An: this is set at the beginning (Jack sent the book back in time) and so this is the alternate version of what happened. Sort of.
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"Sir, the gates been activated"
"I see that, Carter" Jack said as they aimed their weapons at the stargate. The wormhole stabilized and a moment later, a book fell through. The wormhole disconnected and Daniel walked up and picked up the book.
"Blankets, an Illustrated novel by Craig Thompson" Daniel read "Jack, this is from Earth" Daniel explained
"Who sent it?" Jack asked walking over
"You" he said wide-eyed as he saw the note "you sent it to Sam"
"What! Let me see that" Carter ordered taking it out of their hands and startling them both
"Okay, I was looking at it first but I guess that doesn't matter" Daniel groaned
"Sam, don't cross the river, Jack" she read
"Well that was a good read" Daniel joked and Jack glared at him "since when do you call her Sam?" Daniel grinned
"Sir, I think we should return to the base and report this to Hammond, find out what he would have us do about this?" Carter recommended
"Dial it up" he nodded.
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Carter sat in her lab writing up the mission report on her laptop. Hammond had ordered the mission be postponed and now they had virtually nothing to. As she finished the report, she sighed and pushed away from her computer. She was about to go find Janet when she heard footsteps running towards the lab. She smiled knowing it could only be O'Neill.
"Hey Carter" he said skidding into the room
"Sir" she acknowledged
"Since we well have a bit of free time on our hands, I was wondering if you wanted to go fishing with me this weekend?" he asked trying to act casual. Carter smiled but shook her head.
"I think I'll just hang around here and work on some projects, sir" she explained
"Motorbikes Carter?" he asked looking disappointed
"Yeah" she blushed and Jack sighed
"Oh well, your loss. Hey do you think I might be able to con Teal'c into coming?" he asked with a bit of enthusiasm and Carter laughed
"You can try sir" she smiled
"Have fun with your bikes Carter" he waved and then rushed out. Carter giggled and then turned back to the computer to begin spell-check, which didn't take long. As she closed the file, she turned and was greeted by a glowing light.
"Orlin!" she gasped at the figure "what are you doing here?"
"I must show you something" he said reaching up to her temple. Carter pulled away
"What?" she asked cautiously
"What should have been" he explained and then as he touched her temple, her mind was flooded with images. What was shown to her was everything that had happened yet hadn't happened because of Jack. It was shown to her in the form of a story that began with: Sam sat in the corner of her quarters staring blankly at the opposite corner. Her hands were shaking and she glanced at the thin shivering hands. She hadn't eaten in over a week but somehow she didn't feel hungry. She knew she had to eat but her stomach rejected everything she swallowed. Her skin was pale and she looked like she hadn't left the dark in months.
And ended with: Jack dropped the book into the wormhole. If this worked, he didn't know. He only hoped.
Carter didn't know what to say, when Orlin finished showing her. She was stunned by the story, she knew it was true but was still stunned by it.
"Why did you show me that?" she managed to ask
"Because that was how it was supposed to happen, he changed that and you have a right to know" Orlin explained
"I was supposed to die?" she asked slightly hurt and Orlin nodded sadly.
"The others have decided that we will not intervene any more" Orlin stated before leaving. Carter stood up and picked up the phone and called to warn everyone not to shoot the glowing orb that was heading towards the gate. She then sat down trying to gather her thoughts and make sense of her now mixed emotions. After a moments thought she smiled and stood up. She ran out of her lab in search of her favorite Colonel.
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"Colonel O'Neill!" Carter called
"Ah Carter, having second thoughts about my offer?" he asked half expecting to be beamed aboard Thor's ship.
"Yes actually" she shocked him "I wouldn't mind spending a weekend on a boathouse in Salt Lake City" she grinned. Jack stared dumbfounded.
"How could you possibly know that? I haven't told anyone!"
