Season 7 Episode 3 – Fragile Balance

Episode Summary: Jack wakes up one morning to find he has regressed in age by more than 30 years. He remembers fragments of his abduction by an Asgard, and SG-1 investigate similar abductions to try and find out what happened. Dr Fraiser discovers Jack is a clone, and that he's dying. They hatch a plan to get SG-1 aboard the Asgard ship to rescue the original O'Neill. They confront Loki, and summon Thor, who agrees to fix the clone Jack's genetic problems so he can live. At the end of the episode, original Jack drops clone Jack off at a high school, and they agree not to keep in touch.
Author's note: There are two parts to this tag - a prequel set at the beginning of the episode (because I changed the beginning a bit) and a sequel set at the end of the episode (because I changed end a lot). Also, although this is the first tag I've done since Daniel's de-scension, as at this point of the series he hadn't remembered anything from when he was ascended, I'm going to save discussion of the possibility of him remembering what Jack told him in 'Abyss' until the next tag.

EPISODE PREQUEL

Sam was just putting on her jacket, ready to head off to work, when someone started pounding on her door. She glanced at her watch. 0745. Really?

She opened it, and she gasped at the sight of the fifteen year old boy in front of her. She recognised that face.

"Jake?"

The boy blinked at her in confusion, and shook his head. "What? No, Carter, it's me. Jack."

"… Jack." She repeated, sceptically.

"Yes, Jack! Someone shrank me. I need you to get me to the base, so you and Fraiser can run whatever tests you need to run, and fix me." He rolled his eyes and pulled up his trousers, which were clearly way too big for him, as was the rest of his clothing.

Sam looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You're claiming you're Colonel Jack O'Neill, and that someone … shrank … you."

"Yes! And we need to go to the SGC, now."

"Why would anyone shrink you?"

"I don't know. Maybe they thought it would be funny. Now can we get to the part where you start believing me and work on fixing it?"

She bit her lip, trying to tell in his eyes if it was really him.

He rolled his eyes again. "Ok, fine. You once carried a Tok'ra symbiote named Jolinar, who died to save you. Daniel recently came back from being ascended, when he got kicked out of the Oma Desala fan club for breaking the rules. A couple of years ago you and I accidentally travelled to the year 2034 where we met our kids, Jake and Beth, and had to rescue General Samantha Carter from an evil corporation. Do you believe me now?"

"Wow." She muttered. "I think we should go to the base."

"Thank you."

She picked up her keys and shut the front door behind her. "Technically it was an evil non-governmental organisation, not an evil corporation."

"Really Carter? You're correcting my nomenclature at a time like this?"

"I'm just saying."

She got in the car, and he went round to the passenger side. Once he'd fastened his seatbelt, he looked at her.

"You thought I was Jake?"

EPISODE SEQUEL

"How are you feeling?" Daniel asked the fifteen year old clone.

"Much better." He said. "Thank you Thor."

"You are most welcome, O'Neill." Thor said.

"So he's fixed now?" The older Jack asked. "He's not going to die?"

"Barring accident, he should live as long as you will." Thor confirmed.

"Great." The mini Jack patted himself down and bounced experimentally, then looked straight at Sam. "Carter, can I have a word?"

Sam looked at the original Jack, who's eyebrows had risen to his hairline.

"Sure." She said uncertainly. She followed the clone away from the rest of the group.

"So … I just want you to know … I won't tell anyone about the whole time travelling to the future thing. In fact, after this moment, I'll never speak of it again."

"Thank you, Colonel. I appreciate that."

"I'm the proverbial third wheel here. I'll leave that stuff to you and …" He scowled at his older counterpart, "… him."

Sam squirmed in embarrassment. "Right."

"Right. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say."

He backed away, maintaining eye contact, before turning and heading back to the others.

"Ok. Thor, thanks for the assist." The original Jack said. "You mind dropping us back home?"

"Of course, O'Neill."

"Uh, wait, sir, I'd like to stay a little longer if I could. I want to talk with Thor a bit more about the technology and the other abductees." Sam interjected suddenly.

Both O'Neills looked at her, both with narrowed eyes, trying to figure her out. "Is that alright with you, Thor?" Jack asked.

"That would be acceptable. I will transport Major Carter back to the SGC separately." Thor answered.

"Ok then. Have fun." Jack said to her. She gave a forced smile in response.

And then they were gone. She took a deep breath, looking to the ceiling, questioning the sanity of her plan.

"Major Carter. You had questions for me?" Thor prompted.

