A/N: First of all, feb04 pointed out that they didn't want spoilers, don't worry, I'm not going to spoil season 9. I've ran into spoilers before, and I know how it feels. So, there'll be no season 9 spoilers!
StargateFan- Thanks! And I hope you enjoyed the episode!
Sam Carter O'Neill wagtail JEDI- Well thanks for replying to my story too! I loved the new ep, and I hope you enjoyed it too!
getcarter- thank you! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Airam4u- Thanks! Here it is.
Starr484- lol, if you're a little confused, this chapter explains some of it, and even more is explained next chapter.
sophiedb- You're about to find out what happened to our reality guys.
feb04- as promised, no season 9 spoilers ;)
SG-Fan- thanks! Here's the update.
janissima- sorry for the confusion! Yes, it's still AU Jack, and the rest will be explained, promise!
LiMiYa- lol, You're about to find out!
Sci Fi Fan Gillian- thank you
gatelover- sorry, lol. Here's the next chapter!
A/N: Once again, thanks to everyone! Here it is…
"Realities Apart"
-Chapter 9-
AU Jack jumped to his feet. "Sir, we need to go to P3R-451, now."
"Colonel?"
"We need to get through the 'gate before Ba'al dials in, so we can get a ZPM."
Jack had figured out what was going on. Time had obviously been turned back, probably by Daniel. But now wasn't the time to worry about the hows or whys, he'd been given another chance, and this time he'd do it right.
"Unscheduled Offworld Activation." An announcement burst through the speakers as the gate exploded into life in the room below them.
"O'Neill," Teal'c interrupted Jack's string of curses. "Is that not a ZPM that you hold in your hands?"
Every pair of eyes in the room, including Jack's, looked down to his hands where, sure enough, he carefully held a ZPM.
"Huh," Jack mumbled in surprise.
"Colonel O'Neill, how on Earth did you get a ZPM?" Hammond asked in disbelief.
"Actually, I didn't get it on Earth, Sir, and that's a long story, but right now we need to get to that Ancient Ship upstairs, and get to the outpost in Antarctica so that we can stop Ba'al."
The room plunged into silence. Hammond stared at Jack in confusion, while the others looked back and forth between Hammond, Jack, and the ZPM.
"Sir, we're running out of time." Jack pleaded.
Finally, Hammond nodded. "Ok, go. I'll call the President and let him know what's going on. I expect you to explain everything when you get back."
"Thank you, Sir, and yes Sir, I will." AU Jack raced from the room, and, wordlessly, SG-1 followed.
Beep.
Jack shrunk away from the noise.
Beep.
It was quiet, somewhat in the distance, but it was disrupting his sleep, which he longed to go back to.
Beep.
He opened his eyes. Wherever he was, it was dark. Slowly, they adjusted to the room.
Beep.
It was the Infirmary. He'd know the uncomfortable bed, and the dull white curtains that surrounded his bed, anywhere.
The incessant beeping belonged to a heart monitor hooked up to somebody down the other end of the room.
Jack searched his mind to figure out how he'd gotten into the Infirmary. Now that he didn't go offworld often, the only time he found himself in the Infirmary was to visit injured personnel.
He remembered an alternate version of himself had come through the mirror asking for their help. They'd gone back through with him with a ZPM they'd found to help. It all came flooding back to him. Ba'al had caught them, and Jack had watched him kill all of them.
Wait, wasn't he supposed to be dead? He was certain that he'd killed Ba'al, and then been shot in the back himself.
He quickly sat up, and climbed out of the bed. One of the Infirmary's horrible gowns was draped over his body. He hated wearing them, as they weren't too flattering, with the back open for all to see, and only reaching just above his knees. Thankfully, a set of BDUs were on the table by the bed, and he quickly changed into them.
The curtain was pulled aside, and he quickly surveyed the darkened room. The bed beside him was empty, but the sheets pulled aside told him that the gurney was recently vacated. Across the room were two more curtained off beds.
In two quick strides, Jack yanked the curtain from one of the beds aside. Sitting with his legs hanging over the side of the bed, and wearing a hideous gown himself, was Daniel. Their eyes met, and they stared at each other in confusion.
Daniel opened his mouth to talk, but Jack was already stepping towards the last curtained bed.
Jack's heart hammered furiously in his chest as he reached out a shaky hand to pull the curtain aside.
A slim figure lay under the covers, and as Jack's eyes slowly traced up the length of the person's body, he saw the rise and fall of a chest, and then Carter's face peeking out from the sheet.
"General, good, you're awake."
Jack spun around to see Dr. Brightman walking towards them. "Where's Teal'c?" The safety of his team, well his old team, was the most important thing he was concerned with at that moment.
"I am here, O'Neill." Teal'c walked into the room.
"He woke an hour ago, and I ordered him to get something to eat."
