I'm so, so, so sorry it took me so long. Seriously, I have no idea why I sent them to another planet, and I was got stuck with them xD. Anyhow, we are out of there and *crossing fingers* I'll be able to continue back at the SGC woohoo!

Enjoy!

M.

Chapter XXIX

March 27th, 2004

P3X-O72

She groaned and huffed. Then, she frowned. She was pretty sure her body was the only one so adapted to the clock that didn't need one at all. She smiled when she heard the string of swear words which came from the other side of the bed.

"I'll take your mother doesn't know you know half of those," Sam smiled, turning around to watch over Ashley, who groaned at her.

"Ugh, as a matter of fact, she does," Ashley said. "I've learned them from her."

"Really?" Sam asked in surprise. Magnus didn't seem like the swearing type

"Yup. She can curse like a sailor if the situation is extreme," Ashley raised her head only to collapse forcefully against the pillow groaning as she did.

"What's wrong?" Sam inquired worried by the chance that something might be going on with her sister and her weird DNA changes. Ashley observed her for a moment before adding, "You."

"What? Why?" Sam asked, touching her face and patting her body quickly.

"You are a morning person!" Ashley grunted. "I get it your biological pool gene was far better than mine, and let's not dwell on the fact that the "Jack the Ripper" energy thing controlled my dad, but how can you look so awake at this time of the day? So like mom," she waved, rolled her eyes, and collapsed against the pillow again. "Ugh!"

"Would you like me better if I take ownership of the bathroom and thus give you extra bedtime that you can blame on me?" Ashley raised her head and looked at Sam as if she just had grown another head.

"Can you?" Ashley grinned hopefully.

"Sure, you said it yourself. Morning person." Sam winked, and Ashley dropped her head again against her pillow.

"You are my savior!" She mumbled.

A few minutes later, Sam sat on the bed, the movement making Ashley groan and Sam giggled. Begrudgingly, Ash raised to a sitting position, her tired eyes still closed, and not looking very friendly. Sam just chuckled at her expression, which returned her a glare. The Major bent over to tie her shoelaces when Ashley's hand connected with hers. "Wait for me," she pleaded.

"Huh?" Sam asked not entirely understanding the petition as Ashley walked around and stood in front of her.

"Will you wait for me? I don't like how some of your friends look at me," she dismissed with a shrug. Sam nodded, trying not to seem so shocked by the comment.

Ashley disappeared into the bathroom, and Sam frowned looking at nothing in particular. Ashley looked so comfortable in her skin that it shook Sam to learn that the way her team looked at her could influence her self-esteem, even if it were by a tiny fraction.

She chewed her lip and finished getting ready. After checking her watch, she knew Jack and Teal'c would be already awake and probably sitting in the cafeteria.

"Ash?" Sam called as she heard her sister turning the water down.

"Yup? I'm coming!" The girl shouted and got out, toweling her hair. "Hum? I'm almost ready."

"I didn't want to hurry you," Ashley frowned, Sam huffed, having a sister was starting to look more complicated than she thought it would. "What you've said before, about my friends looking at you. Is it?" Sam bit her lower lip, not quite knowing how to phrase it. Ashley did the same, not knowing how to explain it. They smiled when they noticed a similar reaction to the opposite situation.

"I," Ashley sighed. "Look, I grew up surrounded by people like me, like us. Back then, I was not only a kid, but I was human and the daughter of the boss. Don't get me wrong; it had its perks like not being bullied at all. But, then when I returned," she stopped for a second to see if Sam understood what she meant by that. Sam nodded.

"Well, I was different, and people looked at me differently. I got used to it, yes. They were never afraid of me. However, it took abnormals a while to be used to me, and the possibility that I could go haywire at any moment without an announce. So, I get it; I get the way they look at me. Your friends somehow know I won't hurt them, or your Colonel would've put a bullet through my forehead when I poofed us close to the Stargate. However friendly they are, they still are a bit wary of me, and you don't. Therefore, having you at my side brings out a reassurance, not only for them but me. Does that make any sense?"

