I want to apologize to my Plausible Deniability readers. I'm currently still plotting out the rest of the story, and completing the next chapter. I haven't abandoned that story, I assure you.

I have my in-laws over for a month from Europe, and I'm not getting much done in terms of writing. It's kinda rude to skip out on them for hours on end to write fic. Once they go back, I'll be back =)

As always, THANK YOU, to all who've reviewed/favourited this story. I loved hearing your views on the whole Sam/Pete debacle.

Chapter 6: Charlie And The Glass A/U Mirror

Charlie Kawalsky couldn't believe he was doing this again five years later. Why Samantha had to ask this of him and Janet, he'd only speculated through the years, never asking Sam straight out about what he suspected.

When he'd agreed to be the executor of Samantha's will, he would have never guessed that she would ask them such an extraordinary thing to be done in the event of her death.

The three of them were best friends. Charlie had taken it upon himself to be Samantha's rock after Jack's death and had promised to be there for her as long as she needed him. Even when he'd married Janet, the doc had taken it upon herself to make sure Sam didn't feel like Charlie couldn't be there for her any longer.

Sam and Janet had become best friends after that.

"Are you sure this is what she wanted?"

He glanced over at his wife, uncertainty marring her usually smiling face. "I don't know, Jan, but we don't have many choices left. I kinda suspected something went on with him and her back at the SGC. But it wasn't something I could just ask her about."

Janet understood. Samantha always held something back. Charlie told her earlier on that the Sam they knew wasn't the same woman he'd first met back when Jack was still alive. His death had changed her profoundly. She never let anyone in and the only time she was ever happy was when- Well, it now explained things.

"It just doesn't feel right, Charlie. Didn't you say that the SGC would destroy their mirror after you and Sam went through?"

"Well they didn't."

Janet gave him a questioning look. "Sam checked. She checked a year later if they had actually destroyed it like they said, but they didn't. Sam said it was still somewhere in the SGC."

His wife sighed not wanting to do this at all. It was damned near insane, but they couldn't refuse Sam's request. This was what she wanted and made them both swear that they would do it.

He and Janet agreed that he would go back. Her alternate self was still alive there and he didn't want her suffering from that entropic cascade thing. He just hoped that Sam was right and that they hadn't moved the mirror elsewhere. Otherwise he would have a lot more explaining to do.

The first thing that Charlie did after stepping through the mirror was to make contact with an SF and order him to take him to Colonel O'Neill or General Hammond.

The SF had quickly called for backup and he was quickly escorted to the briefing room under armed guard.

The place hadn't changed that much in the past five years, well, maybe except for the fact that Jack was now a Brigadier General!

It took his friend long enough. Charlie had always known his best friend was destined to go far. If it weren't for his aversion to paperwork and his very acerbic tongue, Jack would have made General a lot sooner.

"Kawalsky?"

"Hey, buddy! Just dropped by to congratulate you on your promotion. It's been what? Five years?"

Jack sent him an incredulous look. "Well, thanks," Jack replied forcefully.

"See, the reason I didn't drop by any sooner was that I was under the impression that you destroyed the mirror. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but it don't look destroyed to me."

"We were going to. But someone higher up decided it would be stupid to get rid of something so valuable in case we need to use it someday."

Charlie shrugged, now grinning. "We thought the same."

Both men just stared at each other. Charlie was the first one to break the silence. "You look good, Jack. In fact, you look a lot younger than last time I saw you."

His friend grimaced. He pointed up to the ceiling. "Asgard."

"Oh?"

"I died," then Jack quickly added, "Then cloned."

"Whoah!" Charlie looked at him with amazement.

"You look good too. A bit older," Jack said smirking.

"What can I say, married life agrees with me."

"Yeah? Who was stupid enough to fall for your sad pick up lines?"

"The SGA's very own resident doc. Janet says 'hi'."

He saw a sad look pass over Jack. His demeanor suddenly changed from playful to serious.

"How's Sam?"

Just like Jack to go straight to the point.

"She passed away a few weeks ago."

A flicker of distress crossed Jack's features before he was able to stop himself from reacting. His friend was never good with emotions and that seemed true too in this particular universe.

"How?" Jack asked after a minute. He'd had to swallow back the torrent of emotions Charlie's news had brought.

"Lymphoma."

He saw Jack worrying his lip. "Jacob had it too, but he survived. He's a Tok'ra now."

"We never really got chummy with those guys. Sam didn't trust them."

Jack laughed at that. "Damned ironic. They could've saved her." Jack shook his head as if to clear it. "Is that why you're here? To tell me she's gone."

"Partly. She asked me and Janet to do something for her before she died."

Now that he was here, face to face with Jack, Charlie didn't know what to say. How did you tell someone that he was a father?

"Charlie..."

He had to get this over with. "She got pregnant, Jack."

Charlie saw understanding dawn on Jack's face. It confirmed what they all knew, but never really said. Everyone had just assumed that Samantha was already pregnant during the attack, her husband leaving her a very lasting memory of him.

He watched as Jack pulled out a chair and sat on it.

"It's funny," Jack said after a moment. "In the back of my mind I kept thinking that that's what she wanted. That as much as she needed to make love to her husband one last time, she was hoping for something else."

Charlie nodded. "The only thing that made her smile was that kid. She fought hard. She didn't want to leave her baby, but in the end she realized it was a losing battle and made sure Gracie at least had her dad."

"Gracie." Jack tried out his daughter's name.

"Grace Charlotte O'Neill," Charlie smiled ruefully. "The Charlotte part was apparently after me. I don't what the heck Sam was thinking..."

"You were there for her," Jack reminded him. "You were her friend when I should've been..." He couldn't continue.

"Hey! You can't blame yourself for this, understand?" He didn't want his friend crucifying himself with guilt for something he hadn't known about. "There was no way you could have known. You gotta focus on the now, what you can do for Gracie."

"Does she know about me?"

"A little. I think Sam showed her pictures of her Jack. I got the feeling she told Gracie some of the truth... what she can understand, anyway."

"Thats uh- That's good."

Charlie sighed seeing the turmoil this was causing Jack. This could royally screw things up for him, it would be difficult enough explaining where Grace came from, but that she was Jack's daughter?

"Look, Jack. I know this is gonna cause problems, Jan and I would be happy to keep Grace, but Sam wanted you to know and given the option. I had to do this."

"That's decent of you, Charlie."

"Wasn't up to me."

Jack gave him a questioning look.

Charlie pulled out a chair and sat down.

"After she died, her brother hired a lawyer and filed for Gracie's custody. I know damned well that's the last thing Sam wanted. She wanted Gracie with her real family. Either with us or with her father," Charlie said adamantly.

"Sam left a will, didn't she?"

"She did, but her brother is claiming that Jan and I are unsuitable guardians because of our work with the SGA. He's some hot shot politician with the post-interim government and he's got enough clout, Jack. I don't know what to do. Me and Jan figured that either way, we'll have to disappear-"

"I want her."

"Are you sure?"

"She's mine, Charlie. Grace belongs with me."

I hope this chapter doesn't feel like it came out of left field. Some of you had already guessed this was coming from chapter one. Who else thought whilst watching 'POV' that here should've been 'more' between Samantha and our Jack? Or heck, more of a convo between Carter/Samantha? The whole time, I was like, "Come on! Give us more!" I totally wanted a Carter/O'Neill convo.