Disclaimer: This story includes excerpts from the TV show Stargate SG-1. I do not own the show. I only enjoy writing about the show, borrowing the characters in the most respectful way.
AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone, keep them coming! Here is other side of the story, the other time. Hope you like it. Oh, and what did you think about my drawing? Read en review, I'd like some feedback, on story and drawing!
PS This one is unbeta'ed, so mistakes may be present. I just wanted to post this ASAP.
"Sam, Jack. It's all clear. You can come out now."
"In a minute."
Cutting off the radio Jack looked at her. Just moments ago they thought things might end in a huge explosion. Now the situation had turned around. Personally it felt like the situation had turned upside down, but that could be a side effect from the kiss. He couldn't believe she actually kissed him, and how! He could have sworn there were sparks flying. But then he hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings at that particular moment.
Realizing the doom scenario no longer applied he wondered about their kiss. He could understand perfectly if it had been a kiss out of desperation, seizing one last moment before the end. But she did say she liked him, and not Daniel. Jack internally smiled. His instincts were right all along, as usual. The moment she had appeared on his boat he had been impressed by her beauty. Especially her eyes. He considered himself to be a leg-man, but her eyes did things to him.
He could remember her standing in the 'gateship', a look of anticipation, nervousness and joy in those blue eyes of her. When he had activated the ship she and Daniel had begged him to take them along for the ride. Now Daniel, the one from his own future, he could have left behind, the geek wasn't all that interesting and bullets could breach any language barrier, especially in hostile territory. But the puppy dog look she had given was unbelievable. It had melted his insides in a second.
Now her blue eyes were slightly darker then before. And to his amusement, they were glued to his lips. She was staring at his lips, clearly showing her desire. Somehow this made Jack feel very comfortable. It wasn't the obvious sexual tension that boosted his male ego, but the fact that she was showing her emotions and desires without any reservation. It felt …strange. In a good way.
He placed his hands on the sides of her face and swooped in for another kiss. This time their kiss was slow. They both started exploring each other's mouth, like they had all the time in the world. Jack couldn't figure out who tugged whom to the ground, but they ended up on the floor, seriously making out. A spark from the back of the ship caused them to release each other from the lip lock they had going.
"I can fix that," she automatically responded.
Normally such a remark would have killed the mood, but the hands tangled in his shirt and the fact that her eyes were still staring at his lips made him smile. He decided to tease her a little.
"Ya think?"
Her expression fell for a split second, before she grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"Yeah, sure."
She gently pushed his shoulder, rolling him onto his back. Quickly straddling him she placed her hands on his chest.
"Think you can fix me?"
This made Jack's grin grow wider. He was mildly surprised by her move and sudden assertiveness. Her eyes now were sapphires twinkling at him in the gloom of the shuttle.
"You betcha," he replied, pulling her down for another kiss. A long one.
∞ -
Jack quietly slipped out of their bedroom, hanging the curtain up so nobody would disturb her. Sam had just fed their newborn baby girl and was persuading her to take a nap. Of course, this required the presence of mommy as well, so Jack had left them to it.
"Daddy, can I see the baby now?"
Jack turned and smiled. Gently lowering himself unto one knee he put his hand on top of his daughter's head and stroked her hair.
"Not now, sweetie. Mommy and Ellie are taking a nap, you can see them afterwards."
Abigail nodded her consent but Jack could see she was a little disappointed. And if there was one thing he could not stand was his little girl disappointed.
"Why don't you and I go outside and you can make a drawing for your new little sister?"
Her eyes immediately started glowing and Jack couldn't help but smile. This girl could get him to do anything for her. Fortunately she didn't fully realise that. Yet. Wait till she hits puberty, he grimly thought. Abigail grabbed his hand and was dragging him towards the exit of their tent. He chuckled. Oh yes, she could drag him anywhere already at this age.
When they came outside Jack put on his sunglasses out of reflex. He quickly scanned the surroundings, even though the rebellion had made sure there were no guards of Ra here anymore. 'Can't teach an old dog new tricks I guess.' A little squeal coming from the little girl next to him shook him out of his reverie.
"Uncle Danny!"
Abigail let go of his hand and ran towards her honorary uncle. Daniel threw back the hood of his robes and spread his arms wide. After a good hug they let go and she started dragging him to the little table Jack had set up outside their tent. This made Jack smile even more. When Daniel saw Jack, standing there supporting a large smile, he just shrugged. Jack knew Daniel didn't mind being dragged around by Abigail. Even Teal'c, who had rapidly become a good friend to them, got dragged around by his daughter. It had been quite a sight when that happened for the first time.
"Hey there, Danny. Want some tea?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Jack sat down and poured Daniel a cup from the ever-present teapot. After handing it to him Jack opened a box on the other end of the table and took out a sheet of papyrus and a piece of charcoal.
"Here, Abby, knock yourself out."
His daughter threw him a killer smile before taking the offered material and immersed herself into her own little creative world.
"So, how's Sam?"
"Taking a nap with Ellie, you know how it goes."
Daniel smiled. "Yes, I do now."
Just three months ago Daniel had become a very proud father to a cute little boy. He and Chepra, a slave girl they had rescued from the temple of Ra, had married a year after Ra had left Earth. It hadn't been love at first sight, but they finally came to their senses. And now they had an adorable little boy to occupy their time with. It meant that Daniel had less time to go traveling and exploring, but Jack knew Daniel had given it up gladly and without protest. His son meant the world to him.
"How are Chapra and Skaara?"
"Good, good. Did you know that Skaara actually said 'da' a few times?" Daniel slowly shook his head. "He grows up so quickly."
