The Grandfather Paradox

Synopsis: What happened if Samantha Carter met her own father back in August 1969?

Rating: PG-13 Swearing!

Daniel Jackson

We were in big trouble. Jacob Carter knew something was exceedingly bizarre about the four of us, and he was grittily determined to figure out what it was. Like a hound dog that had caught scent of a bird, he was on our trail. Meanwhile, Sam was looming on the verge of a breakdown, stressing out from trying to ascertain WHY we were here, and having to deal with her father. And so our tour of America via Route 66 continued with none of us sure how the hell we were going to get back to our own time.

Jacob has a great wit, I've noticed, if you overlook the fact that Jack has a similar sense of humor. Jake was sliding little dry jabs in, especially toward "June", and Samantha was becoming more and more off balanced.

Finally the four of us, the inadvertent time travelers, had a chance to discuss our situation amongst ourselves while we drank soup around a roaring camp fire. Naturally, I'm proud to say that cooler heads prevailed.

"Jack, you've got to get Jake off his bus!" I protested. "It's not doing Sam any good to have Jacob on the bus. He knows something's up, and he's going to harass Samantha until he figures it out. So the question is, how do we get him OFF the bus? Do we stop the bus, and left him off? Or do we just open the door and kick him out while the bus is in motion?"

"Well, good for Jake, I'm glad that he knows something's up," O'Neill answered with a wave of his hand. "And perhaps, pray tell, when Jacob figures everything out, maybe he can explain why the hell we're in 1969 rather than 1999! I'm sure Selmak would know, but the snake's not here."

Sam finally perked up, and inserted herself into the conversation, "A flare."

It was the first word she had said all day, but the problem was, we weren't sure what she meant, so Jack asked her to expand on her comment, "What?"

"That's the only explanation. We had to have been sent back because of a solar flare," Samantha explained.

"Was there not an error in your calculations?" Teal'c questioned.

He wasn't blaming Samantha for what had befallen us, it wasn't his way. But Sam had reconfigured the calculations for our little trip to PX-C3PO or whatever the damn numbers were, before everything had gone royally to hell.

Sam shook her head, "I don't think so, Teal'c. But after the Abydos mission, when we couldn't figure out a way to make the Gate work again, I was asked to research alternative applications for the Gate. Including time travel."

Once again, George Hammond had gone above and beyond trying to get us home. He had set the brightest mind he had onto a problem that probably wouldn't rear its ugly head again for years. I'm sure most people would have been quite happy to dismiss the entire situation out of their mind, saying Que sera, sera, but not George. He had been living with this secret for thirty years, and he had remembered. Amazing, I really need to thank General Hammond when I get home. Not if, but when.

I wish he were here; I would enjoy asking him what he felt when the four of us showed up from Abydos after our first mission. Come to think of it, he had been the one who had been extremely persuasive in convincing the higher ups to allow Teal'c to join our team. That would be an excellent philosophical debate with George. Did Teal'c join our team because he already met George? Or had he met George because he had already joined SG-1? Which came first? The Jaffa or the General?

"What'd you come up with?" Jack questioned, interrupting my deep thoughts.

"Well, just this..." Sam paused, before grabbing a stick to scrawl her drawings in the dirt at our feet. "What if a massive solar flare just happened to occur at the exact moment when we were traveling between Earth and another Stargate? If the wormhole itself was redirected closer to the sun because of the Earth's magnetic field, the increased gravity could slingshot us back to Earth."

Damn good hypothesis, but I had one question, "Why haven't we tried this before?"

Naturally, because I hadn't bothered getting an advanced degree in astrophysics, it was a rather simple reason once Sam dumbed it down for both Jack and me. Well, for me anyway. I keep forgetting that Jack knows more about astronomy and the like than he lets on. He doesn't use the telescope at his house for watching his neighbors. Well, not only for watching his neighbors.

Sam explained, "Because flares are impossible to predict. Light takes several minutes to travel between the Earth and the sun, so by the time a flare of sufficient magnitude has been confirmed, it's already too late."

Great! We had an idea of how we got here, but now I had to ask the question, "Okay, if they're impossible to predict, how then, do we get ourselves home?"