"I guess it does. You want to belong, but belonging takes time. That's nothing out of the ordinary." Sam frowned at the philosophical turn the morning was taking.

"I told you, I was a human once! Now, can we stop with the mopey conversation and have breakfast? I'm starving!"

They walked the corridors with purpose, quickly finding their way to the mess hall, which still was quite empty. Jack, Teal'c, and Daniel were sitting on a table close to the door eyeing the other side of the room, where Tesla and Will were seating. Ashley walked towards Tesla, Sam following her close behind.

"Hey, Vlad. Where's my mom?" Ash asked. Nikola gave her a mysterious smile.

"As if you don't know your mother," Ashley rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know her, dear. Helen doesn't take too well being idle."

"You aren't answering my question," she huffed annoyed.

"You Magnus women have no patience at all!" he sighed. "In the kitchen, doing something useful with her hands." Nikola waved.

"What's she doing in the kitchen?" Sam asked.

"Magnus has a knack for cutting things, you know, the surgeon in her. Alas, she's there, and you, Miss Magnus, are definitively your father's daughter. So grumpy in the mornings," he mocked glared at Ashley.

"Tesla," Will warned.

"I knew the man, William. Hell! You saw him a couple of times and let me tell you, if you believe he was scary regularly, you would've found him frightening early mornings. Come to think about; I still don't know for sure whatever was that Helen saw in him," he added pensively. Ashley rolled her eyes and walked away.

Sam watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow; she heard something about Nikola just being jealous before nodding to her team and following Ashley to the other side of the room. Oh yes, she wanted to go to her team's table, seat with them and joke around Daniel's inability to keep up with the mornings, but she was extremely curious as to what would be her mother doing in a kitchen.

"Well, there was little chance for you not to be a morning person, Samantha. However, I'm still surprised you are up and about Ashley," Helen's voice cut through the noises of the kitchen so did Ashely's groan.

"Yeah, you know? You could've made me one or the other, not both at the same time; that would've made my life easier, but, no. I'm pained during the mornings, but I can't sleep past my internal clock time, and then I can't fall asleep on the nights, because I'm too awake for it. Anyhow, you do know there's a lot of people wondering where you are, right?" Ashley asked, leaning against the counter next to where Helen was quickly cutting fruit with surgical precision.

"Well, then I must go out now," she lowered her knife. "Good morning, Darling," she smiled and placed a quick kiss on Ashley's cheek before turning towards Sam, and doing the same. "I hope you got a good night sleep?" Helen prodded, taking off the gloves she was given to manage the food.

"Short," Ashley rolled her eyes again. Helen chuckled while washing her hands.

"I always assumed my internal clock was trained on me by my dad," Sam whispered, looking around to make sure no one overheard.

"For the military timing, you mean?" Helen asked, and Sam nodded.

"Ah, sorry to disappoint. Both Nikola and I are not very prone to sleep long," Helen explained as they grabbed their trays. "Nikola needs even less sleeping time than I do; he always did. I used to wonder how Nikola managed with so little sleep, before our, hmm, experiment. When the results came, I knew he could live with less sleep and less food due to his genetical makeup. While I never managed to oversleep past the fifth hour, he could easily do with two or three. Now, he can go up to a week without sleep, providing the right environment."

"And you?"

"Well, as we told you before, once you get enthralled by something, it's harder to lose the connection. However, I collapse for five hours on day three, unless I," she grimaced. "Well, let's say I'm very good at drugging myself not to fall asleep. By doing so, I can get another four or five days, but at the end of it, I can collapse for a whole morning," Helen shrugged. "I'll agree it's not the most commendable thing to do, but if it needs to be done, then I must."

"I get it."

