1995
Three hours after Jack and his team returned to Earth from the first ever mission. He was talking to major general West in his office when they heard the Stargate being activated. They ran out of the office and down stairs to the control room
"Sargent, what going on?"
"I don't know, sir. It's an incoming wormhole." He answered.
Then the worm hole was being formed, and a defense team ran into the gate room pointing their guns at the Stargate.
"Sir, something coming through the gate," The Sargent announced.
All eyes were set on the Stargate where a large envelope was coming through the gate, then it landed on the ramp, and the Stargate disengaged. Jack ran down the stairs and into the gate room with General West behind him. The Colonel stopped next to the envelope and crouched down to pick it. With a frown, he turned towards the General.
"It's for me, sir." Jack walked down the ramp to show it to the General, trying to keep confusion out of his expression.
"For you? Any idea where it came from, Colonel?" General West questioned him.
"No, sir. Perhaps there's a note inside that might give us a clue?" He offered, and the General nodded once.
"Well, then open it up." Jack nodded and carefully opened it. Looking at the contents, he pulled what looked like a note from the inside. He screened the paper before reading it out loud, "Colonel O'Neill, if you are reading this, there's a letter for your eyes only inside the envelope. Please read it carefully and follow the instructions." He finished looking up to the hard expression on General's West face.
"Who it's from, Colonel?"
"I don't know, sir." Jack shrugged. Taking out the contents of the envelope, he fished through the many containers to find one with his name on it. He showed it to the General, and the older man waved him to continue. Carefully he opened the envelope and pulled out a five-page letter, before frowning in confusion.
"It's in my hand writing, sir." General West squinted at him.
"Are you sure, Colonel?"
"Yes, sir. It did say for my eyes only, sir. I'll go and read it, and then I might be able to tell you what's going on." He looked up at the General, "if that's okay with you, sir?" he added.
"If there's an explanation I want to know it, Colonel." The General agreed and dismissed him.
"Yes, sir," Jack saluted before walking out towards his quarters.
Entering the room, he walked towards the bed and sat on it, leaving the large envelope on his side before taking his envelope and its contents. Clenching his jaw, he started to read the letter, by the time he finished it he was close to shock. He took the fourth page of the letter and re read it this time out loud.
"Sara is your past, Jack. Sam, she is your future. Give her, her letter and get to know her. Your window of opportunity is open till 08/08/97. Take it now, before it's too late." Jack then looked at the fifth page that included a list of names and dates. At the top, there was a simple message:
'Make sure that these letters reach their owners before the dates beside their names; it's important for their future.'
With a frown, he folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope. Then, he tipped the large envelope onto the bed, and all the other envelopes bounced in the mattress. One by one he read the names and addresses.
"Australia?" He frowned until he reached the one marked for the United States. "Captain Samantha Carter, USAF, Pentagon, Washington DC." He read. He shook his head and chuckled.
"Well, lucky me. I'm going there tomorrow," Jack muttered to himself. Then, separating hers, he continued looking at the rest of them finding eight others with his name and different dates. He placed his envelopes in the bed and looked at them as if they would say something to him, but they didn't say more than what it was already in them. "Do not open until this date." He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Ok, this is strange." He took his and the one for Carter and placed them in his duffel bag and returned all the others to the envelope. He grabbed the envelope and walked towards General West's office.
The next morning, Jack flew to Washington he had to meet the top brass and give them his report on what happened on their mission. Surrounded by high-level military officers with clearance for the Stargate Project in a tiny room of the Pentagon, the Colonel explained what had transpired on his mission. He showed them the few pictures they got from the pyramid, the Stargate, and the DHD and finally after what he thought was too long; they left him go away.
Needing to stretch his legs after being sitting for too long, O'Neill walked out of the room and started to wonder around. He stopped after a while and looked around trying to find where he had gone inside the labyrinth of the Pentagon. He heard someone chuckle, and he was quite sure it was at him.
"Sir? Can I help you?" Someone asked behind his back, Jack turned around and found blue eyes looking at him with a hint of amusement on them. He shook his head and searched for her name tag.
"Captain Carter," he read out loud, trying not to look shocked.
"Yes, sir," she smiled. "Are you looking for a way in or a way out, sir?"
"Out," he said, then he scratched the back of his head. "Ah, I don't know which way to go," he huffed. "I should be aware by now that one shouldn't wander around not paying attention," he shook his head making her smile again.
"I can show you the way, sir." She offered, and he nodded. "Well, if you follow me…" They walked for a while in silence, when Jack recognized the area as one that held meeting rooms he took the chance to ask, "Are you by any chance, Captain Samantha Carter?" she stopped and frowned. He turned around when he noticed this.
"Yes, sir." She answered, wondering how he knew her name.
Jack used her surprise to grab her from the elbow, and with a swift movement, he pulled them to an empty room. He let her go and turned the lights.
"Colonel, what are you doing? What's going on?" She asked taking a couple of steps back.