Jack looked from Teal'c, to Daniel, and then to Sam who was beginning to stir in the bed. He was beginning to think that his whole adventure to the other reality was all in his head. Maybe some strange disease had been brought back through the 'gate, and he'd been hallucinating the whole time.
He walked over to Sam's bed as her eyes blinked open. There was a moment when confusion clouded her eyes until they landed on the general.
"Sir?"
"Hey Carter."
Suddenly, she sat up, her eyes opening wide. "I thought I was…" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Daniel? Teal'c?"
"I am here, Colonel Carter."
"Yeah, me too."
Sam looked to each of them. "I saw you both die."
"So did I and I saw you die too." Jack looked at her sadly as the memory of her falling lifelessly to the ground, and the loss which had consumed him.
Jack looked to the doctor who had been listening to the conversation in silence. "What happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me. Several hours ago you all appeared in the Storage Room at the foot of the mirror unconscious."
"Are we free to leave then?" Jack asked.
"Yes, just let me do a quick check up on the three of you to make sure you're all ok. I've already checked Teal'c, he's free to go," Dr. Brightman ordered.
No less than half an hour later, Jack was sitting in his office catching up on everything he'd missed. They'd only been gone 6 hours, plus the few more they spent unconscious in the Infirmary.
Apparently during that time, some sort of virus had infected Felger when he'd been offworld with SG-4, and it had caused all the women on base to throw themselves at him. Needless to say, Felger hasn't wanted to get rid of it, but it had been dealt with now, and the only repercussion was a handful of very embarrassed female personnel.
SG-7 had managed to come back through the Stargate under fire, and one of the scientists blew up one of the labs (surprisingly not Felger).
When Jack had walked back into his office, Colonel Reynolds had gladly left after making Jack promise that he'd never appoint him in charge ever again.
Jack was only a quarter of the way through the mission reports when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in." The door cracked open, and Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam ambled into the office, closing the door behind them.
Sam and Daniel each took a seat, while Teal'c stood behind them. Jack knew why they were here. They hadn't had a chance to talk, as he'd been the first to leave the Infirmary, and had gone straight to his office to see how things were going.
"So what's going on? I'm sure Teal'c was dead, and then I swore Ba'al killed me." Daniel looked to Jack. "I wasn't imagining the whole thing, was I?"
Jack shook his head. "I was there too, and I watched you all die."
"I don't feel very dead." Daniel commented. "Did Ba'al kill you too?"
"Something like that."
"So what do you think happened? Because we're obviously not dead."
"I don't know, Daniel. Right now, I'm just thankful we're all alive."
"Do you think the Colonel made it?" Sam asked.
Jack couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that ripped through his insides. It was an innocent question, but he heard the concern in her voice. He pushed his jealousy aside, and looked at her calmly, "We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, your next briefing isn't until Monday, so you've got 4 days of downtime."
"Yes, Sir." Sam and Daniel stood, and followed Teal'c out the door. When Sam, being the last to leave, reached the door, she paused, and turned back around to face him. "I'm sorry for what happened between me and the Colonel."
"Carter, it's none of my business what happens between you and any other man." Jack replied coldly.
She flinched slightly at his words, but quickly regained her composure. "Yes, Sir."
"And I expect you to actually leave the base for the next four days."
"I do have a life outside of the SGC, Sir." She snapped back, equally as cold as him.
"Never said you didn't, Carter."
"I'll see you Monday, Sir." She turned, and stalked out of his office, uncertain that she'd be able to hole her tongue if she stayed any longer.
The ride to Antarctica had been filled with questions which AU Jack refused to answer. He simply informed them that it was a long story, and would tell them once Ba'al was out of the way.
Upon reaching Antarctica, Jack quickly placed the ZPM in place as he'd done earlier (well, later), and took a seat in the chair. Several minutes later, the ships had been destroyed, and they had finally rid themselves of Ba'al forever. Or so Jack hoped.
AU Jack opened his eyes, and looked to his team standing before him. They were alive. All of them. Jack finally allowed himself to believe it, and his lips cracked into a smile.
"Are you going to explain all of this now, Sir?" Sam questioned.
Jack's eyes fixed themselves on her, and his smile turned into a full fledged grin. He stood up, and purposefully strode straight towards Sam, stopping only when he was merely centimetres in front of her.
Her blue eyes peered curiously up at him, and, without warning, he pulled her into his arms, and placed his lips firmly on hers.
After the shock of what was happening wore off, Sam began to return the kiss as if it were the most natural thing to do.
Finally, they pulled apart, but continued to stare at each other in contentment. Jonas and Teal'c stood in shock.
"So, uh, you're going to explain all of this now, right?" Jonas asked.
-TBC-
A/N: Well, I hope you liked that one! I still have at least 2 more chapters to go! Let me know what you think.