"I thought you would," Helen smiled. Sam frowned, "I've read your files, there's a quite interesting one in which you've exhausted yourself to create a particle beam to rescue certain Colonel from being stranded," Sam blushed. "We do things for the people we love, Samantha, it's fairly natural. Especially if your mind can create something as complex as a particle beam, or a way to transport a conscience out of an energy stream. We will exhaust our bodies to reach what our minds designed as possible. Good morning," she nodded as they reached the SG-1 table. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter, Major, have an excellent breakfast," Helen nudged, noticing Sam's indecision between following them or joining her team. "I reckon you must find a need of talking with your pairs after being stranded with one of us for the night."

"It was no problem at all, Doctor," Sam smiled.

"Very well, then. I let you be, and I will join my crew." Helen finished turning and not giving them time to argue, not that they would've had.

"Morning, guys! How did you sleep?" she greeted them, and they all answered back, looking closely, and waiting for the other two women to go away from their table.

"What did she meant with taking care of her daughter?" Daniel asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. He typically avoided his contacts in the mornings when he didn't get that much time to sleep.

"I don't know," she dismissed with a shrug. "I fell asleep and woke up before she did. She did groan and complained about being too early to rise. It reminded me of those few trips in which I shared tents with you, Daniel," she joked.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Daniel nodded before gulping his coffee.

"So what kept you from coming then?" Jack asked. And Sam frowned, O'Neill tapped his watch, and she checked hers.

"Ah, she asked me to wait for her," Sam shrugged. "I think she wasn't paying attention before and didn't know for sure how to get here. Are we questioning me now, sir?" she asked before eating a spoonful of eggs.

"Do we need to?" Daniel asked, looking at Jack. Sam shook her head no.

"Not really," she shrugged for what seemed to be the umpteen time in the morning.

"Did you learn anything about them?" Jack asked, trying not to sound too exasperated with the situation.

"Ashley Magnus is not a morning person. Helen Magnus doesn't like to sit around and wait while doing nothing, and Ashley's father wasn't a morning person. Does that help at all?" She asked, knowing it didn't. "I swear! There's not much I know that you don't know already."

"There has to be something! You've been glued to their side since we found them," Jack pointed, hitting the table.

"Jack," Daniel warned.

"Sorry, it's just this situation. It's so damn frustrating. It seems to me that every time we are about to learn some truth from 'the sanctuary,' then something happens and we sit on the side waiting once again. It's like a lousy series where the writers don't know how to make it to the end of the season and keep doing this dumb arcs!" he huffed frustrated.

"I didn't know you watched tv series?" Daniel raised his head.

"This is SGC, SG-1, please contact," their radio crackled, Jack groaned.

"See what I mean? We were this far from starting the morning meeting and now," he hissed, showing them less than an inch with his fingers. "This far," he added before pressing his radio. "This is Colonel O'Neill."

"Colonel O'Neill. General Hammond requests the return of SG-1 and guest to SGC. A.S.A.P"

"Roger. You will hear from us to return."

"SGC disengaging."

"Well, you heard," Jack huffed. "I swear this is the last time I let them go without them giving some explanations," he muttered, before standing up and moving towards their guest to provide them with the news.

"What's wrong with him?" Sam asked.

"You are the one who knows him the best, Sam; you tell us." Daniel shrugged, making her sigh.

"Is this still because I asked him to take those meds? I mean, for once, it didn't backfire," she puffed.

"Really?" Daniel commented. She pinched her the bridge of her nose when she saw both Daniel and Teal'c raising their eyebrows.

"Then you tell me, Daniel," Sam almost hissed.

"You can be very dense when you want to be," Daniel shook his head. "He is worried about you, Sam. You've been spending a hell of a lot of time with them, and you are not sharing what you've learned. We all know you know something you won't tell us. Something that makes you bond with them. I get it, trust me. You need time to let whatever that is, sink in your mind, but Jack," Daniel moved forward a little, "he is afraid of losing you, Sam," he whispered.

