A/N: I'd just like to thank everyone who read and (hopefully) enjoyed the fic. I've been working like crazy for the last two days to write this as I leave for Europe tomorrow and will yet again be away from any form of computer.

Thanks to Bookworm for posting this for me, and for generally being a great support!

I hope you all like this end I've given you. There are always things that are left unsaid, but it's impossible to do it all, so I hope this works well for all of you!

Epilogue

Daniel sat nervously across the table in the mess from Élodie as they both picked at the food in front of them. Everything seemed somewhat overwhelming to him but he could tell that something was still bothering Élodie as well. He noticed that she too looked like she'd had a sleepless night. It was his curiosity that kept him from speaking first, he was sure that she still had something to say, and he was going to wait to hear it.

"Are you not hungry?" Élodie asked quietly, breaking the silence between them. Although the people around them continued about their business, she could have sworn that everything had stopped as they faced each other.

"No, not really…" Daniel sighed, letting his fork drop onto the plate with a loud clanging noise. He contemplated the table in front of him for a few moments before looking to Élodie, waiting.

"Daniel," Élodie spoke suddenly, her voice high pitched with anxiety, "I feel I must apologize to you."

This wasn't exactly what Daniel had expected to hear. As far as he knew, they should be apologizing to her, not the other way around. Élodie had obviously seen the look of alarm on his face, as she moved her aged hand across the table to grasp his before continuing.

"I feel I must apologize," she said more slowly, "because I was not able to sufficiently impact on your life to correct the pain that you have had to deal with."

Daniel could see the concern on Élodie's face and suddenly felt horrible. This woman had spent her life trying to fix problems that had absolutely nothing to do with her – she had single-handedly achieved what everyone had thought impossible for Sam and Jack, and still she was beating herself up about him!

"Élodie you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about!" Daniel exclaimed, his eyes so wide he wouldn't have been surprised if they had dried out altogether. "My wife was from an alien planet – there's hardly anything you could have done!"

Élodie just smiled quietly and shook her head slowly. "But Daniel, it has been some time, and from what I have managed to interpret from what Sam told me, as well as from Dr Fraser's words and actions, there has been an avenue for you to pursue happiness for some time."

Daniel gulped audibly, coughing slightly with the implication. He opened and closed his mouths a couple of times without finding any words. Instead he was frozen there, his mouth working like a fish looking for oxygen.

Élodie leaned forward so her wizened face was mere inches from his, "I will tell you something I told Sam and Jack before you all left for the mission – something I told the Sam and Jack you know."

Daniel nodded silently, indicating he'd understood, finally regaining control of the muscles in his face and stopping his mouth from contracting.

"You must not let time go by while continuing to deny yourself the happiness you deserve." Élodie sighed slowly, her eyes portraying the regret she felt at having been born in the wrong generation. She had gotten on so well with Daniel back in the 1930s, many a time she had thought 'if only…'

"I fell in love with you in France Daniel," her voice cracked slightly as she spoke and she glanced away, ashamed of her words. "I would do anything for you to be happy, and I can see how it can be so." She regained force and now directed her eyes back to his, boring into his soul. "I wanted to help Sam and Jack out of gratitude, but you," she raised her hand shakily and stroked his cheek. "I want to help you because I can't stand to see you unhappy – and it pains me so that despite the time I've had to rectify things, you still harbor the hurt and pain of your lost wife without having found the comfort of another."

They both sat in silence, oblivious to the strange looks they were now getting. It had been at least five minutes and neither of them had touched their food. Silently, Élodie rose to her feet and disposed of the food tray she had failed to really make an impression on. Daniel still hadn't moved, but was staring vacantly ahead as he considered her words, and the choices he had made, and was now to make. As Élodie approached again, he looked up, the haunted expression still covering his face.

"This is now the time for you to reflect, mon amour," Élodie said quietly, her eyes wide with hope. "Only you can make the choices that need to be made." She leant in quietly and kissed him briefly on the cheek before walking slowly out of the mess hall.

It took Daniel a while to collect his thoughts, but the sight of Teal'c entering the room caused him to startle. The one thing he didn't want at this time was a conversation. Ignoring his questioning eyes, he stood up abruptly, nodded at the tall Jaffa, muttering something about work to be done, and rushed out of the room to find Janet.

