THROUGH THE YEARS

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a/n: This chapter is way out there, nothing like the other chapters. And when I say out there, I mean waa-aay out in left field! But, hey, Jack was a POW for four months so I think being a little weird is acceptable for this chapter.

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Chapter 18: What Dreams May Come

October 1989

Four months felt like four years to Jack O'Neill. He had been in that shit-hole of a cell in Iraq for four, long suffering months. He was tortured to the brink of death, starved, beaten and everything else you could possibly think of. In between his 'torture appointments' with the guards, Jack would lay against the wall, slowly stroking the dogtags of the woman he saw murdered right in front of him. Susanne Michaels, Captain, USAF. Not Sam! Thank God it wasn't Sam. Of all the horrific things happening to him, the one light in his mind was that the woman wasn't Sam.

Jack had no idea how much time had passed. His body hurt everywhere, he had lost so much weight, he was skin and bones. At first glance, one wouldn't even recognize the man. Every inch of his body was colored with dirt and bruises.

Even through the mental and physical abuse, the pain shooting through his body at every movement, he still reacted like he was trained when the opportunity presented itself. Laying against the cold, hard, cement wall, he heard a commotion on the other side of the camp. He heard the sound of a guard approaching his cell and he forced himself up to stand behind the door. When the guard came in, Jack used every bit of energy he could find to take out the guard. Grabbing him from behind, Jack wrapped his hands on the guard's head and snapped his neck in one swift movement.

Jack, the loving, warm-hearted man was not present, only Major O'Neill, the predator, remained at the moment. Grabbing the dead guard's gun and knife, Jack kicked the body the rest of the way in the cell and shut the door. Whatever was happening at the other side of camp was enough of a distraction to allow Jack access to a jeep and, only having to take out two more men, Jack made his escape.

What happened after that was still unclear in Jack's mind. He remembered feeling a sense of euphoria at escaping his 'hell' as he drove down the desert road and away from the monsters who caused him so much pain. His senses had kicked in at some point and taken control of all motor skills. He drove, almost unconsciously to the base camp where several black ops officers were camped at in between missions. He could remember seeing the familiar sweet sight of the US flag and a man dressed in fatigues approach him. After his mind was satisfied that he was finally safe, Jack passed out.

He awoke once due to the loud, familiar noise of the helicopter. He was aware of only two things, one was the man, obviously someone with medical training, leaning over him checking his vitals and holding the IV bag connected to Jack. He saw Jack open his eyes and told him he was being transferred to a hospital in Germany, and two was that he was no longer on the ground.

The next time Jack woke up he was in a bed, the sounds and smell of a hospital filling his senses as he slowly pulled himself completely into consciousness. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was the white ceiling above his head. He was free! He was safe. He was alive. He let out a loud sigh of contentment.

"Son?" came a voice next to Jack.

Jack turned his head to the familiar voice. "Dad?" Jack croaked.

Charles O'Neill let out the breath he was unconsciously holding in. "Oh, Jack! You have no idea how great it is to hear your voice."

"Where am I?" Jack asked, hoarsely.

"Germany. They flew you here from Iraq. We flew in the moment we got word."

"We?"

"Yes, your mom, Rob, Lizzie and Kelly just went for some lunch. They'll be back shortly. How are you feeling?"

"Charlie, Sara?"

Charles shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, son, Sara didn't think it was a good idea to fly all the way out here with the baby. She said she'll see you when you get home."

Jack closed his eyes. He wanted his little boy, to hold him, kiss him, feel his baby-soft skin, his sweet baby smell, his cute gurgling noises. He had worried incessantly about Charlie. Was Sara still depressed? Did she continue to ignore Charlie even with him MIA? Was Charlie missing his father, confused about where the one parent who took care of him went?

Before Jack could voice his concerns, the door to his room opened and the rest of the O'Neill's padded into the room.

"Jack, you're awake!" screeched Kelly at seeing her brother conscious.

Jack tossed a weak smile at his family.

Maggie walked quickly to the other side of Jack's bed and took his hand. "Oh, sweetie, we were so worried. They told us you were dead," Maggie exclaimed as she choked back a sob.

"Dead?" Jack had no idea the government had considered him KIA instead of MIA.

"Oh yeah, your memorial service was pretty overwhelming. You should've seen it," Rob replied, grinning at his older brother.