"What? That doesn't even start to make sense, Daniel."

"Doesn't it?" Daniel raised an eyebrow, and so did Teal'c.

"No," she shook her head.

"Okay, then reassure him in the way only you can, and everything will be back to how it was. Or at least, he will be back to his usual self. Now, you heard the radio; we should start moving."

An hour later, they were getting closer to the gate.

If Jack had to point something he found satisfying about the group of weird people dumped under his charge, that was the quick way they collected their things and the way they moved in packs.

It took them the same amount of time to gear up and be ready than his team used. When they left the facility, none of them complained about the fast pace SG-1 made them keep, it looked like they weren't even breaking a sweat yet.

Come to think about it; he could almost see Doctor Magnus skipping instead of just walking. He frowned, they were walking on a very steady pace, but she and Tesla seemed extremely comfortable with it, even when the sun wasn't cutting them a break. She had a faint smile probably due to the way her friend, the Tesla guy, was complaining about both the pace and the sun and telling something about hating showers, but what truly caught his attention, was the fact that Helen Magnus was walking alongside him when she was all but avoiding him earlier.

"I wasn't avoiding you, Colonel, not per se." She explained out of the blue, and he frowned.

"Did I say that out loud?" He wondered, making Helen laugh.

"No, it was your expression. I thought I'll give you some time to find out more before you got to your conclusions. I hope you found what you've learned as interesting data at least."

"I can't say I didn't. We are still far away from digging all your secrets out and trust me; I plan to get them out," Jack warned.

"We will see about that," Helen smiled. "I've said before, it's far from the first time someone attempts to achieve that, and it's far from being the last attempt I will go through."

"Why are you so damn, cryptic?! If you supposedly are trying to let us know things? To 'help us'" He quoted with his fingers. "Then why all the mystery?"

"I'm not cryptic, Colonel. I'm simply timing it to let it out in a way I don't need to repeat myself," she smiled

"Carter, dial home," he ordered as they got close to the DHD.

"Yes, sir!" Sam's voice reached him as she jogged towards the DHD. He followed her movements keeping his eyes trained on Sam. He was about to continue walking when a hand stopped him. He frowned at the gesture and at the way the Doctor was looking at him. "Shall we cross?"

"Yes, Carter, once you get the permission, make them cross too."

"Alright, sir."

"What are you smiling at, Doctor?" Colonel O'Neill asked as she tilted her head.

"I'm finally pleased with the outcome of my death," Helen stated, and he frowned in confusion since she was very much alive.

"Are you telling me you are sick?"

"No, I'm an extremely healthy person. However, I used to think a lot about dying, and I had a cause which wouldn't allow me to die and rest in peace, sort to speak. Now, I can answer the question honestly. If I were to die in a few minutes, I would finally die in peace, having done all the things I wanted to do, and having loved the ones I loved freely. Now, you, Colonel. You, like I, are a man of action, what would your answer be?"

"That's nonsense," he grumped. Teal'c was looking at them from the gate. Beside them, he was the only member of their teams who hadn't crossed and was holding his staff weapon to keep the wormhole open.

"Is it? Or are you afraid you won't be remembered at all? Or afraid that the one you love will never have the chance of knowing the benefits of loving a man like you?" he raised his eyebrow and pointed Teal'c to cross.

"You have no idea of what you are saying, ma'am," Jack glared at her, his eyes blazing, but she merely smirked.

"Don't I? Oh, trust me, Colonel. I've been there, at the edge of the do or do not, and it's quite the challenge. Let me confess something since we are being honest and all that. You are going to die, not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but you are going to die, just like I will someday. We are not eternal; we are nothing but a succession of death and rebirth. Not a single piece of you is the same that it was when you were born, Colonel. Humans, nature in general; it was all created to die; it was all set up to survive. One cell divides in two and then those in four, yet, the primary cell doesn't exist any longer, and all that magic it's forgotten. We forget we are constantly dying cells and that our time will come. For some like me, it's far more complex, but we all are going to see the end at some point," he braced himself stubbornly.