"Wait, it's not what it looks like," he raised his hands up. He lowered one and dug out an envelope from his inner pocket. "I was told to give you this letter," keeping the space she had placed between them, he stretched the hand in which he had the envelope. "I don't know what's in it, but they sure made it look important," he offered.
Not taking her eyes out of him, she grabbed the letter and read her name on it. She walked towards the table and took a seat, before opening the envelope and taking out the papers in it. He watched her reading it from where he was standing and gladly found he wasn't the only one who ended up halfway into shock with what was in it.
"I… You know about the Stargate Program?" Sam asked placing the pages back into the envelope and looking at him. He raised his eyebrows.
"How?" he asked before he realized she shouldn't, "that's classified." She shook her head.
"It's in this letter. Don't worry, Colonel. I have clearance, after all, I've been working on the project for two years before Doctor Jackson was brought in. I was the one who built the dialing program," she shrugged. Jack took a step forward
"You built the dialing program?"
"Yes, sir." She added, she looked so young and innocent and beautiful, and it took him a look to remember what his letter said.
"Captain, since I'm only here for the night, would you care to join me for dinner? We can talk… No pressure…" he raised his hands again, and she smiled. Considering his offer, Sam looked down at the letter and then back up at him.
"I would love to, Colonel."
"Sweet!" Jack smiled. She giggled shaking her head.
"No giggling, Captain," Jack warned her with a hint of a smile.
"Yes, sir." She grinned sheepishly. "So, out of here?" She asked placing the letter in her bag. He nodded.
"Do you know a great quiet place where we can eat?" He asked as they strolled the corridors, "I get lost every time I come here."
"Yes, sir. I do."
"Awesome, there's one thing though. I really need to get out of this suit. Can we head to my hotel first?" Her eyes widened, before noticing he was struggling with his tie already.
"Sure, but only if I also get a chance to get out of mine," she smiled. He nodded, "Hotel, home, dinner?" she offered.
"Sounds like a plan to me!"
An hour and a half later, happily out of their blues, they were sitting at a quiet restaurant talking about nothing in particular, while waiting for their dinner.
"Since you're the genius of the two, any idea of where they came from?" He asked she swirled her glass of wine, looking at the movement.
"Well…" she chewed her lower lip. "From what you told me, and for what my letter said… you might think I'm crazy or had too much wine, but everything points to being from the future," she said as quickly as possible.
"The future…" he repeated, before taking a sip of his wine.
"Yes," she huffed. "It's not my idea, it was explained in the letter I received. It's from my future self and she, I? explain it. The only thing it isn't mentioned it how far in the future she was, I was?" she frowned. Sure, it sounded better in her head.
"Oh, really? You did explain it to yourself then," he smiled and tried not to be so forward. "Did it… did it say anything about us?" he asked not quite meeting her eyes until he noticed her blush.
"Yes, it does. It says that there's a window of opportunity until 08/08/97. Whatever that date means…" she shrugged.
"Mine said almost the same," he huffed. "Any idea what it means?"
"None, but the date must be important to us both," she shrugged. "Maybe related with the Stargate?" she added thoughtfully.
"At this point, it could be related to anything." Jack shrugged, "what else does your letter say?" She looked down to her hands before raising her eyes to meet his.
"That I'm important to a lot of people, and that I'm special…" she trailed rolling her eyes.
"Special in what way?" he asked curiously.
"I have no idea," she smiled. The waiter interrupted them, and they found themselves drifting from the letters to other things and enjoying their meals.
A couple of hours later, Jack walked Sam back to her apartment. He found out earlier it was only three blocks away from where they were eating. They strolled still talking about themselves and their families until they reached her door. She unlocked before turning to him.
"Thank you for dinner, Jack," she smiled.
"You are welcomed. Next time you're in Colorado Springs give me a call," he says giving him his card.
"Sure!"
"Great, well good night Sam."
"Good Night, Jack." She said as she walked in and closed the door. Jack turned around and walked back smiling. He kept smiling until he drifted to sleep.
The next day, he flew back to Colorado Springs, and an airman drove him back to his place. He sighed when he noticed that his welcome party where Sara and the divorce papers. He clenched his jaw but remembered the letter and signed all the papers before picking his bags and walking out of the house. Without looking back, he started the engine of his truck and drove away. After a few miles, he stopped to call a friend. He needed a place to stay for a while.
Three weeks later, following the date and address on his letter, Jack bought a house that had suddenly come up for sale. Since he had to wait three weeks before he could move in, Jack took the chance to fly to Sydney and start giving the letters that were marked for Australia.
He was there for three days before he decided he couldn't stop delaying it. He got into a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the address on the envelope. He asked the cab driver to stop near the house, Jack hopped out and walked to the letterbox, placed his package and returned to the taxi on time to watch a Postie dropping the mail in the same mailbox.
"Where to, sir?" The taxi driver asked as Jack didn't give him instructions.
"Wait a minute, please."
"It's your money," the driver shrugged.
A few moments later, a man walked down to the letterbox and pulled the mail out. He looked through the several envelopes until he got to the last one. Jack saw him looking around with a frown, before opening it and pulling out some papers, knowing it was the one he delivered he nodded to himself.