Jack closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry," he announced in a weak voice. He couldn't even imagine the pain his family must have gone through thinking they lost another son/brother.

Maggie squeezed her son's hand. "Don't be. You're back and safe now, that's all that matters," she told him, tears obvious in her eyes.

"Sam?" Jack asked, looking at his mom.

Maggie O'Neill lowered her head to avoid her son's eyes. "I'm sorry, sweetie, we haven't been able to get a hold of Samantha since she was in Ohio. We tried, but she is no longer stationed in Florida and they wouldn't tell us where she was."

Jack closed his eyes again, his fears about Sam resurfacing in excruciating clarity. "Jacob?" he asked, they had to have thought to call Sam's dad.

"I'm sorry, Jack, Jacob was transferred right before you were declared KIA. Since we're not military, they wouldn't tell us where he transferred to. We had no way of getting a hold of him," Mr. O'Neill told his son.

Jack sat up a little on the bed. He lowered his head and stared intently in his lap, not wanting to voice his greatest fear. "Sam……Sam was on the mission it…it was a bust. Only a few got out, the rest were killed or captured. We…we were sent in to rescue them, I, I couldn't find her, I don't know where she is….I, I think she's dead," Jack managed to get out in a broken voice.

"Sam's not dead. There's no way, we would know! Her dad would have told us," Lizzie broke in, knowing her friend couldn't be dead.

"Not if he blamed me for her death," Jack replied angrily, his eyes filled with an intense sadness as he looked at his sister.

"Jack," Maggie started, squeezing her son's hand in an attempt to comfort him.

"Why would General Carter blame you?" Rob asked.

Jack turned his attention to the window on the other side of the room. He could only see the tops of a few trees so he assumed he had to be up a few floors. "In order for Sam to have been on that mission, she must have signed up for Special Forces right after I got married," he said in a low voice, still looking out the window. "She told me the last time we were together that she wasn't going to join…… I think she joined because she was upset that I betrayed her."

"Honey," Jack's mom started again. "It isn't your fault. Samantha is a grown woman, if she joined Special Forces she did it for her, not to get back at you. Samantha is a logical, smart woman, she wouldn't have joined Special Forces on a whim."

"She's not dead," Liz butted in again. "I know she's not. Even if she was captured, how do you know she wasn't rescued by your team?"

Jack shook his head and lowered his gaze back to his lap. "Cromwell said he didn't find her," Jack said sadly.

"So, that doesn't mean she wasn't there," Liz replied, indignantly. "You're barely recognizable and you were only there for four months, from what they've told us, the others were there even longer, he might not have recognized her. She was probably covered in dirt and God knows what else."

Jack felt his heart swell a tiny bit at the hope that Sam could still be alive. He nodded his head, but still kept it focused on his lap. "Maybe," he whispered.

It wasn't long before the O'Neill's were kicked out of the room so Jack could get more rest. A nurse came in and put something in Jack's IV and he felt the darkness creeping up on him again. Laying down, he was asleep almost instantaneously.

The first thing his senses picked up on was someone rubbing his hand, opening his eyes, he almost died of happiness as he took in the face of the woman he loved hovered over him.

"Sam," he gasped, wrapping her hand in his and holding onto it with a death-grip.

"Oh, Jack! Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you?" she asked, as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Oh, Sam!" Jack cried, sitting up and pulling her into his arms. "Oh, Sam, I thought you were dead," he cried into her shoulder.

"Dead? Why would you think I was dead?" she asked, pulling away to look in his eyes, confusion clearly written on her beautiful face.

"Because you were on that mission. Why were you on that mission, Sam?"

"I wasn't Jack. I wasn't on that mission," she told him, rubbing her hands up and down both sides of his neck.

"But…but your name? It was on the mission roster."

Sam lowered her eyes and then looked back into Jack's. "I know, I'm sorry, I was the one who didn't pass the medical."

"Why?" he asked, pulling her a little closer to him.

Sam smiled at him and his heart melted. He loved this woman so much. "What did you think, Jack? Did you really think there would be no lasting consequences to all those hours we spent in bed the last time we were in this country together?"

Jack looked at her in confusion.

Sam let a small laugh escape at the look on Jack's face. "Jack O'Neill, you can be so dense at times," she exclaimed. I failed the medical because I was pregnant. Like you didn't know that!"

