Storytime with Rachel F Hundred

Destiny Denied

Two months after John Sheppard went missing, and just over a month before he was due to take his long awaited retirement, Jack O’Neill watched as Samantha Carter paced his office.

‘…and the worst of it is the IOA act like it’s not our problem.’ Sam waved her hands in a gesture that reminded him a lot of their friend Daniel Jackson. ‘We’re responsible for what’s happening out there and we have a duty we just can’t walk away from…’

Jack nodded patiently and wondered when she would be finished venting. It wasn’t that he didn’t like watching her; Carter had always been beautiful when she was riled up about something but it was late, and she had only come back for the IOA briefing which was the subject of her rant. In four more hours, she would be beamed back to the Apollo to return to Atlantis.

‘We need a ship.’ Sam said decisively, turning to look at him expectantly.

‘Isn’t the entire city a ship?’ Jack remarked caustically as he leaned back in his leather chair and raised a scarred eyebrow at her.

Sam shot him a look.

Jack sighed. ‘Tactically, I agree. If we’re to make any kind of headway, you need a ship to run some guerrilla warfare stuff for you but the Pentagon isn’t going to commit any more resources to Atlantis for the fight with a bunch of Wraith mutants that don’t seem overly interested in coming after the city itself.’

Her shoulders sagged beneath her dress blue jacket and she sank into the chair on the opposite side of his desk wearily. ‘I’ve been going on about it, haven’t I? Sorry.’

‘Don’t be.’ He reached across the desk and held out his hand. He was pleased when she slipped her hand into his.

Sam gave him an apologetic smile. ‘You want to grab some dinner?’

‘How about we head home and grab some take-out?’ Jack countered. His eyebrows waggled.

Her smile turned into a grin.

They got to their feet simultaneously. Jack reached for the jacket he had carelessly slung on the back of his chair and shrugged into it as Sam reached for a briefcase she had discarded by the door. They walked out of the building shoulder to shoulder; close but not touching. Their entire professional life had been spent that way and even though they were married, they observed protocol in official environments. It wasn’t until they closed the door on their Washington apartment that they discarded the uniforms in all the ways that mattered.

They made an attempt at eating and catching up on news; Cassie’s medical studies and latest boyfriend, Teal’c’s new grand-daughter, and whether Daniel and Vala were any closer to getting together…half an hour in and both of them were too aware of the ticking clock. Sam got to her feet and held out her hand; Jack took it and followed her into their bedroom.

Jack held her as she snuggled up next to him; his arm was around her shoulders, pulling her closer. She would soon be gone again. Her upper body was mostly on top of him, her head on his chest, tucked under his chin. Her fingers were absently drawing circles on his stomach, bothering him in a good way.

‘Carter,’ he said conversationally, suppressed laughter teasing the edges of his otherwise strict tone, ‘keep that up and you’ll be naked when the Apollo beams you aboard.’

Sam laughed. She stilled her fingers and he felt a moment’s disappointment. She raised her head to look at him.

He read the love in her eyes and his free hand covered hers, bringing it to his lips to kiss the palm. He hoped she could see the same in his.

She sighed and laid her head down again.

He stroked a hand down her back. He could read her so well sometimes it scared him. He could feel her guilt swirling as though it was a living, breathing creature. She’d lost a lot of people since the Wraith Michael had begun his onslaught on the Pegasus galaxy – good people like Sheppard and Teyla. ‘It isn’t your fault.’

‘Doesn’t make it any easier.’ Sam commented. She didn’t ask him what he meant.

‘No.’ He agreed. He knew all about the regrets every commander had no matter what the assignment – whether it was on Earth or…elsewhere.

Sam raised her head. ‘I need to get ready.’

He accepted the kiss she dropped on his lips and allowed her to slip out of his arms. He heard the shower running and got out of bed, pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, unaware and unconcerned that his short grey hair stuck up in spikes. He found himself absently picking up their clothing, gathering together the debris of the Chinese take-out they had picked up on the way home.

Jack was in the kitchen when Sam joined him. She was in full military mode; sharp pressed suit, gleaming buttons. His chocolate eyes glanced off the eagles she wore – his. Her blonde hair was tamed into a sharp chignon, her make-up perfect. She was placing the hands free ear piece and mike in place. He wondered briefly with some amusement whether he should salute. Instead, he turned back to the coffee pot and poured her a mug. She accepted it with a grateful and distracted smile.

Jack rested against the kitchen counter, hands in his pockets. ‘You really serious about a ship?’

Sam’s eyes flew to his, registering his own shift to military mode. She lowered the mug. ‘I’m serious that we need to do something.’ She looked at him directly. ‘The humans in Pegasus are suffering because of something we did. It doesn’t feel right to sit back and do nothing.’

‘You’re not doing nothing.’ Jack pointed out.

‘Doctor Keller’s work on the virus is not enough,’ Sam shot back, ‘and taking in refugees, warning planets where we can…it’s too passive. We should be taking the fight to Michael.’

Their gazes held for a long moment.

‘You’ve been hanging around with Teal’c too long.’ Jack commented.

Sam smiled at the mention of their Jaffa friend. ‘Or maybe a certain silver haired General.’ She responded dryly.