Carter smiled and tapped her nose three times
"A little birdie told me" she laughed
"This little birdie wouldn't happen to be the 'glowing orb' that was heading towards the gate room would it?" Jack asked raising his eyebrows at her
"It might be sir" she shrugged
"What else did this birdie tell you anything else?" Jack asked cautiously
"Um, he told me that you're going back into retirement" Sam shrugged as if this was a very normal thing to say
"Okay, I'm beginning to dislike this birdie, he knows all my secrets" Jack frowned
"Lets just say, this birdie told me the whole story behind the mysterious book that fell through the gate" Sam told him as Jacks eyes widened
"And what did you think of this story?" Jack asked uncertain. Sam smiled, almost blushing and took the few extra steps over to his side. She slid her arms around him and brought her face close to his. She kissed him tenderly, within that moment they became utterly entranced by the kiss and the security camera's watching them, completely slipped their minds. They eventually stopped the kiss and a cheeky grin crossed Jacks face
"I like this Birdie" he said gazing at her blushing features.
"Hmm" she muttered as she entwined her fingers with his and walked with him towards the elevator
"So tell me more about what this birdie said to you. Does anything happen in Salt Lake City?" he asked
"That's up to us Jack" she grinned "but remind me to get Janet to call Dr Nina Smith"
"Who's that?" Jack asked confused
"Just an old friend of Janet's. I think dad might like to meet her" she smiled to herself and Jack just nodded in agreement as they boarded the elevator. "Oh and before I forget" she said smiling "I love the ring you chose"
"You know about the ring!" he said shocked
"Well if you hadn't thrown it into my grave, I probably wouldn't…"
"Your GRAVE!" he exclaimed and Sam flinched
"It doesn't matter; I'm here with you know and that's all that matters" she squeezed his hand
"Hmm" he sighed
"Jack" she broke the short silence
"Yeah" he asked
"I don't know why I'm doing this but I accept" she smiled
"Accept what? Oh accept! You do?" he asked wide-eyed and she nodded. The doors opened and much to Sam's amusement, Teal'c, Janet and Daniel stood in front of the open doors. Jack was so overjoyed with her answer, he didn't notice them. He grabbed Sam's face in his hands and he kissed her the same way he had when he'd been stuck in a time loop.
"Um hum" Janet coughed while Daniel gaped in amazement and Teal'c of coarse raised an eyebrow. Jack became painfully aware of their presence and stopped kissing Sam.
"Care to explain Jack?" Daniel snickered. Jack contemplated a smart ass remark but decided against it and hugged Daniel instead and then Janet and then Teal'c. Lastly he hugged Sam again and kissed her briefly before regaining his composure.
"Jack, have you gone nuts?" Daniel asked and Jack laughed
"She said yes" he gleamed
"To what question did she answer yes to O'Neill?" Teal'c asked confused
"The question" Janet grinned and Carter nodded blushing
"You proposed in an elevator!" Daniel exclaimed
"Oh Damn it. Wait here Sam" Jack told her as he pushed through the three bystanders and skipped off to his quarters and then luckily bumped into Hammond on his way. Hammond was about to ask Jack about the extraordinary footage he had been shown from the security surveillance tapes, when Jack grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the elevator. The four SGC members stood outside the elevator waiting for him and were surprised to see Jack had gone to fetch Hammond.
"Colonel O'Neill!" Hammond snapped "please explain yourself"
Jack smiled and handed Hammond the retirement forms "George, I'm retiring!" he chimed "again". Jack then walked up to Sam and knelt down in front of her and pulled the jewelry box out of his pocket. He opened it and Sam blushed in embarrassment
"Sam?" he asked open handedly. She smiled and helped him off his feet as she kissed him
"Yes Jack" she said smiling
"Well this is a surprise Colonel" Hammond exclaimed
"Well you know me General, Cant do anything with out making a scene" he grinned
FIN
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AN: he he he. I'm not sure but I think I over did the final scene. Oh well, I had fun writing it. I had a different ending that I thought was too shippy and so I decided to change it but lol it seems this is the far shippier of shipperies… is that right?