Jack pulled back a little. He was now more confused than ever. "I…I didn't," he stuttered.

"Ja-ack!" Sam drawled out. "Are you sure you didn't sustain a head injury? Don't tell me you've forgotten about Charlie?"

"Charlie?"

"Yes, Jack. Charlie, our son. Are you sure your okay?"

Jack looked at her, a scared look on his face. "No," he told her.

Sam looked worried. "Do you want me to get a doctor?" she asked, standing up.

"No, no, Sam don't go," Jack called.

Sam walked backwards to the door. "I'm sorry, Jack, something's wrong. I have to go. I have to get you a doctor," she finished as she reached the door. "Good-bye, Jack," she told him as she walked out the door.

"NO, SAM!" he yelled, his body shooting up to a sitting position in his bed.

"Jack! Are you okay?" his dad's voice sounded beside him.

"Where'd Sam go?" he asked, turning in confusion to his dad.

"Son, Sam's not here. Are you okay?"

Jack laid back down on his pillow and covered his face with his hands, realizing he had been dreaming. "No," he stated simply, his hands still covering his face as he let out a sigh.

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"Jack. Jack, yoo-hoo, sleepy-head. Are you going to wake up today or what?"

Jack opened his eyes to a smiling Samantha Carter.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him. "I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to wake up."

"You're not real," Jack told her sadly.

Sam creased her eyebrows. "What do you mean? Of course I'm real," she told him, grabbing his hand and stroking it. "Do you feel that? Can you feel my touch?"

Jack nodded his head. "Yes."

"Then how can you think I'm not real?"

Jack reached up and touched her face. The warm, soft feel of her cheek shooting waves of love through his body. "Your real?" he asked, looking in her loving, blue eyes.

"Of course I'm real, Jack. Why would you think I wasn't?"

"Last time, it was only a dream. You….you said Charlie was our son, you left to get a doctor and I woke up."

Sam looked at him in confusion. "Jack, that wasn't a dream. You passed out when I got to the door. The doctors say you have a concussion."

"No," Jack said, shaking his head. "No," he repeated.

Sam stroked Jack's cheek. "Jack, what's wrong? Don't you want me to be real?"

Jack grabbed both sides of Sam's face and kissed her. "Yes, Sam, yes I want you to be real. So much!"

Sam pulled back enough to look back in Jack's eyes. "Then I'm real," she said, smiling at the man before her.

Jack wanted this to be real, but as much as he wanted it to be real, there was still a part of him that knew it wasn't. He tried pushing that little tendril of doubt out of his mind. He gently pulled Sam down on top of him and slowly started kissing her again. "I love you, Sam," he told her between kisses.

"I love you too, Jack," she told him. "But, I have to go check on Charlie, I'll be back later," Sam said, hopping off of him and heading for the door.

"NO, Sam don't go! I don't want to end this, please. I need you!" he begged.

Sam looked back at him. "I'll be back, Jack. I love you," and with that she was gone again.

Jack opened his eyes to a dark room. There was light coming from underneath his door and he could hear voices in the corridor, he could clearly distinguish that it was the middle of the night. Closing his eyes, Jack tried to go back to sleep to continue his dream.

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Jack was sitting up in bed when Sam came in the room, smiling. "Hey, we're going home today," she told him.

"Home?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Yup," she said, smiling. "Get dressed so we can get out of here," she told him, handing him some clothes and kissing him deeply. "Charlie is going to be so happy to see you again."

Jack knew he was dreaming, but he didn't care. He wanted this. He wanted Sam to be Charlie's mother. He wanted Sam to be his wife, to be the one holding his hand in the bare hospital room. He wanted this life he was dreaming. Without being told again, Jack hopped out of bed and quickly dressed, ready to go home and live his life with Sam and Charlie.

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"Jack, hey wake up!" Came a voice.

Jack opened his eyes to find himself still in his hospital bed. "Liz, why'd you wake me up?" he asked, desperately.

"I'm sorry, you were tossing and turning and calling for Sam. I thought you were having a nightmare," Liz told him, concern in her eyes.

"No, I wasn't. I was dreaming of Sam but it wasn't a nightmare. Waking up is the nightmare," he whispered, almost too low for Liz to hear him.

