(Season 5: Around "Rite of Passage" and Future Season 12)

Daniel sat at his computer, trying to go over the pictures from the ruins on P3X 978. They were starting to blur together with his tiredness. He moved to shut down the computer and go to bed when a message popped up on his screen. NapoleonicNeedles has signed on.

NapoleonicNeedles:Hey, Daniel, how's it going?"

NOTaspacemonkey:How'd you know I was still up?

NapoleonicNeedles:Because you're never asleep before four o' clock in the morning.

NOTaspacemonkey:Right.

NapoleonicNeedles:Cassie's making me nervous. She seems to be hiding something from me.

NOTaspacemonkey:Like what?

NapoleonicNeedles:I don't know. That's the problem.

NOTaspacemonkey:Well, have you tried asking her what's on her mind?

NapoleonicNeedles:You know Cassie…when has that ever worked?

NOTaspacemonkey:Have you asked Sam? I mean, I hate to say it, but Cassie might have spilled to Sam, and not to you.

NapoleonicNeedles:Sam's got her own problems right now. What with the twins and the new pregnancy.

NOTaspacemonkey:TWINS? PREGNANCY? SINCE WHEN?

NapoleonicNeedles:Grace and Jacob are three years old, Daniel. They were just over at the house last night!

NOTaspacemonkey:Whose house?

NapoleonicNeedles:You better come home, I think you're sleep deprived.

NOTaspacemonkey:You mean, you and I…

NapoleonicNeedles:Daniel, of course you and I…we've been married for a year and a half now. I think Cassie's getting pretty serious with that Richard guy that she's been seeing at school. I have the sinking feeling that there will be some extra sparkage on her left ring finger.

NOTaspacemonkey:Cassie is FIFTEEN!

NapoleonicNeedles:What? No…she's twenty-two, Daniel.

NOTaspacemonkey:Are you joking?

NapoleonicNeedles:Daniel, what year is it? Sam said something about this happening to her a number of years ago, and I just want to double-check…

NOTaspacemonkey:It's 2002.

NapoleonicNeedles:It's 2009 from where I'm from.

NOTaspacemonkey:This is…weird.

NapoleonicNeedles:I know.

NOTaspacemonkey:So…why us?

NapoleonicNeedles:Maybe because things didn't happen the way they should have. Apparently, in another of Earth's timelines, Sam and Jack didn't end up together until 2006. The Daniel in that timeline accidentally instant-messaged the Sam from our timeline and told her to get off her butt and tell Jack that she loved him. Now…they're together.

NOTaspacemonkey:Not yet for me…

NapoleonicNeedles:Oh, that's right. They haven't gotten married yet in your world. It'll be another year before they get married. They are engaged though, aren't they?

NOTaspacemonkey:Jack and Sam just told us last night.

NapoleonicNeedles:Make it a double wedding.

NOTaspacemonkey:What?

NapoleonicNeedles:I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just a few days after you proposed three years ago. I'm in remission now, but we've never had children of our own. It's something that I've…we've always regretted. We could have had children if we'd just admitted our feelings for one another earlier.

NOTaspacemonkey:But what about the Grandfather paradox?

NapoleonicNeedles:Sam said that when this happened to her, that you said that it had probably happened for some greater purpose than we could see. She took your advice and now, she's happier than she could ever have been.

NOTaspacemonkey:But what about your…past self? Would she want to…you know, get involved now?

NapoleonicNeedles:One universal fact about all Janets everywhere, Daniel: they love when Daniel gets assertive.

NapoleonicNeedles has signed off.

Daniel released the breath trapped in his lungs. It was going to be a long night of thinking, hoping, and planning.