It was three hours after I had come through the gate to find myself in this other reality. It was odd the number of things that had been different, starting with Spacemonkey being in the military. That was just… wrong on so many levels.
I can't really imagine Sara and I ever getting back together. I know it was my fault, but it's just not very plausible. It's hard to think Charlie might have had a little brother, too. This guy's gotta be made of tougher stuff than I am. I don't know if I could have handled it as well as he did. He seems to have everything under control though, so it must be pretty damn good. I can't imagine making it to General though.
Daniel's little family's surprising. It's hard to see him with one kid much less three. I feel bad for the kid, one daughter.
I was too busy trying to take it all in to notice his Sam walk into the room. She sat down next to Jack silently, not wanting to disturb me I think.
"So, you've been married for ten years?" I asked when I saw her sitting there.
"Yeah," he answered shortly.
Sam's eyes lolled back and her head rested limply on Jack's shoulder. She paled immensely, shooting concern through Jack's eyes.
"Mom, you okay?" John asked, jumping to her side. I responded in the like.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she shot back. Hmmm. Just like my Sam, never wanting anybody helping her out.
"Sam, honey, how long ago did it start?" Jack asked her. He obviously knew what was going on.
"Oh, I don't know, 3, 4 hours ago," she responded softly. I could see the shock on Jack and John's faces.
"John, go get Dr. Warner, quickly!" Jack stood carefully and helped her to stand. I jumped to the other side to help her out of the room. For the first time I realized why everyone was so concerned; she was obviously very pregnant. Well, Holy Crap!
"Jack, make sure I can get to the infirmary! I DON'T want to have this baby in the hall or on the elevator!" Sam screamed. I shot Jack a look, mostly wanting an explanation. He simply mouthed, 'later.'
"Yeasureyoubetcha," he smiled comfortingly at her.
Fortunately nothing had changed in the layout of the SGC. We got Sam to the infirmary no problem and John had helped Dr. Warner suit up. Jack and I laid her on the bed and I was quickly rushed out of the room.
I waited in the hall, pacing back and forth. I had to laugh suddenly. I was pacing like I was the expectant father. Not that I hadn't thought about it thousands of times before. Sam was beautiful, my Sam was beautiful, imaginative, smart, witty, and she always laughed at my jokes. Maybe not right away after that whole Laira thing and after my little Black Ops mission, but we had gotten that back.
"Must be a constant in every reality," I heard behind me. It was Daniel. I had hardly remembered he and Teal'c were there during the debriefing. They must have followed us down, along with Kowalski.
"What?" I pretended I didn't understand what he was talking about. He was military, he knew about the regs.
"Sam, you're thinking about her. Yours anyway. You've got the same look Jack gets. You guys together?"
"It's against the regs." It's the only answer I have anymore. I usually reserved it for when my Sam was around. It was sort of my way of letting her know I still cared after that whole Za'tarc, armband thing.
Kowalski threw me a concerned look.
"She's a Major. No, actually she's a Lt. Colonel, her promotion just came through yesterday. I just can't happen," I explained.
"Nice. Practice that often?" Daniel quipped.
"Oh yeah, way more than I'd like to."
Jack came out of the infirmary looking far more relaxed now. "She's resting for now. Warner says it'll probably be a few more hours. He's calling in Janet now."
I decided this was the perfect opportunity to turn the attention away from myself. The other guys were starting to make me nervous.
"So, obviously this is at least your second kid together," I said hoping he would expand on that. He did.
"Our sixth, including J.J. Sam adopted him when we got married," Jack answered happily. I wish I could be that happy.
"Holy Crap! What are you guys, Jack Rabbits?" They were laughing at my expense, seeing the shock on my face.
"No, nope, just Jack O'Neill," Daniel laughed.
"Obviously our worlds are quite different," Jack smiled.
"Okay, 'nother question. Where's General Hammond?"
"General O'Neill had taken over his position. The General retired after his heart attack last year," Teal'c suddenly spoke up.