"I'm sorry," his sister apologized again. "How many dreams have you had about her?"

Jack looked at his sister for a few minutes before answering. He could tell she was still haunted by her own nightmares. Her face was still gaunt even after all this time. Her eyes showed a deep sadness that at this moment, could be mirrored in Jack's. "It's like a continuing dream. She's here, at the hospital, sitting on the bed talking to me. But…."

"But, what?" Liz asked, her curiosity piqued.

"But, she's my wife. And, uh, Charlie is our son. I don't know, it's like Sara never existed in my dream. Sam got pregnant when we were both here in Germany last time and she found out right before the mission so she couldn't go on it. She and I got married, and we had Charlie. Now she's getting ready to take me home, get me out of this hospital."

Liz was surprised by how detailed Jack's dream seemed to be. "Wow! I don't know what to say. Maybe you subconsciously wish it was Sam instead of Sara."

"Oh, it's not subconsciously. I consciously wish it were Sam in place of Sara. It's just, it seems so real. My dream, it feels so real."

"Well, if I didn't totally believe that Sam is alive and well somewhere, I would have to wonder if she might be haunting you," Liz told him, smiling slightly.

"You think she would?" he asked, looking at his sister.

"Oh yeah! She loves you, even in death she would come back to make sure you were okay. I believe that whole-heartedly. But, as I said before, Sam is NOT dead."

Jack looked at his sister, his eyes filled with grief. "What if she is, Lizzie? What if she is? I don't think I could live with myself. I don't think I'd want to."

Liz could feel the tears pricking at the back of her eyes. Her brother was grieving and blaming himself. "She's not, Jack. She's fine. Think about Charlie. No matter what, you still have your son."

Jack swallowed the lump in his throat and closed his eyes. "Thanks, Lizzie."

"No problem," she replied, smiling and squeezing her brother's hand. "Anytime," she whispered as she saw his eyes close again.

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"Dada!" Charlie screamed from Rosa's arms.

"Mr. O'Neill, it is so good to see you again!" Rosa exclaimed as she tried to keep hold of the bouncing, excited baby.

"Dada!" Charlie screamed again as Jack reached out and took his son.

"Charlie! I missed you," Jack cried as he hugged his baby close to him.

Sam stood next to him. "We missed you, too, Jack!" she told him, tears sliding down her face. "Now we can be a family again."

Jack looked at Sam. A sadness sweeping across his face as he took in the sight of Sam in his home, so close to his son.

Sam saw the sad look on his face. "What's wrong, Jack?" she asked.

"I don't want this to end," he told her sadly. "I want it to be like this forever."

Sam walked to him and wrapped her arms around he and Charlie. "It can be, Jack. We can have this, I promise, if you really want it, we can have it," she whispered and then disappeared right before Jack's eyes.

"Sam!" he yelled.

"Jack, son, wake up! You're dreaming!" his dad's voice bombarded his dream.

"Shit!" Jack yelled before opening his eyes.

"Your dreams are getting worse. Perhaps I should ask the doctor to lower your dose of sedatives." Charles O'Neill commented, sitting next to the bed.

"No!" Jack yelled in horror. "Please, don't, Dad. I want to sleep."

"Why, son?" his dad asked in confusion.

Jack shuffled around a little in the small bed, trying to get comfortable. "Because, I like my dreams," he sighed, not looking at his dad.

"Jack, dreams are not real, son. You have to face the real world," his dad lectured.

"I will, soon, promise. Just not yet," Jack told him, moving to his side so his back was facing his dad as he tried to go back to sleep.

Charles O'Neill shook his head in obvious worry about his oldest son. Standing up, he left the room to allow his son to rest.

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The three of them were lying on a blanket in the middle of a park. He was so happy. Charlie was gurgling and cooing, sitting on Sam's lap. He was in heaven. The sun was shining, the clouds in the sky were bright white and fluffy. The birds were chirping, water from a stream somewhere nearby could be heard rippling. Sam was laughing and Jack was smiling. This was heaven! This was what he wanted. This was what he longed for.

"Jack, wake up, you have a phone call," his mom's voice cut into the picturesque scene behind his closed eyelids.

Groaning, Jack left his heaven to return to the cold, bare hospital room. He opened his eyes and saw his family gathered in his room.

"Here you go, Sara's on the phone," his dad told him, handing him the phone next to his bed.