"I've had plenty of days, and yet I can die tomorrow, completely ready for it to happen. By comparison, you only have a handful of days, yet, for some reason, you are willing to throw them away? To let her go? Tell me, Colonel, are you willing to die with an 'I love you' that never got a chance to be said? Or, what's worse, if you are willing, have you ever stopped and considered the ones you'd leave behind? Have you ever considered how they would feel? How would she? For once, Colonel, be honest with yourself, think about the man, and not about rules and regulations. Imagine her, Colonel. What you think she'd do if you die in a blink of an eye? What would she feel if she finds you are gone, and she has never known how being loved by you really feels? How being yours feels?" With that, Magnus crossed the gate leaving him utterly dumbfounded.

"What the hell that was supposed to mean?" he muttered to himself, before finally crossing the gate.

"Welcome back, SG-1," Hammond's voice stirred him out of his thoughts. "Get changed, settle the guests back, and check yourselves in the infirmary."

They all nodded and started to escort their guests to their rooms. Daniel frowned looking at Jack who seemed lost in thought, wondering what the hell happened in those few minutes he and Doctor Magnus were the only ones on the other side.

"What's going on?" Daniel cautiously asked once he thought they were out of hearing range.

"Nothing, just something she said," O'Neill pointed towards the now closed door of Helen and Will's VIP room.

"What was it? Did she offend you or confessed something?" Daniel frowned.

"No… it's. I guess it's just her being weird. Or maybe even keeping a character," Jack added, scrubbing his face tiredly.

"I'm not following you, Jack," Daniel pushed.

"You know, how she says, 'old friend' or how she felt 'very flattered' when you pointed out the relationship between Ashley's and her age?" Daniel nodded. "Well, she told me she had plenty of days while I had only a handful. I wonder what the hell she was trying to say when she said that."

"Maybe that she was always free to do whatever she wanted while you are stuck with order and rules?" Daniel offered.

"Yeah, maybe is that," Jack answered not too convinced. They waited in silence until the door opened, and showed them the way back to the infirmary. Janet was expecting them with a knowing glance and a raised eyebrow. Jack flinched under her gaze; sometimes, he wondered how much did Janet like to pick and prod them just for fun.

"Colonel O'Neill, let me start with you. General Hammond called and wanted you and Doctor Magnus to report back to his office ASAP," they nodded and moved to the beds, "Sam, they need you in the lab, Kaplan with take your blood, and we will recall you for further tests once we are free."

Sam nodded, and moved to lay in the bed close to the one Jack was in, while a nurse was taking her vitals and blood; her presence beside him added to the conversation he had with Magnus made him frown. 'Imagine her, Colonel. What you think she'd do if you die in a blink of an eye? What would she feel if she finds you are gone, and she has never known how being loved by you really feels? How being yours feels?' Jack heard Helen ask him over and over again in his mind. And while at it, his poor brain was trying to tell him he knew something else, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. All he knew was that it had to do with Alternate Carter.

Half an hour later Doctor and Colonel were walking towards the General's office. Jack was trying hard not to be bothered by the slight smile on her face and the way she owned the corridor as if it was her rightful place to be there. They were a few meters away from the office when Jack finally got tired of her attitude; O'Neill grabbed her by the arm and forced her against the cold wall, and glared at her.

She didn't even flinch.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You should be at least scared!"

"It's called life experience, Colonel. I have plenty of that. Now, can you tell me why I'm being held and glared? And why I'm supposed to be scared of you?"

"What are you keeping from me?" He asked.

"Many things, but for some reason, I believe you know something no one else knows. I'm intrigued to know what that could be. I guess we both have some As' hidden under our sleeves, right?" She grinned. They heard steps approaching, and he let her go. "Shall we then?"

