Chapter 23 : the road not taken

COLORADO SPRINGS - LT. COLONEL SAMANTHA CARTER'S HOUSE

"Jack, I'm fine." She repeated as she slid her t-shirt down. Her skin still bore some of the stigma of her injuries, bruises and a prominent scar, pink and swollen. Two arms encircled her waist and posed gently on her belly.

"I know, I know..." He muttered against the skin of her neck, placing a kiss on the thin skin of her collarbone. She smiled and caressed the hands placed on his stomach. "Still, I would have kept you with me for a few more weeks." She smiled and pivoted between his arms to kiss him.

"Jack ... You can't stay here any longer, you've already been playing sick shifts with Cassie for over a month. And besides, you know very well that I'm only taking over at the lab. General Landry insisted, as did Cameron." Jack smiled, angelically. She knew that he had also agreed with her. Arguing that she needed to fine-tune her phase-shifting machine, in case of an Ori invasion on Earth. "I promise I'll be good as new." She added.

"Oh, I know you're thrilled at the thought of being locked in your office all day with Naqqui as your only company." He gently brushed her cheek. "But get some rest, you're just recovering from your injuries. And I won't be there to bring you any Jelly." She laughed against his lips.

"Jack... Go back to Washington. I'll join you this weekend and we'll talk to Cassie. I have to go, I'll be late." She'll be against it for a long time.

COLORADO SPRINGS - SGC

He was waiting for her at the exit of the elevator, accompanied by Teal'c and Vala.

"Welcome back Sam." Cameron exclaimed. As for Vala, she rushed over to give her a hug. Teal'c smiled gently at her, bowing his head in greeting. She returned Vala's embrace and smiled at Teal'c.

"I'm glad to see you again." Exclaimed Vala as she released her.

"Thank you. Glad to be back !"

"I'm glad you're okay, Colonel Carter." Teal'c said.

ALTERNATE REALITY - COLORADO SPRINGS - SGC

She had searched the lab as soon as they had left her alone. She had not asked to see Jack during the interrogation. As soon as she had realized that General Hammond had never left the SGC and that Lorne had told her he had always commanded SG1. She had suspected that Jack in this universe would be of no use. Nevertheless, when she had found a photo of her and Lorne, a wedding ring around her hand, she had realized that the Samantha Carter of this universe had a life diametrically opposed to her own. Her hand had closed around the ring she wore around her neck. Jack. Cassie. Janet. Everything here was different. Including SG1. Teal'c was no longer here, Daniel had been kidnapped and Vala ... Vala had never been influenced by Daniel. She felt terribly alone. Nevertheless, she would find a way to get home. She had to. The Samantha Carter of this universe was dead and in her reality, she could still save the Earth from the Ori. When Lorne entered, she saw a way to get information about their relationship. A relationship that could be useful, if she ever turned out to be what she thought.

"It's the same, but it's different, you know? Can I ask you something?" Sam commented. "I found these pictures, and, uh, in them, she was wearing a wedding ring." She took the pictures out of the drawer where they were stored. She hands a picture to Lorne. The alternate-Carter's left hand is clearly visible off Lorne's shoulder.

"Yeah, that must have been before the divorce."

"So..." She pointed at him, implying that she and he...

"Oh, no-no-no. God, no. No, it was this dot com millionaire smartass named McKay."

"Not...Rodney McKay?" Sam lamented. Of all the men in this universe, the one she married had to be Rodney!

"Yeah. You have one too, huh? Is he a jerk in your universe?"

"Huh. Some people think so."

"Sam always said there was a side of him that no one else saw." So he hid them very well.

COLORADO SPRINGS - SGC - GENERAL LANDRY'S OFFICE

"Jack..." No sooner had she crossed the threshold of the office than he held her close. A powerful, passionate embrace. "Jack." She sighed as she returned his embrace, breathless. He pushed back it slightly and kissed it passionately, placing it against him. She felt the tension that had built up in her during her two weeks in another dimension dissipate as she spent time in his arms.

"You're killing me, Sam." He sighed, resting his forehead against hers. She read in his eyes all the anguish he had kept to himself since her disappearance. "You had to stay in your lab." He said by depositing a rain of light kiss on his face.

"Technically... I wasn't the one who got me out of it." She replied, pushing him back slightly to examine him carefully. She brushed the purple circles under his eyes and the stress lines that marked the corners of his mouth. "You should know this though... I will always come back to a reality where you become Mr. Samantha Carter." He laughed softly against the skin of her cheek.

"Sam... You have to stop playing with my heart by disappearing. I'm getting old." He argued.

"Not that old... You are well preserved for your great age." She teased him, brushing her hands across his chest. "How did you get General Landry, to let you use his office?"

"I've been pestering him since you disappeared... We'll have to talk about that, by the way... Suffice to say, he was happy to lend me his office while I debriefed you."

"Oh, is that what you call it?" She asked after he stole another kiss from her. He laughed. She then noticed that the curtains and doors had been closed.

"Privilege of the future husband." He replied as he hugged her again. "How was I in this other reality?" He asked curiously. She did not answer the question, taking hold of his lips. So he knew without her needing to tell him: he was not who he was here.