Chapter 8

The next day raised the Weird Factor that encompassed life at the SGC to new heights with the revelation that a dig in Geza had unearthed a ZPM and a Canopic jar with a camcorder recording of SG-1 in ancient Egypt.

SG-1 were gathered around the briefing table, gazing at the screen with rapt fascination. Jack paused the recording and the four members began looking at each other.

"Our life really is better than a Sci-Fi movie, isn't it, Kids?" Jack looked around, grinning and cataloging the reaction of his team. Teal'c sat with his eyebrow seemingly stuck in hover. Carter's big brain was processing – Jack could almost see cogs turning over at warp speed. And Daniel . . . Jack snickered to himself, Daniel was dumbfounded. It was the first time in a very long time Jack had seen Daniel at a complete loss for words.

"Okay, so what do we do now? Carter?" Jack looked at Sam. She was still processing and he gave her a second to gather herself.

"Well, Sir, I'll need to do some research and study the tape a bit more, but if what we say on that tape is true, and it seems it is, then...we do nothing."

"But aren't we going to go back to Ancient Egypt? I mean, Jack can make the Daedalus work. He's done it before." Daniel's eagerness was almost palpable. Jack ignored him.

"Okay, finish whatever research you need to do. The ZPM should be here tomorrow. If everything plays out and we do nothing, I say we celebrate. The Replicators are toast, the Goa'uld are crushed, we've got a free ZPM and nobody died or Ascended. Whataya say we all go up to the cabin and get in a little fishin?"

Jack did his best not to stare with pleading eyes at Sam. If he was going to talk to her, it had to be away from the mountain. His track record for getting Sam to accept his fishing invitations was 0 and, well . . . he wasn't going there, but he hoped she'd accept if he made it a Team vacation.

Daniel was startled, but after glancing at Jack, who was trying to avoid looking at Sam, he smiled, "Sure Jack, sounds good."

Teal'c, who had also noticed the subtle biplay, gave a slight smile and inclined his head, "Indeed, O'Neill, I believe such a trip would be . . . most enjoyable."

Privately, Teal'c had no interest in fishing in O'Neill's Lake-With-No-Fish, but it was clear to him that O'Neill's desire to have him and DanielJackson along was nothing more than a thin veil for the inducement of Colonel Carter's acceptance of the invitation.

"DanielJackson," Teal'c stood and began to leave the room, assuming correctly that Daniel would follow in his wake. "We shall continue our review of the tape in your office."

Jack had virtually ignored their departure. Before the silence could become awkward, he glanced at Sam, "Whataya say, Carter? Land of Sky Blue Waters, loofa's, yasureyabettcha, snookums . . ."

Both he and Sam glanced up at the same time and then burst out laughing.

"I guess Thor's not going to whisk you away this time, Sir." Sam gave him the full out megawatt Carter smile that Jack liked to think was just for him.

"Yes, well . . ." Jack trailed off, his eyes turning serious, but a faint smile remained.

Sam ducked her head. She could do this. She could accept this invitation. The guys were going too. It wouldn't look inappropriate for the Team to go together. "Sure, Sir. I'd love to go."

For a moment, Jack wasn't sure he'd heard her right. "Really . . . you'll go . . . Really?" A stupid little smile broke over his face and quickly spread to a full on ear-to-ear grin.

"Then get to work, Colonel! Review that tape. Go, go!" Jack made shooing motions with his hands. Inside his head he was dancing. She said she'd go! She said she'd go!

Jack got up and wandered back to his office, still bemused. Walter came in and handed him a stack of paperwork. Still in a daze, Jack took it, said absently, "Thanks, Walter!" and immediately threw the stack in the trash.

Walter dove for the can and retrieved the pile. He took a hard look at the General and sighed. The man wasn't going to get anything done for the next several hours: Colonel Carter had finally accepted his invitation to the cabin. Sure, they might all be going up as a team, but she'd accepted. Walter turned and left the General to his musings and immediately picked up the phone. It was time to up the betting pool. This new information was really going to fuel the odds! "General Hammond, please. This is Sergeant Harriman at Stargate Command."

The next day the ZPM arrived and the four gathered in Sam's lab to watch the final few minutes of tape.

JACKSON: Uh, Jack, you should say something here.

O'NEILL: Um, college football is played on Saturdays; pro on Sundays; and there are no fish in my pond...at all...where I fish. Uh, I think that covers it for me.

Daniel turned off the video and Sam turned to Jack. "Is that correct?"

"If it is, we don't do anything?"

Sam shrugged, "Apparently nothing we did affected the timeline."

Jack was struggling with the concept. Relativity made his head hurt. "But we didn't do anything."

Sam was smiling, "Not yet. Apparently we were going to, two weeks from now, but we don't have to."

"Excellent! That's it! I like it!"

Jack got up and Sam reached for the ZPM box. "Okay, I'm gonna get this up to the lab for analysis."

Jack was quicker and picked up the box first, "No! I'll take it. There's a whole room full of geeks up there just dyin' to get their hands on this." Jack playfully bumped his hip into her, "You've got packin to do!"

Sam smiled and watched him leave. She was finally going fishing!