Title: Time

Disclaimer: I so totally don't own them. They're the property of MGM and Sci-Fi.

Summary: Moebius Tag. Jack and Daniel have a little heart-to-heart.

Spoilers: Season's 1-8, especially Moebius parts one and two.

Note: There's a bit of canonical Jack/Sam in here. Not usually my cup of tea, but I decided to deal with it, anyways. Otherwise, it's pretty gen. Also? This is my first real SG-1 piece, so, please be gentle? All comments and criticism are welcome.

"You know, I think you're dumber."

Jack looked up from the fishing net he had been mending, startled as he squinted into the hot mid-day sun. "What?"

Jackson grunted as he sat down next to him, stirring up sand as he did so. "Dumber. I think you're dumber than the other Jack."

"What makes you say that?" He scowled at the man who had hardly said more than a couple dozen words to him in the past year. Jackson had no right to judge him. He didn't know Jack and Jack certainly didn't know him.

But Daniel merely shook his head at the look. "General Jack O'Neill would never have listened to a tape telling him to go back in time, not even if the information came from himself. He never would have attempted to travel through a suspicious pool of water or follow the advice of two naïve scientists and he certainly would never have started screwing one of them for lack of anything better to do."

Jack's eyes narrowed at the last statement. "Well I'm not that Jack O'Neill, am I? And my sex life is no business of yours."

"It is when you show absolutely no regard for birth control."

That startled him a little, causing his anger to sputter out. "Huh?"

"Birth control, Jack. You know, contraceptive. The stuff you use in order to prevent getting your partner pregnant."

Jack froze, eyes going wide as his face paled under the tan and the net fell from his nerveless fingers. "Pregnant? Carter's pregnant?"

"About two or three months along, I'd say." Jackson paused and shifted to look at him more carefully. "You honestly didn't know? Sam didn't tell you?"

"Of course I didn't know!" He shot up from his sitting position and began to pace frantically. "I never – I don't – can't… She didn't say a thing. Why didn't she say anything?"

A hand landed on his shoulder and he jerked back automatically, relaxing only when Jackson's grip tightened minutely. He relaxed into the grip without thinking, his mind too far gone to even register the fact that this was the first time the former archaeologist had ever initiated physical contact. There was just too much to think about, too much to consider.

They couldn't have a baby in ancient Egypt. There was too much to contend with, too much danger to the lives of both the mother and the child. How was he supposed to raise a child in these circumstances? In these times? They were hardly getting by on their own.

There were also the more emotional aspects of fatherhood. After Charlie's death and his divorce he had decided he just couldn't handle another child. There would always be that black cloud hanging over his head. If something like that ever happened again it would destroy him. Charlie's death had nearly done as much, but to have it happen again would be so much worse. And worse, he didn't want to replace his son. It felt too much like a betrayal to move on and have other children when he had, he believed, caused his son's death.

Jackson huffed a sigh beside him and withdrew the hand. Jack turned to face him, seeing the dull glint of understanding in the other mans eyes. "There's nothing to be done about it at this point. You know the risks as well as I do. This is going to be difficult on her. I just can't help but wonder about the repercussions this is going to have on the timeline. This isn't something we ever thought we'd have to worry about."

"What, you mean the other me and the other Carter… We never…?" Jack asked, slightly surprised. He'd always just assumed. If the attraction was there in his timeline, shouldn't it have been there in the other?

The other man shook his head, eyes sad. "No. Jack was essentially Sam's commanding officer. Despite what they may or may not have felt for each other, their careers would always come first."

Jack 'hmm'ed thoughtfully and turned to look into the distance, the fishing net lying almost forgotten at his feet. That was something he'd never really considered. He'd been retired for so long that he tended to forget how much his career had meant to him before Charlie's death. Since the Carter of this timeline had never been in the Air Force at all regulations had never occurred to him. However, remembering the woman on the tape, he couldn't quite bring himself to believe that she'd have chosen him over a very respectable career. He just hoped he wouldn't be stupid enough to sleep with a woman under his command if placed in the same position as his double.

"Do you think this will totally screw things up?" he murmured quietly, without taking his gaze away from the sand dunes.

Again, Jackson sighs and Jack can hear him shift about, course linen against hard sand. "I'm not going to lie to you and say everything's going to be fine, because it isn't. This changes things, Jack. This changes more than just the two of you. We have no idea what this could mean for the future or even if it means anything for the future. What this means for us is that things are going to be harder, a lot harder. Raising a baby in this time… it's not an easy thing. But something I do know, though, is that I'll be here. No matter how stupid you were, that can't negate the fact that this is a life. A living, innocent life."

"You've seen a lot of death, haven't you?" It was more a statement than a question as Jack tried to reconcile this Jackson with the Daniel of his own timeline.

He almost thought that he'd overstepped the boundaries of their silent understanding when Jackson stayed quiet. But then he sighed and looked out at the horizon, the hot, red sun sinking below the sand dunes, a sure sign of nightfall. "Too much death, Jack. I saw my team die. My wife. My family. I saw the end of entire worlds, civilizations of people unable to fight against the odds and I was entirely helpless to stop it all. I've died too many times myself. I'm sick of death, Jack."

This was probably more than he'd learned of Jackson's life than he'd gotten out of the man since he'd first been stranded there, in the past. Jack began to understand him, just a little. Began to understand how his General double had been able to stomach the man, even like him.

And so Jack turned towards Daniel, reaching over and placing a reassuring hand of his own on Jackson's shoulder. He looked into Daniel's deep, sad blue eyes and said, "Then we'll make sure there is no more death. I trust you to help me keep this baby safe."

Daniel smiled. Not a huge smile, but a small one, showing the creases around his eyes, reminding Jack just how old this Daniel was. He could get to like this Dr. Jackson, he thought. With all his gruffness and sharp edges. It was just going to take some time. But, really, what did he have now, except for time?