Sam sat nervously in Jack's truck as he got out slowly before chivalrously moving around the front end to open her door for her. She wasn't waiting for him to do so, but her "new" life was still so difficult to believe that she required a couple of seconds now and then just to think, to reflect.

"Sam?"

Sam suddenly blinked, Jack was looking at her very concerned, holding the door as he waited for her to exit. She smiled at him, remembering with his soft expression, and the warm way he addressed her, how wonderful this life could be. She lifted herself off the seat and jumped lithely to the ground – despite her respectable height, his truck was still huge.

"I still can't believe that we would have chosen to live at your place instead of mine," she said with a cheeky smile, allowing Jack to clasp her hand in hers, ignoring the gentle shaking of both their fingers.

"What have you got against my place?" Jack appealed with mock hurt. "I mean, sure, it was slightly chaotic before – but I'm sure you managed to 'change me'." He planted a soft kiss on her cheek, right next to her ear, before moving forward, pulling her with him.

Indeed, as they moved through the front door, Jack distinctly felt like he'd stepped into an alternate reality – or at least an altered timeline. The outside of the house may be his, he'd seen the barbecue there, along with the odds and ends that seemed to constantly litter the wall of his shed out in the yard… but inside, well it had definitely been Carter-ised.

"Oh!" Sam exclaimed when she saw the surprisingly tasteful interior. Giving Jack a coy look, she let go of his hand and stepped into the kitchen, looking around it in wonder. "Now this is nice…"

Jack merely nodded, grumbling something about the necessity of the fridge still stocking Guinness, as they both moved to the living room to look around. The most interesting feature was the side table under the kitchen divider that housed their photos. The melancholy image of Jack's former family was still there, as was a raucous image of SG1 on a team night from many years before, but the other photos held both fascination and concern for both parties.

For Jack, it was a shock to see photos from Sam's past sitting right next to the reminders of his past – a young Sam with both her parents and her brother; a more recent photo of Sam and her brother's family, Selmak/Jacob proudly standing by them. It was strange that Jack was part of this photo, but stranger still was the photo that formed the centerpiece of the display: an ecstatic looking Sam and Jack at their wedding, laughing out loud, not even realizing a photo was being taken. In the background he could see Daniel giggling with Janet and even Teal'c wearing a huge grin as he apparently chatted to an equally exuberant-looking General Hammond.

Jack subconsciously picked up the photo and moved to the large leather couch behind him, sinking into the spotless white cushions. He felt Sam sit next to him just as distractedly, but said nothing. They both sat there, not knowing what to say, as they considering the truth and reality of their situation.

"No matter how hard we try, we're not them, are we?" Jack said quietly after some time.

"No." Sam didn't take her eyes off the photo, but slid closer to Jack on the couch.

"Then, who are we?" Jack asked in a small voice. "Oh my God… where are they?" He suddenly looked to Sam, a terrified expression on his face. If he had taken this guy's life, then when did that leave the other 'them'? Were they doomed in another time, had they managed to 'swap' realities? Another thought occurred to him that made his heart sink. As much as he loved the idea of this close but infinitely better reality, what if they had to go back? What if they had to make things right and be forced to live in the life they had known previously, without each other – and with almost insurmountable obstacles standing between them?

A month later

"Come!" General Hammond barked in the direction of his door following the clipped knock that had sounded. Only one person he knew had such an unafraid and businesslike knock, so he wasn't surprised when Janet popped her head around the doorframe asking permission to enter. "Dr Fraser!" He exclaimed pleasantly, "Please, sit down."

Janet was unnerved by his unfaltering joviality. She had been summoned to his office without a known reason, but she was beginning to suspect he was aware of the changed dynamics of SG1 since their latest mission. "You wanted to see me sir?" She asked quietly, trying with all her force to sound as normal.

"Uh, yes," the General, for his part, was suddenly equally unsure. He knew his people well, and something had definitely changed, but he didn't want to alienate anyone with unfounded feelings, suspicions or even accusations. "I was wondering when I could see the medical reports on SG1," he looked through his stack of papers, showing that he had yet to find them among the plethora of paperwork that graced his desk. "It's unusual for them to be withheld this long."

