Sam approached the VIP room and opened the door. "Here you are, sir." She said with a smile.

"Thanks." He said, little emotion in his voice.

The infant lying in his arms raised her arms up toward Sam. "Ma."

General O'Neill closed his eyes as Sam tentatively reached for the child. "Do you mind?" She asked.

"Go ahead. I keep trying to think she's a daddy's girl, but…"

Sam held the infant close and she nuzzled up to her. "We were married in your reality, weren't we?" She asked, softly.

Tears moistened the hardened general's eyes. "Yeah. She would have come with, but…"

"The other Samantha saw your wife die, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

There was a very long, pregnant silence. "How old is she?"

"Grace? She's ten months old."

Sam closed her eyes as tears moistened her own eyes. She clutched the tiny child in her arms as if her life depended on it. "I'm sorry that you had to…"

"Don't be. It's just the way things happened." He said, trying to resist the urge to caress her cheek. She looked so much like his Sam. The way her hair was cut, the way she smiled. The way her eyes moistened when she was near tears. The way she held little Grace…

God, he was becoming such a softie.

Then again, it wasn't every day that your wife died.

"Sir?"

He didn't respond. It had been two years since she had called him 'sir.'

"General?"

Again, he didn't respond.

"Jack?"

He turned. "Yes?"

"I should probably go. This…I shouldn't…"

"Sam. I need you." He said, simply, pulling her by the hand into the VIP room and closing the door.

"Sir…"

"Don't call me that. It's Jack." He said, letting himself believe that this was his Sam.

"I'm sorry, but…I'm not her." She said, mournfully as she carefully placed the now-sleeping Grace into his arms.

As she turned to leave, she heard him whisper: "Samantha!"

She had never heard Jack O'Neill sound so vulnerable. So desperate. It made her ache inside. For some unknown reason, she wanted to hold him. To tell him that everything was going to be all right. That she would never leave his side…

It was impossible. He wasn't from her reality. She could never allow him- a general in the air force in his reality- to reach her like this. No matter what reality it was in, it was against regulations. She knew better than that.

But she had wanted him ever since she had walked into that Briefing room.

"Jack…"

Baby Grace was now on the bed, and he was striding toward her. He placed both of his wonderfully strong hands on her cheeks "Don't. Don't rationalize this away. Please. I need you."

He captured her mouth in a tender caress. It was everything that she had thought a kiss from Jack would be like.

NO! Her mind shouted. THIS ISN'T YOUR JACK!

She pulled away. "Please."

"Sam, let me do this."

"I'm not your wife." She said, pain in her eyes as she contemplated the pain that she was inevitably sending his way. "I'm sorry that she died, and I'm sorry that she left you behind, but…I can't fix this."

With that, she left the room to go to her own quarters where she thought about the injustice of it all.