"Ok, back to the hotel, please," he added.
"Sure," the taxi drove past Charge house, Jack looked behind him to watch the man was still reading the letter and for some reason, he felt he had accomplished something that could change the man's world.
The next day, Jack hopped into a taxi towards another part of Sydney he wouldn't know if it wasn't for the address in the envelope. The driver found a spot to stop across the road, checking the back Jack saw a postman doing his job getting closer to the home.
Jack got out of the taxi and walked the distance separating him from the letterbox while pulling a letter out of his jacket. He placed the envelope and returned to the cab, and minutes later the regular mail was on top of the one he left. No one came out to check the mail, and Jack returned to town.
Later that afternoon, Chris Blake was in his bedroom playing with the envelope. Curiosity won him, he opened it and recognized his handwriting. He read what it said and smiled; he knew what he needed to do, folding up the letter, he left it in a safe place and continued doing his homework.
A day after, Jack flew back to Colorado Springs when he arrived back at his friend's home, he found that in the mail there were a few envelopes for him. Sorting through it, he opened a letter to see his divorce was finalized. He sat down at the table absorbing the concept of being a divorced man. He was placing the papers inside it when his cell phone rang.
"O'Neill."
"Jack? It's Sam," he started to smile.
"Hi Sam, what can I do for you?" He asked.
"Well, you did say to give you a call when I'm in your town…" she trailed.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Well, I am now. And I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner at O'Malley's tonight?" she asked somewhat shyly. Jack smile had gotten even wider
"Around what time?"
"How about seven? I can meet you there," she added.
"Sure! You know? They got the best steak in town." He told her just to keep her in line a little longer, she giggled.
"Yes, so I have been told. I'll see you then?"
"Yup, I'll see you." He looked at the phone for a while before eyeing his watch. There were still three hours to go. "Right! Shower and shave," he told himself as he picked his mail and walked to the guest room.
When Jack arrived at O'Malley's, he walked inside and looked around. A smile took over him when he spotted Sam at a table.
"I see you didn't have problems finding this place," he said when he reached her table. She waved him to sit and called the waitress over. "Guinness, please."
"Sure." She said turning around on her heels.
"I hope you didn't wait too long for me," he grimaced when the waitress walked away.
"No, I just arrived a few minutes ago myself," Sam grinned.
"Cool! How are things in DC?" He asked
"Good. I've been busy, and you?"
"Same here," he said, but Sam noticed there was a sad vibe to him.
"Want to talk about it?" she tried.
"Ah, my divorce came through," he sighed.
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said giving his hand a small press.
"Yeah..." he shook his head. "Well, I got back from Australia this afternoon," he commented attempting to change the mood.
"Oh, for the letters?" she inquired.
"Yup, two of them."
"Great, when is the next one due?"
"I have time," he shrugged. "March 2, 2002."
"Whoa, that's in seven years." She said with widened eyes.
"I know. Anyhow, how long are you going to be in town?" Sam smiled.
They spent the rest of the night talking enjoying their friendly banter. Almost an hour after finishing their dinner, they asked the waitress to call them a cab. Jack joined her on the way to Cheyenne mountain just to keep talking when they arrived, and airman was waiting for Sam at the front gate to take her to the entrance. Jack got down with her asking the taxi driver to wait for him. Still, somewhat awkwardly, they hugged, and Sam kissed him quickly giggling like a teenager before disappearing inside the gates and into the waiting car. Then, he waited for her car to disappear before returning to the taxi and heading for his friend's place.
Over the next four nights, Jack waited for Sam outside the front gates standing next to his truck. After, they went to town for a movie and dinner trying different places. Finally, when there were no more excuses, and it was too late, he drove her back to Cheyenne where they would kiss for a while before she got out of his truck.
After the fourth, while they were enjoying dinner, Sam looked up at Jack and bit her lower lip.
"Jack?" she called him. A simple look told him something wasn't right.
"What's wrong?" She grimaced.
"I'm going back to DC tomorrow," she sighed.
"Oh!" was all he managed to say. She leaned forth placing her hand over his
"You are more than welcome to come and visit me," she offered.
"Are you sure?" he asked looking at her in the eyes.
"Yes."
"Then I'll do that once I'm all settled in," Sam smiled
"Well, next time I'm in town I would like to see your place," she grinned.
"Then, perhaps, next time, I'll invite you for dinner," he grinned back.
"That would be great."
Later that night when Jack parked his truck at the front gates, Sam turned towards him and kissed him softly.
"I had very good time tonight, Jack. Thank you," she whispered.
"You are welcomed. Let me know the next time you're in town."
"I will," She nodded and passed him a piece of paper. "Here, my cell and home number" He took it carefully.
"Thanks, have a safe flight back."
"I will," she winked at him. "Good night, Jack"
"Night Sam," before she went down she leaned forward and gave him one last kiss. "for the trip," she said as she rushed out of his truck. She walked to the front gates and pulled out her ID, once she's safely inside a car. Jack drove back to his friend's place.