Janet swallowed slowly, she had been withholding them, but only because of the discrepancy with Sam's results. "I apologize sir," she said in a business-like manner, keeping everything as usual. "There was something I wished to discuss with Colonel Sam O'Neill and I'm afraid I can't give you her report until we have had a proper consultation." The fact that the consultation had effectively already taken place was the only part that was a lie – Janet hoped it would suffice as a reason. "But in any case sir, my reasons for withholding medical reports always falls squarely within doctor-patient confidentiality," it had suddenly occurred to Janet that whatever she knew, the General had no right to pry as he was doing. "Is there something else you wanted to ask, sir?"

General Hammond clicked his tongue impatiently before tapping a hand on the desk and laying it all to bare. "Doctor, you can't tell me that you haven't noticed the altered behavior of Sam and Jack." He hissed, leaning across the desk at her. "Something is different – and in my experience when something's different it's usually not good."

"Sir, I think you should talk to Colonels O'Neill." Janet said slowly.

"I have!" the General leant back in defeat, his face the picture of incomprehension. "They insist that everything's fine!" He straightened his back again, assuming an authoritative posture. "Want I want you to tell me, Doctor," he said in a dangerous tone, "is what it is that you all are aware of that I'm not!"

Janet looked straight back into the General's eyes, realizing that they couldn't very well pretend that everything was exactly the same as before when it was patently obvious to most that this was not, in fact, the case. At the same time, there was no way she was going to talk about this behind two of her best friends' backs. Caught between her desire to clear things up, and this fierce loyalty, she suddenly perceived the correct course of action. She sighed deeply, dipping her head in defeat, before speaking.

"Sir, I can't tell you what you need to know – at least not with out Sam and Jack's consent." Janet looked up nervously, wondering if she'd just ruined everything for her two best friends.

Sam startled awake from the late-afternoon nap she had been enjoying. Not for the first time in the last week, she awoke feeling completely disoriented. True, it wasn't unusual to wake up in different surroundings for her or the other members of SG1, but she knew she was on Earth this time – and yet she wasn't at her house. As she sat up, she remembered that in fact this was her house now.

From the sounds in the kitchen it appeared Jack was already preparing dinner. Deliberately slowing her breath, she lay back down to gather her thoughts before leaving the guest room to help him. Despite their newfound closeness, both she and Jack had agreed that for the time being they should have their "own" room. Granted, she hadn't slept in this room much (except for the odd afternoon nap), but the sheer newness of their situation had weirded them both out.

The sound of people approaching up the driveway startled Sam into action and she hurriedly rose to her feet, checking her hair quickly in the mirror before moving to the hall just as Jack opened the front door.

"General!" Jack exclaimed, with a small voice, shocked to say the least. "I knew we were expecting company," he nodded towards Daniel, Janet and Teal'c, "but this is a surprise."

Sam saw the look on Janet's face as she stood behind the general and suddenly became concerned. She moved closer to Jack, clasping his arm and holding it tight, before speaking herself. "Jan? What's going on?" She moved her eyes quickly from her friends to the General and back.

"Jack, Sam," General Hammond saw the look of fear suddenly wash over both their faces. "I need to know what's going on."

The dinner was ready, but no one at the O'Neill residence had really noticed. Most of the occupants of the living room were sitting in a state of nervous anticipation, waiting to see what the General's reaction to the 'off-the-record' information he'd just been presented with. Most of all, Sam and Jack were huddled together on one of the couches, petrified of the consequences of what they just told him.

"I'm hoping this isn't a silly question," General Hammond began slowly, shocked and afraid of what the answer might be, "but what happened to the SG1 I know?"

Sam felt Jack's grasp of her tighten slightly as the room collectively held their breaths while waiting for the answer. For her part, Sam again felt that streak of fear she always felt when thinking of this. No matter how much she thought about it, her answer to this question was still insufficient in her mind.

"Well sir, we don't really know." She said softly, looking up at him from her bowed head.

"You don't know!" Came the fast response. "Well shouldn't we try to find out? Get them back here? Send you back to where you came from?"

These were the exact words that everyone in the team had been dreading. This was the idea that had been plaguing them all ever since they had fully comprehended their situation. Was it possible that they'd doomed the 'others' to some horrible universe? Sam, for her part, had tried to rationalize both with the others and herself that this wasn't the case. Once again, she tried to provide an explanation and response that was ok.