"Hello," Jack said gruffly.

"Jack, hi, how are you?" Sara's voice came over the line.

"Sara? How's Charlie?"

Sara laughed. "He's fine, Jack. I think he misses you, though. He can say Dada now. Oh, and he just started crawling. He's pretty fast, too. Rosa and I have to practically run to catch up with him."

Jack pictured Charlie crawling speedily through the house and a smile appeared on his face. "So, everything's okay, everyone's okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're all fine, Jack. Do you know yet when you'll be coming home?"

"No, not yet," he told her.

"Okay, well, this is going to be a killer of a phone bill so I'll see you when you get back. Charlie is going to be thrilled to see you again."

"What about you?" Jack asked.

"Of course I'm going to be happy to see you again, Jack. You are my husband. I thought you were dead. I was shocked when they told me you were alive," she announced.

"Yet, you didn't come out here to see me," he said sadly over the phone.

Sara sighed over the line. "Like I said, I thought you were dead, Jack. I moved on, I've been living the life of a widow for the past four months. To find out I'm not a widow is a lot to take in."

"Yeah," Jack replied, almost in disgust. "Give Charlie a kiss for me and let him know his daddy's coming home," he ordered his wife.

"I will, Jack, good-bye."

"Bye," he said before hanging up the phone.

Jack's family took in Jack's side of the conversation in silent surprise. No 'I love you' or 'I missed you', no kind of declaration at all.

Mr. O'Neill cleared his throat. "The doctor has taken you off the sedatives. He wants you to be awake longer now."

Jack lowered his head in acceptance. As much as he wanted to be with Sam, he knew the dreams wouldn't last forever.

Jack told his family about Charlie crawling and listened to their accounts of Charlie at his memorial service. Before long, night time had crept back up and his family headed back to their hotel so Jack could rest for the night.

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"Jack, Jack are you awake?" came the familiar voice of Sam.

Jack opened his eyes, surprised that he was back in his hospital bed. His continuing dreams of Sam had him back home in Colorado. He wondered if this was a new dream.

"Hey," he replied, smiling at the beautiful woman before him. "What are we doing here?"

Sam looked around in confusion. "You just escaped as a POW. You're recovering here, Jack," she told him.

"I know, it's just…." he stopped what he was saying and looked at her. "Nevermind," he told her, pulling her into his arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, Jack," she told him, holding on to him tightly. "I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were dead, too," he replied, breathing in her scent.

Sam pulled back out of his embrace. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him in confusion.

Jack briefly thought this all seemed way too familiar and wondered if he already had this dream. "You were on that mission. Sam, why were you on that mission?" he asked.

"I-I wanted to forget about you, Jack. You broke my heart and I needed to move on," she replied, tears in her eyes.

Jack knew this was not how his other dream went. "What are you talking about?"

"I went on the mission to get over you, Jack."

"But, but, what about Charlie?" Jack asked in confusion, his mind mixing up his former dreams with reality. "You said you couldn't go on the mission because you were pregnant with Charlie."

Sam crinkled her eyebrows at Jack. "No, Jack. You betrayed me. You went to Sara. Sara had Charlie, not me. I went on the mission, Jack. I died"

"NO!" Jack screamed. "You're right here, you're not dead!"

Sam stood up and looked at her hands in surprise. They were covered in blood. She looked up at Jack with a scared expression. "I'm dead, Jack. You didn't get there in time. They killed me. You let them kill me," she accused him.

Jack shook his head vigorously. "NO, you're not dead, Sam. You're not! We didn't find you. You weren't there!"

"I was," she told him, looking directly in his eyes with a desperate look on her face. "Why, Jack? Why? You let them kill me. Why? You could have stopped them. Why didn't you stop them?" she screamed at him, her bloodied hands held out before him.

"I couldn't, Sam. I couldn't find you," he cried, his grief evident as tears ran down his cheeks.

"You did find me. They killed me. You didn't do anything." She stepped closer to him and looked at him as if she was just realizing something. "You watched them kill me, Jack."

"No," Jack screamed. "That wasn't you!"

Sam stepped back from him, a look of complete shock on her face. "Jack," she whimpered as her blue eyes pierced into his brown ones. She reached her hand up and touched her forehead. When she pulled it down it was covered in fresh blood. She looked back at Jack. "How could you let them?" she asked in a whisper.

