I hope you guys are having a great weekend. I am stuck at work...I'm not going to get a day off till next Sunday! Bleh. Anyways, here's your next chapter. I wonder if you guys picture Jade the same way I do. I just adore her!

(Froggy, I did get your review. I don't think you were the only one having problems with the site. I didn't have near as many reviews as usual, so either not very many people like this story, or other people were having a hard time signing in too)

Please review! It makes my day!

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"Had dinner yet?"

Sam looked up from her computer to see Daniel leaning in the doorway, a warm smile on his face. She sighed and lifted her fingers off the keyboard, stretching her arms over her head and standing slowly.

"Not yet. You headed that way?"

He nodded, and Sam leaned over her desk to tap a couple of keys, saving her work before she followed Daniel out of the room. They walked silently to the elevator, and Sam waited until the door slid closed before she spoke.

"Daniel," she said, turning to face him and trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "What am I going to do?"

He looked a little confused, and he crossed his arms in front of him. "You mean if she's really your kid?"

"Yes!" She threw up her hands in frustration. "God, Daniel, I'm not old enough to be that girl's mother! And what about Colonel O'Neill?" She lowered her voice, almost whispering her next words. "What if she really is…ours?"

Daniel smiled, looking slightly amused. "Sam, I don't know what you're so worried about. I'd think it would be…" He shrugged his shoulders. "…I don't know…good news."

She knew exactly what he was trying to say, and she frowned at him disapprovingly.

"Don't. Just don't, okay? This is hard enough already."

After a quiet laugh, Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking thoughtful.

"Look, this is hardly the first time you and Jack have had to deal with something awkward like this." Sam opened her mouth to protest, but Daniel cut her off. "It's not that different, Sam. Just try to think of this girl's mother as…as a Samantha Carter from an alternate universe."

The elevator doors slid open, and Sam sighed.

"I'll try."

They made their way down the hall and into the mess hall, and Sam stopped short in the doorway. Daniel peeked over her shoulder and began to laugh.

Colonel O'Neill and Jade sat across from each other in the middle of the room, both with their elbows on the table and their chins resting in their hands. They stared intently at each other, and Sam couldn't help but smile at the identical expressions on their faces. She and Daniel slowly walked up, and Sam took a chair next to Jack, neither of the O'Neills glancing up.

"Favorite color," Jack challenged.

"Peridot," Jade answered swiftly.

"Favorite sport."

"Hockey."

"Favorite TV show."

"The Simpsons."

Jack squinted a little, and Sam shared an amused look with Daniel.

"Where's my tattoo?"

Jade sighed, looking a little bored. "You don't have any tattoos, Dad."

Not ready to give up, Jack tried going a different direction.

"When did I meet Daniel?"

"On your first mission to Abydos."

"When did I meet Carter?"

"On your second mission to Abydos."

"Where did I take her on our honeymoon?"

"Colonel!" Sam blushed furiously, and Daniel blinked behind his glasses, looking a little disturbed at the thought.

"Minnesota," Jade replied, sitting up straight and raising her chin defiantly. "What else you got?"

Sam realized suddenly that she had not actually considered that she and Colonel O'Neill could have been married in the future. She couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth at the thought of being Mrs. Jack O'Neill.

"What was my first girlfriend's name?" Jack asked, unshaken by Jade's words. Sam wondered briefly if he had thought more about their future together than she had.

Jade blinked a moment, and then frowned in a very O'Neillesque fashion.

"Jeez, I don't know."

"Aha!" Jack cried, pointing a finger at her.

"Oh, for crying out loud, Dad, why would I know the name of your first girlfriend?"

"Colonel," Sam interrupted, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. It seemed like everything the girl said and did was a reflection of either O'Neill or herself, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Jack's eyes lit up and he waved his hand in her direction.

"What about Carter?"

Uh oh.

"What about her?" Jade asked curiously.

Jack grinned and gestured for Sam to take part in the conversation. She shook her head no, and Daniel jumped in for her.