"He just got overstressed with our four man team of Daniel, Teal'c, Kowalski, and me. I think Teal'c was the only one he could handle on a daily basis," Jack joked. "So, I explained all about us, tell us your story."
"I just have one more question first. The Tok'ra, where do you stand with them?" I didn't want to say too much in case the Tok'ra weren't exactly on their side. We'd been to one world where the Tok'ra had been the bad guys.
Jack looked up at me and slowly walked away. Something was bothering him. I just hoped it hadn't been something I'd said.
Daniel quickly filled me in. "When Sam's dad was dying of cancer the year before last, he agreed to take a symbiote. Unfortunately, neither General Carter, nor the Tok'ra symbiote survived."
"Wow." I leaned against the wall. Jacob dead? "Ours is still alive, but he's the only one I trust."
"We don't deal with the Tok'ra, AT ALL." Jack turned to face me, I could see the fury in his eyes. Well, it's good to see we both feel the same way about them. "They killed Jake, and Martouf tried to kill Sam." The rage was starting to build.
"That whole Za'tarc thing?" I asked. This had seemed pretty common, too.
Jack just looked confused. "No clue what you're talkin' 'bout. Sam crushed his mate after it squirmed outta some guy." He looked proud that she'd been able to accomplish so much. I had to laugh, but soon sobered thinking of my Sam's encounter with Jolinar.
"We weren't quite so lucky. Jolinar took over Sam." His face contorted in horror. I could tell it startled him, maybe just as much as the fury flying through my eyes.
"I had to shoot her with a Zat, but when the Ashrak tried to kill her, Jolinar gave up her life to save Sam. Marty was obsessed with her for a while, but when he was turned into a Za'tarc, Sam had to kill him. He was her friend, but I still hate the snakehead, for everything he put her through."
Jack could see it in my eyes, but I didn't try to hide. I couldn't, not from someone who was essentially myself. Yeah, so I love her. I have for years, it's not exactly new info. Not like there's anything we can do about it anyway.
"Okay, so what are some of the differences in our worlds?" Jack asked, obviously curious.
"Daniel's definitely not military," I said with a smile. "Sorry 'bout that Spacemonkey comment, our Daniel's a Geek." Daniel gave me an accepting nod.
"Kowalski, sorry man, but you're dead. Caught a Goa'uld, second mission, right after Sha're was taken as a possible host for Apophis' queen."
"Sha're became Amounet." I decided against telling them of the Harcesis. "She was killing the Space Monkey with one of those hand thingies. Teal'c had to shoot her. It's been years and Daniel's now engaged to Dr. Fraiser."
"What!" both Daniel and Kowalski shouted.
"My Janet? That geek's with my wife?" Kowalski shot a glare at their Daniel.
"First off, you died before she ever became part of the SGC, and secondly, it's not his fault," I said pointing at their Daniel.
"Apophis was killed on Netu, but we're not even sure he's dead. He has a way of popping up at the most inopportune times."
"Oh, believe me, ours is definitely dead. These guys don't learn from each other's mistakes. Daniel took out Apophis just like we took out Ra." Jack gave me a crooked grin and I had to laugh. "Haven't had any Goa'uld troubles since. Of course, the Asgard tend to help us out from time to time."
"Gentlemen," I heard behind us. I turned around to see Janet approaching us.
"Dr. Kowalski, she's resting right now." Jack met her and immediately started fidgeting.
"Jack, she's early. I want to check and make sure she's alright." Janet started to push past him and I could see the concern in his eyes.
"Janet, please, she's too early. I don't want Sara and J.J. all over again."
Janet rushed into the room, nodding in understanding. Jack just stood, unmoving. I walked over to him and clapped my hand on his shoulder. The pain he felt was more extreme than anything I'd ever experienced.
Losing Charlie was the worst thing I'd ever been through. My divorce from Sara hadn't been nearly so hard. We had drifted apart after Charlie's death, our divorce was inevitable.
It hurt, a lot. But this man, my counterpart, had lost Charlie, found Sara, lost her, and was now in threat of losing Sam and his child. This Jack was more emotional than I, he was allowed to be.
