hands on her knees she drew in lungfuls of oxygen, pleased at how quickly she recovered from her exertions. The splatter of rain on the concrete made her look up. She could see the curtain of rain racing towards her as thunder growled again. She smiled, relishing the prospect of rain. It had been a long time since she had been able to enjoy the rain without feeling the ache of damp in her joints.
A shadow detached itself from the foot of an old oak tree where it had apparently been lurking. "Hello."
Carter jumped. Jack O'Neill strolled towards her, hands entrenched in the pockets of jeans. He seemed even more tanned than she remembered, presumably he had been making the most of the good weather as she had.
"Jack? What are you doing here?"
"My house is near here," he explained, "And I fancied a walk before the thunderstorm hit."
"I didn't know you had a house," she said, curious.
"I didn't," he replied, as if that was any kind of answer.
He stood directly in front of her now, so tall she had crane her neck to look at his face. His hair had been cut, he now sported a rather cool tousled style, with a shark's fin of longer hair down the centre of his head.
"You... uh, you want to go get a coffee or something? Get out of the rain?"
"I like the rain," she replied, almost chastising.
He shrugged. "Fair enough."
The rain hit them, a downpour so ferocious the raindrops stung their respective heads, bringing an end to a potentially awkward silence.
"Still like the rain?!" he yelled as lightening flashed from cloud to cloud above them.
The warmth was draining from the atmosphere now and Carter shook her head. He held out his hand, taking her smaller one in his and leading her at a run down one of the park paths. It was slightly overgrown and she wondered briefly where he was taking her. The reason became apparent as a concrete shelter loomed out of the greeness around them.
They squeezed under the crumbling roofing together, listening to the patter of the rain. "So how's things?" she asked, "What've you been doing?"
He studied her for a moment and she blushed as his gaze roved over her wet clothes and hair, mascara smudged under her eyes. "Same as you. Changing my wardrobe, sorting out a new apartment, visiting Daniel and Cassie."
"Cassie never said you'd visited!" Sam said, indignant and outraged her daughter hadn't bothered to tell her Jack had visited.
He looked slightly shamefaced. "I asked her not to."
"Why?"
He shifted in awkwardness. "I dunno," he said shortly.
She shivered; in the gloom with the rain water evaporating off her bare limbs she was suddenly cold. He moved forward instinctively and rubbed her arms. "Cold?"
"A bit." She tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. Resisting the charms of O'Neill had been hard enough when he was seventy. Now he looked more like a cool catalogue model it was even more difficult.
The rain slowed to a more gentle hiss. "Come on," he said, relinquishing the contact between them.
She followed as he lead her out through the park, the rain level dropping further as more rays of sunlight pierced the clouds. The air was filled with the intoxicating smell of all open areas after a fall of rain, a smell O'Neill had always loved.
He stopped suddenly and she almost walked into him. "I've bought an apartment," he announced. She raised her eyebrows and he felt compelled to continue. "I spoke to Thor. I'm going to start living on Earth when I'm not conducting talks. I've even been thinking about coming out of retirement again. Rejoining the SGC."
*No!*
Her surprise was obvious on her face, but she managed to bite back the word that had immediately leapt to her lips. "Rejoin the military?" she quavered.
"New life," he reminded her.
"I suppose," she said, trying to force a smile.
He read her well. "Of course. I might not..." He touched her shoulders, thumbs resting on her collar bone, fingers on her back.
"Not...?" she asked, almost mesmerised by his dark gaze.
He reached out with a tanned hand and stroked her cheek, skin taught and smooth. With infinite care he brushed her lips with his own.
"People can see us," she said flatly.
"I don't care," he replied.
"They'll be disgusted at the young people kissing," she replied, the words seeming oddly familiar on her lips. "Deja-vu," she murmured, smiling slightly as she remembered *why* they seemed so familiar.
"We lead very weird lives," he said in answer.
She let him kiss her again, relaxing slightly in his embrace. She enjoyed his kisses, when she let herself.
He broke away, his eyes burning with an emotion she daren't name. "Do you want to see my new house?" he asked, voice rough.
"Yeah," she replied, feeling oddly light headed.
"It's not far."