Chapter 2
After what felt like an eternity drifting in limbo, or maybe he'd just blacked out in shock, Jack gathered his thoughts and tried to assess his situation.
The image staring back at him was wrong. Very wrong. Jack was both drawn and repulsed by it. He was too old, too fatigued, like a man that had been through the wringer without any hope of making it out alive.
But it was him. Despite it all, it was him. This face held the same eyes, the same nose, the same mouth. His hair was whiter, the lines in his face were deeper, but the actual constitution was the same. Thankfully, the reflection wasn't that of an elderly man taking his last breath, or anything remotely close to the man he'd become on Kynthia's planet all those years ago. No, this was a look at what he could become in a few years.
None of that eased any of his fears and insecurities. Definitely, something was happening and he had to get to the bottom of it. Some sick bureaucrat or agent was trying to get to him, trying to get him to break.
Despite the fact Jack didn't really like his job, he wasn't about to let those shadowy figures sacrifice the planet, or the welfare of its people, to get even with him.
And if not? If he'd gotten involved in something that went well beyond the normal?
Then, he needed Carter.
Jack spent the next half hour tearing his house apart, looking for his access card and other associated materials to get into the SGC. If he couldn't reach Carter or Daniel by their cell numbers, he'd have to go straight to the source.
But even something as simple as finding his work related stuff was a chore. Nothing was where it was supposed to be, and when he tried to call the SGC, he only got bounced from office to office, continually put on hold and told to wait.
He ran the damn SGC. What the hell was going on over there?
A foothold situation? It wouldn't be the first time that had happened.
Maybe there had been a foothold situation and it had leaked out of the base and into Colorado Springs.
That was not a thought he wanted to entertain.
Though, before he even considered calling the president, he wanted more information, some intel on what was going down on base. But his options were dwindling.
He'd called Teal'c, Siler, Daniel, Carter, even Walter what's-his-name, but couldn't get through to any of them. He had reached the same roadblocks when he called the Pentagon, looking for Hammond or Davis.
Royally frustrated, Jack had even tried Carter and Daniel's home numbers, only to reach the same result. Something was seriously not right with the world.
Cursing like a sailor, Jack stormed into his kitchen, and grabbed the phone book off the counter, which thank God was where it was supposed to be. He didn't even bother to look under Jackson or Carter knowing full well neither of them had a listed number. But he was going out on a limb here, and hoping to hit gold.
Flipping through the phone book, he yelled out and shook his fist in triumph, before grabbing his phone. Quickly, he dialed the number, and waited.
"Hello?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Yeah, this Pete Shanahan?"
There was a pause. "Yeah. Who's this?"
Jack tossed the phone book on his table and paced the kitchen, stopping every so often to frown over things that were in his house that he didn't recognize. "Is Samantha Carter there?"
Another pause. "Who's calling?"
Jack rolled his eyes, tapping his fingers on the wall impatiently. He didn't need for Pete to get all alpha male on him now. "A friend of hers. Now, is she there? Can you put her on the line? It's important." When Jack didn't get a response, he strummed harder, feeling like his insides would boil. Losing patience, fast, Jack snapped. "Hey, come on, Pete. Put Carter on the phone."
"Hello?"
Jack exhaled with relief. "Carter. It's about time. You're a tough gal to reach."
There was another pause. Another friggin' pause. "Who's this?"
"Carter!" Jack had officially lost all patience. "You know who this is! What the hell is wrong with you?"
He was greeted with a snort. "You called me just to yell at me?"
He closed his eyes. Was this how Daniel had felt in one of those alternate realities?
"Look, Carter. Something weird is going down and I want to get to the bottom of it. We've got to fix whatever's wrong." Considering his words, Jack continued. "Grab Daniel and Teal'c and meet me at my place in an hour."
He didn't even allow Carter to answer him. Confident that she would listen, he shut off the phone and exhaled slowly. Now, all he would have to do is get ready and wait.
When an hour came and went, Jack started to become concerned. Carter was nothing if not punctual, which means if she was late, either she had hit a snag or she just wasn't bothering on coming.