"Actually Thor, I have a favour to ask." The little Asgard cocked his head at her. "I want you to create a fifteen year old clone of me."

Sam leaned against the wall of the high school, watching as Jack's truck pulled up. She saw the younger Jack talking to him, and then got out of the car. She took a deep breath and started walking towards him. Moment of truth.

He was leaning against the door, talking to the older Jack through the open window. She slowed her pace, waiting for him to finish the conversation and walk away. It would be easier if the older Jack didn't see her.

He took a step back from the car and put on some sunglasses, patting the door in farewell. She was there, waiting to intercept him before he walked into the school, but … she was busted. The original Jack saw her, and stared, eyes narrowed. Damn, he recognises me.

The younger Jack saw the direction of his original's gaze, and turned to look at her. She couldn't see his eyes behind the glasses, but she knew he was staring at her just like the original was. Shrugging, she gave the older Jack a smile and a wave, before walking up to the younger Jack and hooking her arm through his. "Come on, I've got a lot to tell you." She said.

"Carter?" He whispered.

She grinned at him. "Call me Sam."

Sam unlocked the front door of her house, and dumped her keys in the bowl inside, kicking off her boots and hanging up her jacket. She wandered into the kitchen, intending to check her messages, but froze when someone cleared his throat loudly from the direction of the living room. She turned and walked slowly towards the living room, relaxing a little when she saw it was Jack.

"Sir?"

"Carter." He said. He didn't look happy.

"How did you get into my house?" She asked.

He just raised an eyebrow at her.

"Did you need something, sir?" She tried again.

"You'll never guess who I just ran into." He said.

Oh God, he knows.

"Sir?" She said, trying for innocence.

"A certain blue-eyed, blonde-haired fifteen year old with a fondness for motorcycles, blue jello, and astrophysics." He emphasized the last two syllables as though they alone condemned her.

"I can explain." She started.

"Don't bother. So that's why you wanted to stay behind with Thor on the ship. You had him clone you, too."

She didn't know what to say. "Yes sir."

"What the hell were you thinking?" He started yelling. "It was bad enough just having a clone of me running around loose out there, but now there's one of you? Have you any idea how big of a security risk that is?"

"She's me, sir, she's not going to start blabbing about the stargate program."

"Do I need to remind you that you've been kidnapped on Earth before? What if someone finds out and decides to grab her?"

"She doesn't have Jolinar's protein marker or any naquadah in her blood, sir. They wouldn't have any use for her."

"And what about all the knowledge in her head? If someone took her and applied the right pressure –"

"You think I'd break under torture and start spilling secrets?" Sam yelled back, furious.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did!" She stepped towards him. "Why is she any more of a security risk than your clone?"

"Maybe she's not, but having another one doubles the risk."

"So, if you were in his position, you'd rather be ejected out into the world alone, than with me."

"I didn't say that either." He protested, infuriated. "You shouldn't have done it. Not without asking me first."

"There was no way you would have agreed."

"No. There wasn't."

"Well … exactly." She said, as if that settled it.

"Exactly!"

They reached a stand-off, both glaring at each other furiously. Sam backed down first, as she knew she was at least a little in the wrong.

"It's just, I thought if I was in his position, given that we've spent the last two years keeping ourselves going with the thought of the end of the war and the kids … I thought the least I could do was make sure he didn't have to do it alone."

Jack's gaze softened a fraction and he looked at the floor. "Have you put yourself in her position? With no science or technology to play with, having to dumb herself down for the teachers at that school, and once the Air Force finds out about her, being drafted back in to act as your spare?"

Sam shook her head. "I made a plan. 'We' did, actually. The Air Force won't find out about her unless she wants them to. She'll be ok, sir, I made sure of it. And anyway, she's me. You think I couldn't take care of myself out there?"

Jack sighed. "Damn, Carter." He chuckled, and flopped back on her couch. "You've got some balls, I'll give you that."

She smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

He grunted. "I'll have to change the code on my safe."

Sam frowned. "You think your clone will steal from you?"

Jack looked guilty suddenly, and stood. "Probably not. Anyway, I should go."

"So I'm forgiven?" She asked wryly.

He looked at her for a long moment.

"I'm still pissed that you did it without discussing it with me first. But … I get it. I suppose."

"I think I'm a little bit jealous of her, actually." Sam admitted softly.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"She doesn't have to wait for the end of the war."

Both eyebrows raised at that. "She probably has to wait for adulthood though."

Sam swatted him. "That's not what I was talking about." She scolded, and he smirked.

"I know."