Chapter 2
The two officers were a godsend for SG-1. Mark insisted Sam stay at his place that night. He wasn't about to let her sleep in the motel for it was often used by the county as a shelter for the local homeless. It could get rough at the motel and police often had to respond. Lucy was not about to let Daniel stay at the motel either. She insisted he stay at her place in the spare room.
Thus, leaving Jack and Teal'c to deal with the local hotel roaches both human and insect versions. Jack barely got any sleep. He and Teal'c were given a room to share with twin beds, a small bathroom, a television and an empty ice bucket. The interior was decorated with dark wood paneling and earthy green carpeting. Jack lay on the bed, still in his uniform listening the sound of a very loud television from the other side of the wall. He then heard slamming doors outside along with the sound of raised voices in an argument. He sat up as the sun shined through the cracks in the blinds on the single window. He looked over to Teal'c who also lay on the second bed listening to the ruckus.
"You sleep any, T?" he asked.
"I did not." he confessed.
Jack rubbed his eyes and face as he yawned. "That damn t.v. blaring through wall all night long. Now I remember why I hate motels."
"Indeed." the Jaffa agreed.
"Let's go see if we can scrounge up breakfast." Jack suggested.
Teal'c rose to his feet. He was more than ready to leave. "Perhaps, we should visit the café."
"Sounds like a plan." Jack agreed.
Meanwhile
Daniel emerged from the spare bedroom of the small apartment dressed in the same uniform he wore the day before. The aroma of coffee filled the air and tantalized his nostrils. He made his way to the small kitchen attached to the open living area where he spied Lucy in the kitchen with an arm full of food she was about to cook.
She was back in uniform herself as she was on duty for the day. "Morning bro." she cheered happy to have her brother back.
"Morning…sis." he replied amused. His eyes scanned the nearby photos. He found framed pictures of himself, his parents and his sister sitting about. His eyes laid on a more recent photo. His fingers grasped the frame and he brought the image to his nose for a closer look. There all four stood. Himself, his parents and his sister but something looked off. The expressions were rather strained.
Lucy took notice. "Oh, that was the last photo taken of you before they recruited you for some top secret project that you apparently died on."
"Why does dad look so…" he reached.
"Pissed?" she asked nearly laughing. "You two got in a big fight right before that picture was taken. You were going on about the pyramids being landing pads for alien ships and dad wasn't having any of it."
He gulped upon realizing his father would not agree with his theories. "You mean dad doesn't believe the Ancient Alien theory."
"Mom does." she remarked. "Dad thinks it's a bridge too far." She opened the carton of eggs. "So, are the pyramids landing pads?"
"Yes…and then some." he told her. "The department of defense did a underground scan of the pyramids from satellites and found what appears to pillars." He placed the phone back down and walked over to the counter. "My new theory is the pyramids were a power structure from a previous civilization and the Goa'uld repurposed it as a landing pad."
"The who?" she asked bewildered.
"Alien baddie." he remarked.
She asked. "Scrambled, right?" She referred to the eggs.
"Right." he nodded. He found himself a seat at the counter that doubled as a bar at the end of the kitchen. He requested. "So, tell me about yourself. I don't know anything about you."
"What would you like to know?" she replied baffled.
"Have you ever been married, seeing anyone, what are your dreams, your hopes, your life goals." he rattled off.
"No, no…of traveling the world, exploring and doing new things, hope to to make a difference at least to a few people and my life goal is to die knowing I did the best I can with my life." she stated. She then placed a cup of coffee before him with just the right amount of sugar.
He took a sip. "Is that why you became a cop?"
She chuckled. "When we were kids you used to tease me and call me 'Sherlock'. I loved a good mystery. I have a whole collection of Sherlock Holmes books. It started with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and I just got really into mysteries. So, I dreamed of being the next super sleuth and solving impossible crimes. Then I figured out that Hollywood is just that and fiction is just fiction and real police work is nothing like on television or the movies. So, I settled for being a plain ole cop. I got a good job in a quiet town. My Chief is a sweetheart. My partner is like a brother. We're kind of like family."
"How many are on the local police force?" he asked curious.
"Right now just me, Mark and our Chief. We want to hire Cam. Need approval from the town board for the budget." she explained. "He volunteers and helps us out. We list him as a volunteer officer. But he can't do that full time. He has to help with the motel." She began to cook his eggs and put some bread down for toast.
He requested. "Tell me about the town."
"Port Gibson had two thousand residence. Most are fisherman. The Mitchell family goes way back as far as fishing. We have a town doctor. She's pretty cool. Janet. She just got divorced and moved here. I guess she wanted to go into the Air Force or something but it didn't work out for her. Chief Hammond got a hold of her. We really needed a good doctor."