Somehow, the thought that Carter might be taking the second option didn't surprise Jack, and that in and of itself was unnerving. If anyone would listen to him, it was Carter.
Jack rubbed his hands over his face, trying to knead away the weariness he felt. Part of him wanted to convince himself that this was all a dream; it was too crazy and farfetched to be anything else. But another part of him was anxious, knowing just how insane life could really be, and wondered what could have happened to him, and everyone around him.
But Carter would come through for him. She always did.
Upon hearing the sound of a car pulling into his driveway, Jack sighed with relief, and started to make his way to his foyer. Once she got here, he would convince her, Daniel, and Teal'c that something had gone wrong, maybe an alternate reality, or the Goa'uld, or something since he definitely knew he hadn't aged that much in one night.
Jack didn't even wait for Carter to ring the bell before he grabbed the door and flung it open. "It's about time," he told her. "We've got work to do."
That was all he'd managed to say before the shock had a chance to settle into his mind. Carter was different. Not so much different, but just enough to jar him. For one thing, she looked older, with crow's feet scratching at the corners of her eyes, and with hair that was a little longer than he was used to seeing on her. Aside from that, she looked like Carter. Blonde, inquisitive, tough…only she lacked something, that spark that she always carried in her wide eyes.
"Carter?" he managed to say. Slowly, he leaned to his right, peaking around her. Pete was outside, leaning against their van. When had they gotten a van? He was also watching them very closely. Jack rolled his gaze back to Carter and forced a smile. "Brought friends?"
When she started to scowl at him, Jack knew to stop. "Did you bring Teal'c and Daniel?"
"Teal'c is off-world and Daniel is in the van," she said coolly. Her rigid posture sent him all kinds of warnings signals. "What do you want, Jack?"
Now hearing her call him by his name and not his rank really threw him. "Jack?"
She crossed her arms, radiating tension. "You wanted me to come over to play games? Or are you serious this time?"
Jack blinked at her, shifting his weight while he tried to figure out Carter. When had everything changed?
"Carter, I don't know what your problem is, but I am willing to bet it has something to do with the Goa'uld or something that happened off-world."
She started. "Excuse me?"
"Have you even looked at yourself?" He motioned to her face, and then back out the door. "You don't look like yourself. I don't look like myself."
"So, you called me to insult me?"
Jack exhaled in frustration, wishing Daniel would get out of the damn van and help him. He wanted to jump on her, insult her, and say whatever was coming to his mind, but he bit his tongue. "Something is wrong and we need to fix it," he said finally.
That seemed to be the right response, he thought, watching her relax. "I'm glad you finally acknowledge it."
Jack really had no clue what she was talking about, but he had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to be able to count on Carter to help him out of this jam. Whatever had happened, she was part of it, too.
"Carter…I think something has happened to me and I'm trying to get back to the way things are supposed to be."
She uncrossed her arms, cautiously stepping inside his house. "And what is that?"
"You, me, Daniel, and Teal'c," he started, trying to keep the tone light. He thought back to the calls he wasn't able to connect and could only deduce he'd somehow been cut out of the Program. "Joking around, saving the day, you know."
Her reaction wasn't exactly what he had been expecting. Gently, she brought him into the living room, and sat him down onto the couch. "We can't go back to that," she said softly, almost sounding as if she pitied him. "You know that. You do know that, right?"
Why was she talking to him like he was an idiot? Okay, so sometimes he acted dumb, but give him a break…
"Carter! I woke up like this!" he shouted, pointing to his face. "I'm not supposed to look like an old man. You remember those nano-whatevers from Argos?" He kept going despite her shocked face. "Something's happened. One day I am running the SGC and the next day I can't reach the base!"
She opened her mouth, but he shook his head, stopping her. "You know me. I'm the last one to buy into any of this science mumbo jumbo, but I'm thinking we have a foothold situation, or the Goa'uld have control of the SGC and the Pentagon. And by the looks of it, you're affected, too." He held his head, ignoring the throbbing. "Maybe an alternate reality, or time travel, or some serious mind trip. I don't know. Something's wrong and we've got to fix it."