"August 10th, 9:15 A.M. It's in the note from Hammond," Sam answered confidently. "General Hammond must have used my own research to figure out what we needed. And he looked up two flares in August of 1969 that could send us home. One to prove it, and the second to send us home."

Dear God, if this got us home, I'd be willing to kiss George on the top of his bald dome every time I saw him.

In front of SG-3, even.

Jack was also suitably impressed, "George Hammond, you old son of a---"

A branch cracked, and then we realized that Michael and Jenny had overheard far too much. I let the others converse with our new friends, as I had to figure something out. If Michael and Jenny had overheard us, had Sam's father heard, too? I had to find him...

Jacob Carter

I was trying to get comfortable on the bus when I had to answer a collect call from Mother Nature. The "squad" as I called the gang of four, was sitting by the campfire, drinking soup and talking amongst themselves. Jenny and Michael were eavesdropping, making enough noise to cover my approach.

Time to be nosy. If I was caught, I could always demonstrate the reason why I was out of the bus. The best lies always have the ring of truth in them.

Carefully, I listened. I remained unnoticed, even after Michael and Jenny were caught, and I listened to their unbelievable tale.

Another planet? Samantha? Her name was Samantha Carter? Like my daughter? Who, pray tell, was Selmak? Or should I say... what? Solar flares? Traveling from Earth to another world? Stargate? George Hammond? General George Hammond. 1999?

The only Hammond I knew was a flying buddy of mine. Stationed at Cheyenne Mountain... which was in the general area where Michael and Jenny had picked up these four strangers.

Was that woman, who looked so familiar, in actuality, my daughter? Samantha?

All my unanswered questions clicked with a loud snap. She looked like Anne, but acted like me. Thirty years down the road, that woman could be my daughter, and George... her C.O.! Good God, Anne would kill me when she found out our daughter had decided to go into the military.

Taking care of what I had come outside for, I quickly returned to the bus. For good measure, I threw my jacket over me, and I pretended to be asleep even while I relived every single word I had overheard between the squad.

It ALL made sense now. If... that is...it was true.

Ringo.... Or should I say, Daniel, came in to check up on me.

"Oh God, Hammond. I hope you know what you're doing," he whispered.

The next morning we had breakfast at a greasy spoon. Jimmy, the big black guy, appeared confused by the term.

"The spoon is clean, it is not greasy," he said to Jimmy.... Jack after he had examined it.

"He's a foreign exchange student at the university. He has some problems with metaphors," Daniel explained.

That started a round of conversation, so I glanced at my watch. I knew what time it was, but I had to put on a show.

"Excuse me, I'm going to call my wife," I explained as I left the table.

Actually, I was going to make a collect call to a certain George Hammond in Colorado.

Lt. George Hammond

The phone rang, and I groaned. My dear, sweet wife, nestled underneath the bedcovers, displaying the sweetest hints of naked flesh, hit me hard, which was her way of saying that I had to be the man of the house and answer the damn phone.

"Why does this always happen on the few days I have off?" I asked the uncaring world. "I was going to sleep in today."

I nearly stepped on one of my daughter's toys, meaning that by the time I got to the phone, I was one mean grizzly bear.

"HELLO?" I hollered. "Do you know what the hell time it is?"

"I have a collect phone call from a Lt. Jacob Carter for you. Will you accept?" The operator said in a patently fake voice.

"Sure!" I growled, as I was planning on giving Carter a ration of shit and then hanging up on him.

"George? It's Jake. Don't hang up on me! I know it's early, but I gotta talk to you," Jake's voice was quiet but intense.

Not a good sign.

"Where the Sam hell are you man? 'Nam?" I questioned.

"No, I'm on leave, making my way home for some R&R with the wife," Jake answered. "But I met some friends of yours, George. Least I think they are. Can I describe 'em to you? They had a note from you, and you had scribbled some dates on it."

My sleepy mind roared to life.

"A blonde woman with a cut on her hand," I answered slowly. "Three men. One Negro, two white?"

"The older one's a little sarcastic?" Jake questioned. "One guy's got glasses...."