"Janet?" he asked. He began to wonder could is be his recently deceased friend, Janet Frasier. So far, the town was uncanny for coincidence.
"Doctor Janet Frasier." she nodded. "She doesn't take any bull from the vagrants. Lot of them are drug users or don't take the meds they need." She plated up the eggs and toast for both. She brought the plates to the counter and began to eat with an alternate of her dead brother.
"I recently lost a good friend named Janet Frasier who was a doctor in the Air Force." He paused for a moment and then slowly began to eat his food.
"I don't know anything about alternate realities but I do believe in fate and maybe, the universe has it's own mind." she proposed.
"Makes me wonder." he had to agree. "These eggs are good." he noted. "Just like…" he tailed off. "How mom made them."
She remarked. "That's who taught us to cook." She asked, "Mom can cook in your world too, right?"
He nodded as he recalled. "She was an excellent cook. I remember her mac and cheese from scratch."
"She gave the recipe to Debbie Carter and they serve it as a special at the café." she informed him.
"I wonder how Sam is handling this. Her mom being alive. How did her dad die here?" he asked.
"He got sick. Some kind of illness." she replied. "Chief Hammond knew him from the Air Force. He was a sweetheart too."
"Jacob is a good man." he agreed.
She asked. "You know him in your world?"
"He's alive in my world." he told her.
"Mark and Debbie would love to see him again." she proposed.
He suggested. "Maybe if Sam can fix that mirror, they can."
Meanwhile
Sam found herself in the embrace of a lifetime as she melted into her mother's arms. She closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the moment. Debbie Carter cried as she held her daughter tight.
"I can't believe it." Debbie spoke through the tears.
"It's me, Mom." she assured.
Sam stood wearing a man's flannel shirt, blue jeans and an oversize brown jacket that she borrowed from Mark. She finally released her mom from the embrace. "Thank you for understanding." she wiped back a tear.
Debbie stated. "I just wish your father was still with us."
"He's alive in my world. We lost you." she explained.
"Can this…magic mirror bring him here too?" she wondered.
"Actually," she nodded. "It can! If I can get it working again. In the meantime, I we need to stay low and not attract the military. I'm sure they will confiscate the mirror and maybe us."
"We're a tight knit community." Debbie assured her. "You are safe here."
"Thank mom."
Mark stood guarding the door of the café. He heard a knock. He spied Jack and Teal'c standing out side in the crisp morning air. He unlocked the door and let them inside. "Colonel." he greeted.
"Mark." Jack greeted as he walked by.
"OfficerCarter." Teal'c gave a nod of appreciation.
Jack stood at the sight. In the middle of the small vintage diner stood Sam and her mother. It was a heart warming reunion for the man. "How's it going?" he asked.
Sam replied. "Pretty good." She then noticed the clothing. "Maybe you should borrow some clothes, sir. You too, Teal'c."
Jack looked at Mark. "You got any threads I can borrow?"
"I am going to take you to the community closet. They got some used clothing there and I can get you a voucher." he informed him of his plan.
"That might help." Jack had to agree. "Coffee smells good. I'm starving." he announced.
"Have a seat, Colonel." Debbie stated.
Jack took notice to how much Debbie and Sam resembled one another. They certainly were mother and daughter. He knew Jacob would simply adore the moment. He soon found a booth and slid down on the padded seat. Teal'c sat across from Jack in the booth.
Mark walked over to Jack. "I had a friend at dispatch do a little digging on you, Colonel. You did die in Afghanistan here. You left behind a wife, a son and a daughter. I managed to get their current address and contact info. Not sure if you want to reach out or even if you should. But here it is." he handed Jack a piece of paper.
He grasped the paper and read the information. "Sarah O'Neill. Charlie is now sixteen and the girl is eighteen. Jacqueline O'Neill." He looked up at Mark. "I only had a son and he died as a child."
"He's alive and well." Mark informed.
His brown eye landed on the address. "Boston."
"About a day's drive south." Mark told him.
"I would like to see them." he admitted.
Mark suggested. "I was told your brother is Coast Guard and stationed out this way. Maybe you can use him to set up a meeting."
"I don't have brother." Jack replied a bit confused.
"Colleen found you have a twin brother. Michael O'Neill. Same birthday. Coast Guard." he told him.
"I don't have a twin brother." Jack repeated.
Sam giggled slightly. "You got a twin brother now, sir." She looked at Mark. "Did Colleen say if they are identical?"
"She didn't say." he shrugged.
"Last thing I need is an identical twin." he sounded. "What does Mike do in the Coast Guard?" he wondered.
"He's a Captain of a patrol boat." he told him. "I assumed you had a brother in your world too. I didn't ask for contact info. You want me to get a number?"
"Sure." he agreed. "I want to meet my long lost brother."