Nine years earlier.

Jack stared at the video feed, pulling on years of disciplined training to keep from making any changes in his facial expression. When Hank had called him in the middle of the night, she was the last thing he'd expected.

Samantha Carter-O'Neill. His wife - but then again, not his wife. His real wife, he reminded himself with a pang, was six feet under at Arlington, and this woman's real husband had met the same fate in another reality.

Oddly enough, the two lost spouses died the same way on the same date. He was staring at what would have happened if he'd been the one to die on that mission. For a while, he'd wished he had been the one. But then Sam would have ended up like this, broken and alone in a reality that was not her own.

This other Sam looked exhausted, evidently cleaner than she'd been when she'd first arrived, but still obviously banged up from the fight she'd been escaping from in her reality. She'd meant to flee from the SGC to the Alpha site, she'd told Hank during this interrogation. Instead, she'd been transported into another Cheyenne Mountain. The other reality's probably going crazy looking for her, he thought somewhat absently. Now, she was in his. What are we going to do here?

"Jack," Daniel said from behind him.

Jack didn't move. He'd known that Daniel would turn up sooner or later. He definitely wasn't up for a conversation about this just now. "What, Daniel?" He fixed his gaze on his long time friend, ready to firmly shut down any deep discussion.

Daniel returned the gaze determinedly. He was going to be a lot harder to shut up than he used to be, Jack realized. Gone was the somewhat meek, retiring academic he had met over a decade ago. Daniel had grown muscular, battle hardened. He still loved a good book, but he wasn't solely dependent on his diplomatic skills anymore.

"She didn't come alone, Jack."

Jack blinked. "...What?" Was there someone else from SG-1? he wondered. Why didn't anyone just say so?

Daniel continued to make eye contact, but the expression grew softer. "She and other you. They had a baby. She's just two now. She came through the gate with her."

Jack froze.

Hank really should have told him this sooner. Really, with all the similarities between this Sam's reality and his, he probably should've expected that the alternate couple had a little girl, too. But no one said - "Grace?"

Daniel shook his head. "No. This baby's name is Allison. It's a variation of your mom's name, apparently. She was also born two months after Grace, so not exactly the same child... Sam's been calling her Allie."

Jack glanced back at the image on the screen. Hank was still asking for her theories on how she'd ended up here. "Where is she?" Despite his best efforts, his voice cracked a bit. His own daughter was hopefully napping peacefully in Vala's quarters right now. The thought of there being another Carter-O'Neill daughter on base was a real shock to his system.

"She's in the infirmary."

Jack straightened in alarm, scanning Daniel's face for details. "Is she alright?" He knew rationally that this wasn't his daughter. But damn it, we can't lose her. Sam can't lose her.

Daniel raised his hands in a calming gesture. "She's fine, Jack. Janet's just keeping an eye on her there for a little while so Sam and General Landry can talk in peace. Last I saw, she was taking a nap."

Just like Grace. "I want to go see her." This might be the worst idea he'd had in a while. With the exception of authorizing Sam to go on that last damn mission. But he couldn't not see her. If she was still sleeping, he wouldn't be bothering her at all. He stood abruptly, and Daniel stepped back a bit to give him room as he began making his way out.

"You sure about this, Jack?" Daniel asked, hustling a bit to keep up with his friend's determined stride. "I mean, this is a lot to take in right now."

"I'm sure, Daniel," he snapped, continuing on without looking back. "I have to see her."

Daniel, to his credit, must have recognized that Jack was dead set on doing this, because he shut up and simply followed along. Easier than I thought.

Jack reached the infirmary, suddenly pulling up short just before the entrance. He closed his eyes, bracing himself. He didn't know what was going to happen. Sam and... Allie might somehow find a way to leave today. More likely, given what Sam had described as happening to her own reality, they would stay here. But he didn't know what Sam would choose to do, or even, at this moment, what options she would have. Was he going to instantly love this child, only to be forced to send her away?

Daniel placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You can wait if you need to."

Jack opened his eyes, setting his mouth in a firm line. "I'm going in," he said softly. Straightening into military posture, he stepped in the room.

It was thankfully and surprisingly empty of patients. The only occupants, in fact, were a certain tyrannical doctor - and a tiny little girl, curled up in a ball on a hospital bed.

He looked. He couldn't look away.

She looked just like Grace. Same blonde waves. Same sweet little face. If she opened her eyes, he just bet they would be big and blue and beautiful, too. Both girls looked so much like their mother it hurt.

"Her finger prints are a little different," Janet Fraiser remarked. He supposed he should look at her, but he couldn't stop staring at Allie. "And she's got a little birthmark on the small of her back. But otherwise, she's fairly similar to Gracie."

He fought back the sudden sting of tears. "Yeah." He could only manage the one word. He quickly turned on his heel and left the room.

He had a lot to think about today.