He knocked Hammond's office not two minutes later, and they entered swiftly. The General offered them the chairs, and neither of them took it, making the bald man sigh. 'Two stubborn people,' Hammond thought.

"Why are we here, General?"

"SCIU," Hammond affirmed

"I was right, wasn't I? They went through your base and files."

"No, not really, Major Carter did an excellent work protecting our network and servers. They never managed to break her code. Now, they did have some interesting facts about you, Doctor Magnus, and they are quite eager in getting their hands on you if you happen to be alive which you can be thankful, you still aren't," Helen left out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Thank you, General; I can promise it will be worth it."

"And I can guarantee the moment you decide to hold something from us; I'm pretty sure Colonel O'Neill will have no qualms about getting you to them if it is an order," Jack flinched. O'Neill wasn't sure he would be able to do it, even if he didn't entirely trust the woman, Jack wasn't about to send her to a group who would not hesitate in torture the woman.

"Is that why we are here, General? So you can warn me and order him about the future possible outcome?"

"Yes."

"Seeing that I can't say torture is my favorite cup of tea, we shall start the meeting when we can."

"Very well, then. Colonel, escort the good Doctor to her room so she can get her things and then find both teams and bring them here."

They walked to her room again, this time at a calmer pace. It seemed that the possibility of having to decide her fate had affected Jack more than he wanted to admit.

"Doctor Jackson," Helen greeted the Archeologist that was leaning on the wall next to her room.

"Doctor Magnus, ah, Doctor Zimmerman needed something from your room. He is inside." He pointed to the door.

"Thank you for the information, Doctor. Excuse me," she finished disappearing inside the room.

"What's going on?"

"I have a sense of déjà vu," Jack told him. Daniel chuckled, shaking his head. "We are having the infamous meeting once they pick what they need. I have to escort the two of them back to the briefing room. Could you try to find where the rest of them are? I need to get all of us to the briefing room."

"Oh, I can bring the others, I mean, I know Sam took Tesla and Henry to her lab."

"Really?"

"They might be helpful; she said," Daniel grinned. "Honestly, she took them because Tesla was driving Janet insane."

"Oh well, since I have the feeling those other two guys might be more of an issue than these two, please take them. What about T and the girl?"

"Ah, actually, I might have to take Doctor Magnus back to the infirmary, I almost forgot. T and Ashley were waiting for the Doctor to draw some blood out of the girl. You know, to avoid the issue from last time."

"I see. Okay, as long as we can all be at the briefing room asap," Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "I guess there's no other way."

"Go to Sam's lab. I can tell you are worried about them. I'll take care of these two," Daniel offered.

"Thanks, Daniel."

Sam's Lab

"Hey, Carter! Tesla, Henry," he said, shooting daggers at them, "What? No third stodge?" he joked.

"Ha! And the comment comes from the one person in this lab with the lowest IQ. Go figure," Tesla responded, effectively pushing all the right buttons. But due to the way Sam had glared at him, he felt terrible for doing it.

"Colonel, sir. Can I do something for you?" Sam asked, turning towards Jack, and effectively interrupting them before they could start some probe how is the macho contest. 'A fight between your biological father and the man you love' her mind provided. She wanted nothing more than to roll her eyes, barely managing not to do it.

"Actually, yes, Carter. Can we talk? Alone?" Jack asked, bringing her back from her unexpected thoughts.

"Oh, go ahead, we can take care of ourselves and make some incredible advances with these," Nikola said with an eager look that was too naughty for Sam's sakes.

"Well, let me get someone to look after them."

"Oh, and here I was thinking she might cut us some slack after solving four riddles that she couldn't solve," Tesla pouted. Henry and Sam glared at him.

"Not in the slightest," she added as she took the phone and called someone.

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I never said I wasn't an annoying genius!" Tesla smirked.

"Oh! Don't worry, we all figured that one out, Mister Genius," Jack grinned.