"Alright. What's Sam's favorite color?"

The girl smiled wide, her eyes warm as she looked over at Sam.

"Jade."

Sam just stared, an odd feeling sweeping over her. Jack and Daniel exchanged a look next to her, but she kept her eyes on the young girl across the table. She almost felt transfixed, unable to look away. After a moment, she shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

"Colonel, I thought you were supposed to take her to her quarters."

Jack shrugged and dipped his spoon into the bowl in front of him. "She was hungry."

Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked down at Jade's empty dish. "So you gave her jello?"

Jade grinned suddenly, jumping from her seat in excitement.

"Teal'c!"

She practically squeaked out the name, running to meet the Jaffa standing in the doorway and wrapping her arms tightly around his middle. Teal'c raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at his friends, and Jack gestured for him to take a seat at the table. Teal'c dragged Jade with him as he pulled out a chair, and she returned to her seat across from O'Neill, a bright smile on her face.

"Teal'c," Jack sighed. "This is Jade."

Teal'c bowed his head in her direction. "General Hammond has informed me of the situation."

Daniel got up from the table, wandering over to the buffet as Teal'c eyed the girl next to him curiously.

"She does indeed resemble Major Carter."

Jade just laughed. "I get that a lot."

After a bit, Daniel returned to his chair, handing Sam a plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes. She thanked him and dug in, surprised at how hungry she was. Jade kept her wide, blue eyes on Sam as she ate, and after a moment, Sam dropped her fork onto her plate in irritation.

"Okay, what?"

Jack elbowed her and whispered, "See? It's annoying, right?"

Jade blushed and looked down at the empty bowl in front of her.

"Sorry, Mom. I just-"

"No, no, no." Sam shook her head and returned to her potatoes. "Not Mom. No. You can call me Sam, or Carter, or ma'am, or anything you like, but not Mom."

Jade looked a bit offended, but Sam tried not to notice. There was no way she could get through this with this girl talking to her and Colonel O'Neill as if they really were her parents.

"Carter," Jack scolded. "Be nice, huh?"

"Sorry, sir," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Jade said with a shrug. "I know this must be weird. I wish I could tell you about me." She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I wish I could tell you about yourselves."

Daniel and Sam both shook their heads, and Jack looked confused.

"Is this one of those time paradox things?"

Sam swallowed her potatoes and rested her fork on her plate. "Well, not exactly. It's just that, if she really is from the future, then she's already caused a manipulation in our timeline, just by being here. And if the Asgard really are going to die out in the future, and we do something to change it, it's going to drastically alter the current timeline. As it is, we're talking about irreparable damage, and the more she tells us about the future, the more reshaping of the timeline there will be. It's better if she tells us as little about the future as possible."

Jack just blinked at her. "I've seen that movie. I'm pretty sure everything works out for the better."

Jade giggled from across the table, and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"It will perhaps be better for the Asgard," Teal'c commented. "Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the result will be positive for the universe as a whole."

Jack just shook his head. "You're making this way too complicated. We got a heads up from the future before, remember? Probably saved our butts, too. You didn't seem to have a problem with that."

Sam watched in annoyance as Jade stuck a spoon into her mashed potatoes, swallowing a bit bite before she spoke.

"Look, guys, you all argued about this for a very long time. I know it's a big risk, but we did the best we could to limit the damage, and if we didn't do anything, it wouldn't just be the Asgard who'd be gone from existence. Trust me, even Mom…Sam…was onboard by the end."

The table grew silent, everyone lost in thought as Jade picked at Sam's dinner. Finally, Colonel O'Neill rose from his chair and gestured for Jade to follow.

"Alright. Bedtime, kiddo."

Sam gave the girl a small smile as she got up to leave, and she watched Jack guide Jade out of the room with his hand on her back. There was something natural about the two of them together, and she found herself hoping, very deep down, that just maybe Jade was telling the truth.