"Oh my God." She laughed, a derisive laugh, one touched with so much apprehension that it made Jack feel even uneasier. "You're completely delusional."
Now it was his turn to be shocked. "Excuse me?"
"You've stopped taking it, haven't you?" She jumped to her feet and rushed into the kitchen. "Damn you, Jack. I thought we could end this today."
Dazed, Jack rose to his feet and followed her, wishing to God she would start making some sense. Someone had to tell him what was going on here.
"Stopped taking what?" he asked, frowning as she picked up the phone book he'd been using earlier. "End what? Carter, what the hell?"
"Ten years," she mumbled, grabbing his phone and dialing quickly. "After all this time, I just thought, maybe…" She shook her head. "Nothing has changed at all."
Ten years? Had Carter said ten years? Jack nearly choked on the thought, his mind reeling. Was she really implying he couldn't remember a damn thing that happened over the past ten years?
Wasn't possible. Just wasn't possible.
"Dr. Schneider, please." She hurried to the other side of the kitchen table. "Yes, please. It's important. It concerns Jack O'Neill."
"Carter! What are you doing!"
"Dr. Schneider?" She sighed with relief. "Thank God. I need for you to get down to Jack O'Neill's house right away. He's stopped taking his medication." Jack nearly balked when Carter glanced quickly in his direction. There was fear in her eyes. Fear. "Please hurry. He's not making any sense and I'm not sure what he might do."
"Medication?" He lurched forward, trying to grab at the phone. "What medication!"
"I'm going to go now," she said, her voice shaking with anger and anxiety. "I can't believe I believed you! You haven't changed at all."
With that, she dashed for the door, running out of his kitchen and into his living room to reach the exit. But Jack wasn't about to let her go, not now, not when he felt like he was close to knowing the truth.
"Carter!" he ran after her, following her down the steps as she ran to her car. Just in time, he snatched the sleeve of her blouse, able to yank her back towards him. "Tell me what happened!"
"Let go of me, Jack!" she shouted, jerking away from him. "I will have Pete arrest you if I have to."
"Carter!" he yelled again. "I don't know what's happened. You got to throw me a bone here!"
She shook her head, cursing as she stormed towards the van. "You screw up and then you claim amnesia just to satisfy yourself." She turned around, her glare hard and cold. "You've sunk to some lows over the years but this…"
Jack wasn't about to let this be the end. Charging after her, he pushed Pete aside, knocking him to the ground. He might be ten years older, but that didn't mean he didn't have any energy left. Scowling, Jack was about to ream out his subordinate, when he caught sight of a shadow sitting in the back seat of the van. Seizing the opportunity, Jack darted past Carter and flung the door open.
"Daniel!" he yelled, grabbing the man by the arm. "Get out here and help me!"
When all he was greeted with was a yelp and sob, Jack withdrew, stunned to find Daniel staring at him, his eyes wide and magnified by his glasses, his body cowering in the small confines of the seat in the van. While Jack was unnerved to find Daniel had changed too, the hair above his ears had streaks of gray, and the creases in his forehead had deepened, Jack was more disturbed by his attitude than his looks. Stumbling back, Jack could only gawk at Daniel's timid and frightened behavior.
"Look what you've done," Pete said, pushing Jack aside. "I could lock you up right on the spot."
Jack didn't know what to say. What had happened to his life? His friends and coworkers? Carter…Daniel…
"You really are that insensitive, aren't you?" Carter snapped, standing in front of him, affectively cutting off his direct line of sight on Daniel. She reached over and calmed Daniel, rubbing his back and talking to him in a hushed voice. When Daniel seemed to be placated, she shut the door and turned back to Jack. "I thought you really wanted to make amends. I guess I was wrong."
He watched her walk away, and disappear into the other side of the van. Pete glared at him long and hard before following her. Within the span of a minute, Carter had climbed into the back seat with Daniel and Pete was prepping the engine to leave.
"Carter," Jack whispered, still shocked.
Numb, he watched them go, and drive out of his life, leaving him to his own isolation and bewildered thoughts.