"Again, coming from the lowest IQ in the room," Nikola rolled his eyes.

"At least," Jack said as Doctor Felger, and two airmen rushed to Sam's lab. He tried not to glare at the new man joining the room, but hurrying man was something always happened when Sam placed the call.

Noticing him distracted, Sam grabbed the Colonel by the arm, and half dragged him outside under the amused eyes of her biological dad while Jack glared at the abnormal man.

'Nikola was so doing it on purpose' she thought as they walked a bit further away from her lab to keep ears out of their conversation.

"Ok, we are ready to go now, sir. How can I help you?"

"I," he frowned not quite knowing how to explain it. It was a hunch, and yes, Sam was used to dealing with his gut instincts, but he rarely needed her telling something to him about them, they were always more action-prone feelings.

"Sir?"

"Ah," he scratched the back of his neck. "It is that you are the only scientist who can make me understand scientific thingies," he looked embarrassed

"Does it have anything to do with our guests?"

"No… well, kind of…" He trailed.

"Yes or no, sir?" she frowned.

"Well, something that Doctor Magnus," he huffed. "It doesn't matter. I need you to explain something to me, it's been in my head all day, and it's driving me mad!"

"Ok. What is it?" She asked, worrying her lower lip.

"Do you know what a linchpin is?"

"Seriously, that is your question?"

"Yes," she frowned and then huffed.

"Well, is a fastener used to prevent a wheel or other rotating part from sliding off the axle upon which it is riding; I think I have one on my desk if you need to see it?" She said going back to her lab, as she searched through shelves, Jack entered the room again. "Here, sir, this is the linchpin I have. Is it right for you, sir?" Sam asked, passing the thing to him.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, grabbing the thing and looking at it oddly. He had seen those before and knew how they worked but indeed wasn't what his mind was expecting.

"Oh, Magnus and I had a friend that called Linchpin to one of his theories," Nikola added happily if only to be his annoying self.

"Go on," Jack said as all eyes fell on him. Nikola huffed as all eyes moved from Jack to him.

"Well, James, our friend. He theorized that every once in a while, a Linchpin exists, this is a person who can change everything we know with one decision alone."

"Really? Tell me more," Sam said, interested. Jack sighed saved from having to ask more, Nikola nodded.

"Well, James called this person a Linchpin because of these," he said, grabbing the thing from Jack's hand and rotating it. "And the term was later used to represent something vital, be that a person or a part of your body. In any case, according to him, every significant step in the history of humankind can be attached to one person. If 'the one' doesn't choose wisely, it triggers a series of events that shouldn't happen and that can lead to the end of humanity as we know it."

"That's preposterous! How could someone be responsible for the whole fate of humankind?" Sam wondered.

"He made it quite simple. The Linchpin doesn't know that the future of the world is in their hands. For them, it is only a matter of personal decision. If you gave it a thought, it is entirely possible. Take into consideration what we learned when we spoke of the Tok'ra, there's a high probability that the Goa'uld who mothered them was a Linchpin," he trailed off as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, I see! Egeria chose to be good and changed the world with that. If she didn't, well, who knows where we would be now," Sam nodded in agreement.

"Well, I should say this is a so damn fascinating history lesson, but if you are all ready, we should get back to the briefing room. Daniel was getting Doctors Magnus and Zimmerman to the infirmary to finish with Ashley Magnus' tests. They should be going down by now."

"So are we ready to continue then?" Henry asked.

"We aren't the ones interrupting it," Jack hissed.

"No, but you did kickstart the last interruption."

"Maybe Colonel O'Neill is a linchpin," Henry offered pensively. Nikola looked at him then at the two officers he had around and smirked.

"Oh, no! You've got it wrong Heinrich," Tesla commented, gaining a wondering glance from the HAP. "If someone is a linchpin in this group… It isn't Colonel O'Neill," Tesla added while he smirked.