"Sir, it's not quite that simple." She said hurriedly, trying to speak before the General could have any more outbursts. "This isn't a case of us coming through a quantum mirror like the one we found off-world. This isn't a case of us being in the wrong reality."

"But then how-?"

"Please let me finish – sir." Sam smiled slightly, trusting that her CO knew her well enough to listen. "Our timeline was significantly altered so that when we returned, our future had changed. This is an altered future, not a different future. And that difference alone means that it is probably not possible for us to return."

The bald Texan seemed to think this over for a while. Every now and then his face would animate as if he was going to say something, but then he would shrink down into the chair, again deep in thought.

Seeing the look of desperation on Sam's face, Jack spoke out first, leaning forward purposefully to look General Hammond straight in the eye. "As far as we can tell sir – and believe me we've been checking the mission records thoroughly – the only thing that has changed is that we're together." He looked around as everyone else in the room nodded. "Every mission went down almost identically, and our personal relationships outside the base are also unchanged – although some people remember social events with us as a couple whereas we don't."

"And the others?" The low timbre of General Hammond's voice again filled the room. He had controlled his tone but there was still a distinct hint of anxiety present.

"Sir," Sam pleaded with her eyes for him to believe what she was constantly trying to persuade herself of. "We can't be sure of what became of them, but they went back to 1930s France just like we did. They worked with Élodie to return the Stargate to northeast France just like we did. And most importantly, they will have returned to the present day… just… like… we… did." She was about to pause, but saw the General gearing up for an intervention so kept going. "The difference, sir, is that when they arrived back, they will have arrived in an alternate reality to this one. An alternate reality that is hopefully identical. An alternate reality which will now start to become different, different in that for them there is nothing strange to get used to."

The General let these words wash over him as he realized the hopelessness of their situation. What Sam was saying made sense, and as the resident expert on these matters, he had never had any problems in trusting her judgment before. In the event that she was wrong, it occurred to him that they were actually in no position to try and change anything.

"We have no way of finding out if what you say is true, do we?" He asked, somewhat startled.

"No." Daniel jumped in, causing everyone to turn their heads and look at him. "Just like in our reality, you destroyed the quantum mirror and we know of no other one out there."

"Even if we had a quantum mirror," Sam continued, "it was difficult enough navigating the infinite realities the last time… we would pretty much be playing with fire if we tried again."

General Hammond leant back in his chair and clasped his head while trying to digest everything they'd been told. Inwardly, he thanked whatever power could possibly be responsible that he hadn't mentioned his uneasiness about SG1's behavior since their return to anyone.

"So you really have all the same memories, with the exception of some alterations of the past couple of years concerning your relationship?" He asked them hopefully, his eyes telling them what they had been so hoping to hear.

Sam and Jack shrank back into the couch and smiled to each other with relief. "Yes sir!" They both said in unison.

"So in your timeline I was still bald?" he said, not without some humor.

Jack snorted at this comment, realizing that once again they'd managed to cross a significant hurdle concerning their integration into their new lives. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he responded: "Not a hair to be seen, I'm sorry to report."

A year later

Jack stood up from the beautifully decorated table at which he had been enjoying a sumptuous meal and clinked his fork against the wine glass in his other hand. The shrill sound of metal on glass brought the bubbling sound of people enjoying themselves to a halt as all eyes turned towards him.

"I know this celebration seems unnecessary to most of you, having attended our wedding only a couple of years ago," he started, winking to those who were in the know. "However, after all the trials me and Sam have been through in the last little while, we thought we should do it again – that and I wanted another party!" His easy grin caused everyone else to smile as they listened attentively. "So," he continued, holding his hand out for Sam and helping her to her feet. "Once again, I want to declare, in front of everyone we care about, that I love this magnificent woman next to me –" he paused to lean over and kiss Sam tenderly on the lips. "And I intend to love her completely for the rest of my life."

Without waiting for any response, Jack put the glass he had been holding back on the table and swooped his arms around Sam in a passionate embrace, totally oblivious to the rapturous applause that now filled the room – applause that was wildly ecstatic in the case of Teal'c, as well as Daniel and Janet, who were themselves sitting with their hands intertwined.

FIN

A/N: Thanks again for reading. Please let me know what you think. I may be going away, but I hope to see some lovely reviews when I next get the chance to check my email!