"Jack," I said softly. "How early is she?" I could remember bits and pieces from Charlie's birth still.
"About a month and a half. She's definitely going to deliver today. I've watched her four other times, this isn't any sort of false alarm." Jack slumped against the wall and sank to the floor. I didn't know how to respond so I just paced.
I wanted to know more about these people. They all seemed so happy. Daniel had Sha're with three children of his own. His oldest had an SG team of her own. Charlie and Janet had each other. Jack and Sam, six kids! I decided to find out all I could, hopefully to keep their minds away from any pessimistic thoughts I was sure were running through their heads.
"So, where's John?" I asked calmly.
"Assisting. He's way smarter than we are. He's going to the Academy next year. Wants to be a medical doctor like Janet, a theoretical astrophysicist like Sam, and an officer like me." I could tell he was boasting. I'd probably, too.
"How old is he?" I knew he couldn't be more than sixteen. Entering the Academy at that age was amazing. The kid was built, too. He wasn't scrawny like most geeks. I cringed, I'd technically called my own son a geek.
"Fourteen. Birthday was last month. I take him out to see his moth… Sara every year. Sometimes he comes with me to see Charlie, too." I saw his eyes drop. I could tell John was one of the most important things in his life.
"You almost said, 'his mother.' Why didn't you?" I asked curiously.
"I loved Sara, and we had a wonderful marriage, but Sam has legally been his mother for over ten years. He called her 'Mom' before we were even married. Sam's essentially his mother," Jack answered. He stood and peeked into the small window in the infirmary door. When he turned around to face me again I figured he must have been checking on Sam.
"Wait, the kid's only fourteen?" I whistled. Impressive. Man, I wish I'd been that smart. He was willingly entering the Air Force, not exactly something I ever wanted one of my children doing, but with his paths I figured he wouldn't be seeing too much action.
"Yeah, I tell ya, he definitely doesn't get it from me. He graduated high school last year and with permission from the President, he'll be working here until he enrolls in the Academy. He wants to gain experience. He was the first person from Earth under the age of twenty to go through the 'Gate. That was five years ago. He went with Ta'ashra to visit Skaara and his family," Jack explained.
Man, these guys have had such a better life than us. John was amazing. I knew I'd been hanging around Sam and Janet too much when I found myself thinking like a scientist.
"Any clue if there's some outside force that makes him so smart?" It was definitely a Carter question.
"Never thought about it," Jack shrugged.
Now for the Fraiser questions. "Would you mind if I took a blood sample back with me? If I ever get back that is."
He just raised his eyebrow, looking for an explanation.
"It might have something to do with that bacteria thing. Either that or he's just naturally smart," I told him. Yep, definitely too much time with the docs. "Why doesn't that bacteria affect Sam and the babies?"
"It had something to do with Sara being pregnant when I transmitted it to her. Sam's had the bacteria since we first got together, so for some reason, it doesn't affect them. But sure, you can take some back with you." He just shrugged. "We've never really thought about it before. I'll have to make the suggestion to Janet as well." Jack looked through the door again.
"If she's anything like my Sam, she'll be fine," I said, hoping to calm him.
"Oh, I know. Doesn't stop me from worrying though." Jack gave a week smile. "She's stronger than she looks."
"Don't I know it. She's saved my ass more times than I can count. Which I suppose would mean more if I could count higher, but she's one hell of a lifesaver." I grinned thinking of her. She was so beautiful, so strong. God, it's only been a few hours, but I miss her. Yep, I've got it bad.
"Our youngest, Madison, was born on our way to the infirmary, that's why Sam flipped out earlier," he explained. I knew it had to be something like that.
Janet suddenly came bursting forth, knocking me with the door and sending me sprawling into Jack. "Dammit, Janet!" I shouted. Oops, I forgot where I was. That sure earned me a glare from every single person in the hallway.
"Jack, it's time."
A/N: Okay, i hope you've enjoyed a little bit into the current world of Jack. Next chapter will be "the find" thanks y'all!