"No," Jack moaned and shook his head as he looked at her forehead. Fresh blood was running down her face from the bullet hole clearly evident in her forehead. "No, Sam it wasn't you."

"Jack," she cried again in a frightened voice. "You killed me."

"NO!" Jack shrieked again, noticing something in his hands. He looked at the dogtags in his hands. The same dogtags he held onto during his hell in Iraq. "It wasn't you, see," he said, showing her the dogtags. He fumbled with the tags and read the name on them. "Samantha Carter, Lieutenant, USAF. NO! It wasn't you!" he screamed again.

"You killed me," she accused him again. "Why?"

Jack shook his head again. "No, no, Sam. I didn't. It was them, I'm sorry, Sam. If I could have done something I would have. You have to believe me."

"You killed me, Jack," she repeated, looking down at the gun in Jack's hands.

Jack looked at his hands and saw the gun. Freaking out, he dropped it on to the bed. "No, Sam. It wasn't me! Sam, please, I love you!"

Sam started crying openly. "I loved you so much, Jack and you betrayed me. You killed me! How could you? Good-bye, Jack."

"Sam, please, NO!" he screamed, his body shooting up in bed. He looked around to see his mom, scared out of her mind, looking at her son.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, hesitantly.

Jack laid back down. "No, mom, I'm not. Not at all."

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The nightmare was the last of Jack's dreams of Sam. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed by this. The sedatives worked their way out of Jack's body and he found himself barely sleeping at all. When he was finally released from the hospital, he was excited and scared at the same time.

His family left a few hours before him, having to take a separate plane back to Ohio. Jack was ordered to report straight to Peterson.

Jack stepped off the plane at Peterson. He was mildly surprised to see the large contingent of officers there to welcome him home. A red carpet and podium was on the airfield and Jack wondered what his superior officers were planning.

Approaching the general, Jack was relieved when he found out Cromwell had been transferred. He was still angry at the man for leaving him behind. Before Jack could really grip what was going on, the general was telling the crowd that Major Jonathon O'Neill was hereby being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Jack shook the surprised look off his face as he let the general replace the pins on his shoulders.

The crowd erupted in applause at Jack's promotion and when the general was done, Jack went to greet his teammates. They were thrilled to see Jack again and talked animatedly to him about everything that had happened over the past five months.

Finally, Jack was ready to head home to see Charlie, saying his good-byes, he headed to the locker room to change before going home. Just as he pulled his shirt over his head, Kowalsky entered the room. "Hey, Jack, I needed to talk to you and I didn't want to do it in front of everyone else."

Now that Jack was back home, the old Jack reemerged and he sarcastically replied, "you're not going to admit your undying love for me or anything, are you, Kowalsky?"

Kowalsky stopped and seemed to think about Jack's question. "Uh, no not today, sir," he replied, grinning goofily. "I thought you would want to see this. It's a final tally on the men and women who died during 'Operation Grace'."

Jack looked at the paper with a frightened look. He knew if he took it and read her name, he would no longer be able to deny it.

Kowalsky sensed Jack's hesitation and stuffed the paper into his hands. "She's not on it, Jack. She wasn't on the mission."

"What?" Jack barely managed to get out as he stared at the paper in his hands.

"Lt. Samantha Carter was not on the mission. She failed her physical and therefore wasn't able to go on the mission. Captain Susanne Michaels went in her place."

Jack looked up at the name of the woman whose dogtags he clung to for months. He swallowed the lump down his throat. "Thank you, Captain. I really appreciate this information."

"Your welcome, Colonel," Kowalsky replied, patting Jack on the shoulder before heading back out of the room.

Jack watched the captain's retreating form and stared as the door opened and closed behind him. 'First thing,' Jack thought to himself, 'go home and smother Charlie in kisses. Second, call my family and let them know Sam is alive.'

Jack's mind wandered back to his dreams while in the hospital, particularly the one where Sam told him his dream could be a reality if he really wanted it to. He did, and he knew he was just given a second chance. A second chance to make his life right once and for all.

Jack's heart swelled once again as he grabbed his keys and kicked his locker door shut with his foot. Yup, this was his second chance and he was going to make things right! Walking out of the locker room, Jack wondered who could help him track down Sam.

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a/n: I told you it was weird!