Willow looked at the picture in the book in front of her again. She wanted to make absolutely sure of her theory before getting in touch with Samantha Carter.
She opened the door to her room and grinned at her ever present shadow. "Hey, Jim. Which way is it to Major Carter's quarters?"
Lieutenant Jim Cahill smiled at his assignment. If you had to be stuck guarding someone he was glad it was Willow. "Come on I'll show you. It's very easy to get confused down here. I remember my first time walking the corridors. I think it took me a week to find my way around and then I followed the same path, never diverging, until I really knew my way around."
Willow smiled over her shoulder at him, "You didn't drop little pieces of paper to mark your way?"
Cahill raised an eyebrow, "A Spec Ops officer drop pieces of paper? Besides have you ever seen trash here? I secretly think that there are robotic cleaners that as soon as you drop something they come by a sweep it up." He stopped outside Carter's quarters. "Here you go."
"Thanks Jim." Willow raised her hand to knock but before she could Sam opened the door.
"I thought I heard your voice. Come on in, Willow." She turned to Cahill. "I'll take her back, thanks Lieutenant."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Not that I'm not glad to see you, Willow but what brings you by?"
"I think I know what may have happened to Jack."
Sam looked at her curiously. She, Janet and Dr. Patterson, the expert in cellular biology, had yet to come up with a logical explanation for what happened to Jack.
"What would happen if a massive energy bolt hit the Stargate at the exact same time that Jack entered it?"
Sam wrinkled her brow in concentration. She replayed their actions as they went through the Stargate. "But it didn't. There was that robed guy that you and the others were fighting off but there wasn't any lightening or energy fields in the area."
Willow smiled, "It's just a theory, what would happen?"
Sam began to pace, "Well, theoretically it would cause a barrier in the wormhole, which would stop a person from going through. Once the energy passed, the barrier would disappear allowing the person to continue through. This would only last a matter of seconds."
Willow's eyes lit up with enthusiasm as she opened the book. "I was reading through some of Daniel's books on mythology when I found this."
Sam looked at the book that Willow was holding. It was a picture of a wizard. She looked from the picture and then over at Willow. "What am I supposed to be seeing?"
Willow pointed at the magick coming out of the staff like lightening. "When you, Teal'c and Daniel went through the gate the wizard or whatever it was, was concentrating on Giles and Buffy but by the time Jack was going through he had turned his attention to me. Just as Jack went through the gate his magick bolt hit it."
Sam looked at Willow in disbelief, "You're suggesting Colonel O'Neill was hit by a bolt of magick which split him in two?"
"Yes and No. I'm saying that as Jack went through the gate a magick blast that takes it's power from the earth's energy, effectively becoming an energy blast, hit the gate causing it to have a barrier. One Jack went through while the other Jack's signal or whatever was bounced back through the Stargate."
Sam's pacing picked up speed as theories and ideas sped around her mind. The fact that Jack was de-aging hadn't been disclosed to either Willow or Jack. But if Willow's theory was correct an energy blast could explain why Jack's cells were reverting back to their prime.
A knock on the door interrupted Sam's thoughts. Daniel stuck his head in, "Sam! Oh, Willow you're here too. General Hammond wants to see us in the debriefing room."
"What's up, Daniel?" Sam asked as she followed Daniel into the corridor.
"Not sure. But I think Janet may have heard back from the lab."
"I guess I'll see you later, Sam." Willow said as she turned to leave toward her room. "I can find a guard that'll take me back."
"Wait." Sam stopped Willow before she got too far. "I think the General should hear your theory."
Willow shook her head no. She was still uncomfortable around General Hammond. It wasn't anything he said or did he was just too military for Willow to relax around him. "You can tell him at your meeting. You know more how energy would affect the Stargate anyway."
Before Sam could persuade Willow otherwise Colonel O'Neill joined them, "Good, Willow's with you. General Hammond wanted to see her too."
A small smile spread across Daniel's face, "Will Jack version 2.0 be joining us?"
"Ha, ha very funny and yes he will."
General Hammond looked up when Daniel and the others entered the room. Jack was already sitting at the table with Janet and another older gentleman. Willow smiled at Jack as she sat down. She noticed that Colonel O'Neill scowled when he noticed Jack at the table. Jack smirked back at him. He had deliberately chosen his normal seat when he entered the de-briefing room. Damn it, he already felt like his life had been taken away and he'd be damned if he was going to be uncomfortable in his old meeting room. The other Jack could just suck it up and sit somewhere else. Hell, he already had Jack's quarters.
Willow looked at Jack and then turned to Colonel O'Neill. She hadn't noticed before but there were some slight differences in their appearance. Jack's hair wasn't as gray and some of his laugh lines weren't as pronounced. The differences were very subtle and she didn't think you'd notice them if they weren't glaring at each other across the room.
"It is conclusive. Against all probability two Jack O'Neills came through that Stargate. Dr. Patterson just corroborated Dr. Frasier's findings." General Hammond began the meeting.
"We ran two independent and blind tests to makes sure the readings were accurate. Neither lab knew about the different blood analysis. The labs results were that the samples came from the same individual."
Dr. Frasier looked at Jack, "Jack, have you been noticing anything unusual in the last couple of days?"
"You mean besides there being two of me? My knees aren't as stiff as they normally are."
Janet nodded, "Dr. Patterson and I believe that your cells are rejuvenating as a result of what happened."
"Rejuvenating?"
"You're de-aging. Your cells are reverting back to their prime."
"What? I'm gonna turn into a burping, diaper wearing infant?"
"We don't believe you'll get younger than late twenties or early thirties. Once you hit your cellular prime your body will begin the natural aging process again."
Well wasn't that just great? As if his life wasn't already screwed up enough.
"Are there any theories as to how this could have happened?" General Hammond asked the doctors.
Before either could answer Sam interrupted, "Sir, Willow may have come up with a theory."
All eyes turned to Willow who was shifting uncomfortably under their scrutiny. "Miss Rosenberg?"
"Well, um, it's not really a theory. More of a wild guess."
Hammond
smiled and indicated for her to continue.
Willow took a deep breath, "Well, I saw a picture in one of Dr. Jackson's books that made me think that maybe an energy blast may have had something to do with what happened to Colonel O'Neill."
Sam went to the whiteboard to demonstrate. She drew two stick figures, one going through the gate and the other one reflecting back. "What she's saying, General is that as the Colonel went through the gate an energy blast hit the gate causing it to have a barrier. One Jack went through while the other Jack's signature was bounced back through the Stargate."
"That would also explain his cells' rejuvenation. A massive and concentrated amount of energy would rejuvenate the cells."
"Well that's just fine and dandy but I really don't care how it happened. What I want to know is what happens now? Do we flip to see who gets to stay at SGC? I'm thinking we wrestle for it. My knees are feeling pretty good, what do you say old man?"
Colonel O'Neill narrowed his eyes at Jack, "Who are you calling old?"
Willow started giggling, "Does anyone else see the psychological irony?"