Jack chuckled at Daniel. His four-month-old infant couldn't really say any words yet, not until he was at least eleven or twelve months, but Daniel seemed to think his knack for languages was passed down to his son and that Skaara was already using it. Jack could still remember the day Daniel's son was born. Daniel had asked him if he could name his son Skaara, which had struck him as odd considering he didn't know anybody called Skaara and he didn't need to give his permission. But he liked the name and he gave Daniel his permission. Daniel seemed very relieved by it at the time, and that was enough for Jack.
"Yeah, they do grow up quickly, don't they? I mean, take a look at—"
"Dad! Dad! James threw my beetle!"
Stopping mid-sentence Jack turned his head to locate the source of the shout. When he set his eyes on his youngest son Jacob he couldn't help but wearily shake his head and smile. Although Jacob got on very well with his brothers he sometimes was picked on, being the Benjamin.
"Settle down, kiddo. Tell me what happened."
Jacob sat down next to Jack and wrapped himself around Jack's waist.
"We were playing with the dung beetles, trying to make them race. And mine was winning! But James picked him up and threw him down the dune."
Jack didn't have to look at his son to know he was pouting. Unfair brothers were one thing, but little Jacob had a little trouble with losing too.
"Well next time you all agree on some rules then. And I'll talk to your brothers, okay kiddo?"
He felt Jacob nod in his side and Jack rubbed his back.
"Does it ever gets any easier, Jack?"
Jack snorted. "Nope"
"Great" Daniel sarcastically added.
Jack was proud at his alter reality self for teaching Daniel some sarcasm. He was about to comment himself when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Sighing and shaking his head he called out.
"James and Michael O'Neill, get your butts over here," he barked in his stern CO voice.
From behind one of the nearby tents two boys shuffled into view. Slowly they made their way to the table with their heads bowed. Coming up next to their father they kept their gazes fixed on their sandals. Jack just stared into the distance, knowing they wouldn't look at him.
"What did I tell you about playing with your brother?"
A few soft murmurs were his only answer.
"I believe I told you to play fair and have fun, not …throw each other's dung beetles off a dune." His voice altered in pitch a little at the end, almost revealing his amusement.
"Yes, dad," the twins softly replied.
"Now apologize to your brother and find another game you can play without upsetting each other."
"Sorry, Jacob," James softly said.
"Yeah, sorry," Michael echoed.
Jacob got off the bench and nodded. Then Michael suddenly piped up.
"Hey, wanna play hide and seek?"
James and Jacob smiled and in a matter of seconds the three of them were gone. Daniel laughed.
"It never lasts long though."
Jack finally let his grin break through. "Nope"
"Daddy, I'm finished!"
Jack turned to his oldest daughter. She was holding up her drawing. (To see Abigail's drawing go to this page: home.tiscali.nl/artparka/Stargate/Ancienthistory.html) Cocking his head to one side Jack adopted a very fake confused look.
"What is that? Are those little storks you drew?"
Abigail giggled. And that was Jack's second favorite sound in the whole world. The first being the giggle of his wife, Samantha Carter-O'Neill, of course.
"No, silly, this is you, this is Mommy, here are James, Michael and Jacob, and here is little Ellie."
Jack nodded in appreciation. "Wow, and you did all these hieroglyphics yourself?"
"No, Uncle Danny helped me with them. He showed them to me last week, I memorized them," she responded with a large grin.
Jack shot Daniel an amused look. Daniel just shrugged a kind of an apology.
"Well that's great, sweetie. Tell you what, I'll go look if mommy is still sleeping. If she's not then I'll bring her out here and you can show it to her, okay?"
Abigail clapped in her hands in delight. Jack stood up from the table and headed inside. Last thing he saw was Abigail explaining her drawing to Daniel, who was listening very attentively.
Entering their tent Jack suddenly was flooded with a feeling of bliss and contentment. Everywhere little bits and pieces of his family were present. Toys strewn about, a few drawings attached to the side of the tent, clean cloths for the baby. It warmed Jack's heart to have this family, one he never thought he would have. Suddenly it made him think about his alter reality self. What Daniel told him about the other Jack O'Neill the man was nothing short of a hero, but one with a tragic life. They both had to cope with the death of Charlie, but the other Jack O'Neill had experienced so much more. Wonderful things, yes, but a lot of pain as well.
Jack found himself standing in his bedroom, looking down at his sleeping wife. Another thing Daniel had told him. That Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter, both Air Force officers, never got together. And that was something he just couldn't figure out. Right now, he couldn't even begin to imagine his life without his Sam in it. Maybe his alternate self didn't know what he was missing.
"Hey," a sleepy voice called out.
"Hey, yourself."
Sam smiled and closed her eyes again. Jack figured she was awake but didn't want to leave the bed yet. He sat down next to her and cupped her face with his right hand. She softly moaned and nuzzled his hand.
"Do you think the other us feel the same we do?"
She opened her eyes and looked at him with a curious expression. "What do you mean?"
Jack shrugged. "You know, the other us, the future us. You think they feel the same about each other as we do?"
Sam was silent for a moment. "I guess so. Based on what we have and what Daniel told us."
"Mmm"
"Why, what are you thinking?"
"It's seems unfair for them to be apart."
Sam smiled. "It does, doesn't it?"
Suddenly Jack swooped down and kissed her. Their kiss didn't last long, but it held a lot of passion. Sam frowned a little afterwards.
"Eh, not that I'm complaining or anything, but where did that come from?"
Jack smiled widely. "I got an idea."
"Oh?"
"Yeah"
"What?"
"You know how the video tape will survive all those years and find its way to the other us?"
"Yes…"
"How about we also send a little something to the future, to show Jack and Sam things can be different?"
Sam's frown disappeared and was replaced with a large smile. "What do you have in mind?"
He pointed his left thumb to the exit of the tent. "Our daughter has something to show you."
∞ -