"Jake, listen to me. Whatever they need, you're to help them," I interrupted him as he continued to describe them. I trusted Jake like no other, and loved him like a brother. I hoped it would be enough. "It is a matter of utmost importance, and you're to forget you ever dealt with them after you're done. If you give them money, let me know, I'll wire it out to you."

"George..." Jake paused. "This is going to sound like I'm dropping acid, but the blonde... her name is Samantha Carter. Is she my daughter? From the future?"

Everything snapped together with a click so loud that I'm surprised that the sound didn't wake the nation.

"Oh my GOD! That's why she looked so familiar!" I blurted. "She looks like your wife!"

General George Hammond

"Tok'Ra ID, Sir," Sgt. Davis stated quietly, as he looked up from his dazzling array of computer screens. "It's not SG-1's signal."

"Open the iris," I insisted. "It's probably Jacob as I sent a message to the Tok'Ra. Have him meet me in my office. We're not to be disturbed unless the President arrives, bareback, on a Trident missile, is that understood?"

As I turned to leave the command center, having already anticipated his answer, I saw that Jake was running down from the gate, and he looked worried.

"Damn it, Jake, I've lost your daughter." I thought.

All these years, I had known this day would arrive. Foolishly, even after Teal'c had walked through the Stargate, I had hoped that I had somehow negated the past. Jake and I had never spoken about this day, except for that one time, thirty odd years ago, when he had woken me out of a sound sleep to ask me about the stranger who was his daughter.

Jake Carter, USAF Retired

Calm down, Jacob. It is unseemly that you appear on the verge of panic.

SHUT UP SELMAK! This is my daughter we're talking about. Who, I might add, is lost in the past!

Jacob, I understand, but there's nothing we can do to change the past. It's the future, we've got to fix!

I'm glad you convinced the Tollans to let us look at the Quantum Mirror. If it wasn't for the fact that you talked to Narim and mentioned Sammy, I don't think they would have let us look.

We're not supposed to let anyone know that they have one! I'll talk to George, and explain to him what we have to do. That date and time he gave them is going to send them far ahead into the future, Jacob. I'm glad you remembered it so I could calculate their arrival time. The strength of the flare is significantly greater than the first one. If they had left then, they'd be back by now. It is a very bad sign that they're not. This is a key event, Jacob, and I can not stress it enough that the ripples of them disappearing will profoundly affect this world, and the universe!

Jake found himself in George's office, and he slammed the door shut. Taking a quick look around to confirm that it was just the three of them, Jake interrupted George in mid-breath.

"George, we've got a big problem. The date and time you gave them has sent them into the future, George. Selmak's pinpointed a date," Jake felt his composure slip, and he gratefully allowed Selmak to come to the fore.

"General Hammond," Selmak stated quietly. "I believe that Captain Carter and the rest of SG-1 are in great peril, as is this planet."

Jacob Carter

Still more driving in a psychedelic bus, and we were only a day or so from New York City. The conversation with George hadn't given me any relief, if anything, it had made everything worse.

Time travel.

It was a good thing I had watched Star Trek. "Tomorrow is Yesterday" had been one of my favorite episodes, even though I had laughed at the very idea of time traveling by using the sun's gravity to cause a sling shot effect. Apparently, Gene Roddenberry had been absolutely, positively correct. If I ever saw him, I'd have to apologize.

Help them, Jacob. It's important.

But how the hell could I?

Most importantly, how to bring it up?

Samantha... JUNE.... My daughter... never talked to me. I hoped it was because she didn't want to unduly influence the space-time continuum, but what if it was, because.... She and I weren't talking in... God help me... 1999. I knew I was a hard ass, and Anne often told me that she only tolerated me because I wasn't around so much. She had been kidding, but yet she hadn't.

In the end, it was almost frighteningly easy to broach the subject. Michael and Jenny had finished dinner early, and the rest of us were still in the diner. Sam was playing with her peas, shuffling them around on her plate, so it would look like she had eaten them. It was Sammy! She never ate her peas!

In my best fatherly voice, I spoke.

"Samantha Anne Carter, your mother would be furious to know that in spite of being as old as you are, you're still trying to hide the peas on your plate. Eat your peas, young lady!"