Chapter 3: Jack's Turn

While the other three-quarters of SG1 had returned, went through showers and med exams and were now not so patiently waiting at the debriefing table Sam was saving her thesis on the Delphi gate and printing out the highlights.

Making her way down the hall she smiled to herself, the baby was beginning to move. Latching her hands under her slightly protruding belly Sam walked into the debriefing room to see everyone settling down. She was on her way to her regular seat, to the left of General Hammond, when Jack started approaching her with a grin on his face. She had secretly suspected to herself that something was going between the Sam that belonged her this and Jack, he had looked thoroughly disappointed at the earlier meeting today. From what she was able to gather from Sergeants Harriman and Siler the rest of the base agreed with her.

Apparently every time this reality's SG1 had stumbled upon a quantum mirror Sam and Jack were involved, at the time she had just nodded. Her reality had found a few of those too. She remembered those missions vividly because the nights after were some of the toughest in her relationship. Presently seeing Jack so happy was a little startling. She smiled vaguely, placing one hand on the table and one on her belly.

"Jack?" her voice was slow and flat. Jack reduced his pace and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You know what?" Sam looked up quizzically. "I am so sorry, you were right. I promised a huge wedding and five kids and a minivan and a nice big house and I promise I will never yell at you again, ever. You can kick me out on my ass I don't care about Ms. McConnell." He looked down happily, if not expectantly. Sam swallowed and smiled nervously. When she spoke her voice held a slightly condescending tone.

"Well I'm sure that's great Jack bu-" he cut her off by placing his hands on her stomach and butt and his tongue down her throat.

The room went silent.

Air Force Colonel Jonathan O'Neill was kissing his subordinate female officer, who in this case happened to be pregnant with his brother-in-arms child.

Sam pushed him off and took a step back towards Teal'c, wiping her mouth off. "Uck"

General Hammond stood up. "Colonel O'Neill what in damnation do you think you are doing?" Jack took a step back from the table as if finally noticing the other people in the room, and looked at them like they were the ones who were crazy.

"Sir? What are you doing here?"

It was Hammond's turn to look at Jack incredulously. "I work here! As your boss!"

Jack smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Yes, sir! But I thought you had requested the week off."

Hammond sank down tiredly into his chair. "Stand down airman." After rubbing her eyes thoroughly George Hammond called Walter to page Doc Frasier. A few minutes later Janet came puffing up the stairs.

"You rang General?"

He nodded. "It seems that Colonel O'Neill has been subject to the same device as Major Carter." Janet's eyebrows skyrocketed.

Jack just laughed. "I see you've been taking lessons Jan. Big guy definitely has taught you well!" He continued to laugh as everyone exchanged startled glances. Finally Daniel cleared his throat.

"General, I'd like to propose something."

"Anything son, anything." Desperation lined the two star general's voice.

"Well sir, I'd like to take both Sam and Jack down to my office and record the differences of their realities. It would be interesting to see they diverged and what situations they are each facing with the Gou'ald and the Replicators." Hammond sighed.

"Go ahead."

Janet stood firmly in the doorway. "I call testing them first."

000

Daniel had finally managed to save Sam and Jack from the bowels of the infirmary and endless tests. Sam seemed especially tired, Daniel drove her towards the couch and handed her a glass of water. "How far along are you?" he asked gently. Sam balanced her glass on an arm of the sofa and watched it carefully.

"About five months." She turned her head towards him and smiled. "We really were to lucky back then. Everyone was."

Daniel's eyebrows crinkled. "Back then?"

"Yea, I don't know, I guess it sounds funny. Eight months ago everything we touched was gold, technology, medicine, missions, me getting pregnant, Janet's adoption papers coming through, hell even you were lucky." She tapped his shoulder.

"What happened?"

Sam shrugged. "We became complacent and stopped thinking long term. When 'the powers that be' started stepping and taking decisions away from us we didn't realize and now, well lets just say that Kinsley has nothing on General Hammond." She chuckled humorlessly. "Teal'c's thinking of moving full time to Dakara and accepting the leading role on the Jaffa Council that Bra'tac keeps pushing at him." She dragged her loose hair behind her ear. "I know that Jack is planning on retiring again and Janet may resign her commission to work at a local hospital." She looked up from the spot on floor. "You'll probably head back to Egypt." Sam reached out and fingered Daniel's BDU sleeve. "Please. Don't do that to them. Whatever they did it can be worked out I promise. Just give them a chance at least." She sighed resignedly.

CRASH

Daniel jumped, spilling Sam's water. Across the room Jack stood slightly bent over a large dusty pile of books, trying to look innocent. Daniel huffed. "Nice Jack, same throughout all the realities." He picked up the different texts and re-shelved them before moving behind his desk. "Okay. We had better get started. Both of you um, okay, let's do this systematically. Charts..." Daniel pushed up his glasses and grappled for a blank page and pen. Settling in finally Daniel looked up. "Okay, how about starting with the Gou'ald. Jack?" He eyed his friend carefully.

Looking all together all too bored Jack answered. "Destroyed."

Daniel looked up curiously. "How?" Jack just shrugged.

"Our Stargate is public, the people of the world saw the Gou'ald threat for what is was and they called for a untied, all out, total war. Everything, the economy, all the industries, everyone was dedicated to fighting them. It took almost a decade but we did it. We destroyed every single one." He leaned forward. "Every. Single. One."

Daniel continued scratching his notes out for a moment. When he looked up Jack was still watching him with a strange spark in his eye. A moment later Daniel realized that he was feeling guilty, he needed forgiveness. Daniel reached across the table and patted his arm sincerely stating. "You did good."

Jack sighed and leaned back. "Yea, I guess we did."

Daniel turned back to Sam. "And your situation?"

She played with a loose piece of string on her BDU shirt. "We came to a peaceful resolution with both the Gou'ald and the Tok'ra about a year and a half ago."

Daniel looked up. "Peaceful."

Sam smiled and met his eyes. "Yea peaceful."

"Oh-kay. How did that happen?"

Sam closed her eyes and smiled secretively. "Several millennia ago the first two hosts were taken, a male and a female. They were from the same planet but two different, warring, kingdoms. Their Tok'ald's were life partners and even though there was some uneasiness in the beginning the two hosts came to love one another. When the woman began to bear children there was a whisper that they were not her mate's. She was made to under take several tests, tribal ones that she could never have passed guilty or innocent. Declared a failure her mate threw her and her daughter out to a barren world. After that the two refused to ever again deal with what they named the Gou'ald, meaning takers of life, they went from world to world spreading lies and evils about them. After they had gained enough followers she declared war on the people from her mate's kingdom. Obviously he retaliated. Since then the war between the Gou'ald and renamed Tok'ra, obviously meaning against Ra, her mate." Daniel scribbled furiously.

"Wow, that's .. wow." Pushing up his glasses he studied what he had written. "But um who were the two women running the opposition." Sam's smile became a beam.

"Selmack and her daughter Jolinar."

Daniel started. "Selmack and Jolinar??!"

Sam smile just increased. "Isn't it just too funny."

Daniel shook his head. "Yea just too." He shook his head. "Okay, replicators?"

Jack shook his head. "Don't have 'em." Daniel nodded and looked to Sam.

She waved her hand. "Don't worry I've updated the machine that this Sam was working on along with leaving notes."

Daniel nodded again. "Okay great. That leaves us with the fun stuff. I want all the gossip." All three leaned in and began whispering furiously.