He accepted the statement with a rueful grimace. He looked at her. The determination written across her delicate features had his mind flashing back to an early SG1 mission; a young Captain Carter with blue eyes snapping in defiance at him as she reminded him of his obligations…

‘Freedom from oppression stuff, huh?’ Jack said.

She nodded.

He sighed and shifted his weight. ‘I’ll see what I can do but no promises.’

Sam smiled at him. ‘You’re my favourite General, you know that right?’

‘Really. I thought it was Hammond.’ Jack joked lightly.

She chuckled and shoved her mug on the breakfast bar.

‘Or Landry?’ He suggested as she hugged him.

She was laughing outright when he kissed her.

Jack buried his face in her neck, breathed in the scent of her.

‘Apollo to Colonel Carter.’

He was close enough to the earpiece to hear the call. He drew back but didn’t release her.

She raised a hand to her ear and pressed down. ‘Carter, here.’

He watched as she listened and replied asking for a minute.

Sam disconnected and looked at him. ‘I have to…’

‘I know.’ Jack dipped his head and kissed her deeply before he let her go.

She picked up her briefcase and tapped the hands free mike again. ‘Carter. Ready for transport.’

Jack kept his gaze locked on Sam’s through the bright flash of light. When it faded away, the apartment seemed empty without her.

o-O-o

Sam was surprised when Jack and the rest of SG1 showed up unexpectedly with the Daedalus. His retirement was only days away so she figured he must have wanted one last tour. She smiled welcomingly as her former team-mates beamed into the middle of Stargate Operations. ‘General.’

‘Carter.’ Jack smirked at her.

She couldn’t help noticing that he looked at home, relaxed in the black field BDUs as though they were still an every day part of his life instead of the formal dress he normally wore as the head of Homeworld Security.

‘I have something to show you.’ Jack continued, grinning.

Daniel shot Sam a sympathetic but amused look as he slapped a hand over Vala’s mouth to stop her from talking. Teal’c looked smugly satisfied and the SG1 leader, Cameron Mitchell simply shrugged apologetically.

‘Sir?’ Sam replied nervously.

‘Relax, Carter.’ Jack nodded at the technician. ‘Open a comm link to the Daedalus.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Sir…’ Sam tried to interrupt and Jack held up a finger.

‘Ah.’ Jack kept his gaze on the technician who nodded in acknowledgement of the open communications channel. ‘Daedalus, Colonel Carter and I are ready for transport.’

Sam felt the tell-tale buzz of the transport before she could protest. She rematerialised on the bridge of a ship but it wasn’t the Daedalus. Her head snapped round to Jack questioningly.

‘You need a permanent ship based out of Atlantis. So, if you want her, she’s yours.’ Jack gestured vaguely at the monitors. ‘She doesn’t exactly fly – we had to tow her, and most of the Asgard systems haven’t been finished yet. You’ve got a lot of work to do to get her ready.’

‘Not a problem.’ Sam murmured. She looked around with glee at the half-finished consoles of the empty vessel. ‘She’s really mine?’

‘All yours.’ Jack confirmed. He swept an arm dramatically at the commander’s chair. ‘You want to try it out?’ His chocolate eyes twinkled irrepressively at Sam.

She ignored the humour and held his amused gaze with a serious one of her own. ‘Thank you. I know it couldn’t have been easy convincing the Pentagon to give us a ship.’

Jack’s eyebrow quirked but he nodded. He cleared his throat and shuffled a little. ‘About that, Carter…’

It was her turn to give an impression of Teal’c, her eyebrow lifting smoothly.

Jack shoved his hands in the pockets. ‘I’m not retiring.’

Her eyes widened and her guilt was instantaneous as she realised what they’d done; forced him into giving up his retirement so she could have a ship. ‘Jack…’

‘Hey.’ He held her gaze firmly. ‘I agreed to it because it was the right thing to do. Eventually this Michael guy’s going to finish with Pegasus and come looking for us.’ He broke eye contact to look around the bridge. ‘We need a ship out here.’

‘We?’ She repeated confused.

Jack shrugged, a hint of a smile playing about his lips. ‘I managed to negotiate a few conditions myself.’

Sam straightened her shoulders. ‘Such as?’

He took a step toward her. ‘Such as SG1 are now assigned to the expedition.’

Her mouth fell open. ‘But…’

‘You mentioned in your last report that Ronon’s trying to get a rebellion going, right?’

Sam nodded. The Satedan hadn’t felt comfortable on Atlantis ever since Sheppard had gone missing. He’d left a week before to organise a human rebellion against Michael.

‘Well, who better than Teal’c to help him get started with that?’ Jack pointed out. He took another step.

‘Daniel and Vala?’ Sam asked, folding her arms across her chest.

‘Someone needs to focus on exploring the city. There’s a good chance that we might be able to find something here that will help us.’ Jack’s third step brought him within touching distance of her.

‘Mitchell?’

‘He’ll keep Daniel and Vala from killing each other.’ Jack said wryly. ‘He’s seasoned.’

Sam nodded. ‘And you?’ She still thought of him as part of SG1.

‘I have to go back.’ Jack took a final step; they were inches apart.

She closed the distance between them and hugged him hard. Jack’s arms fastened around her in response, pulling her closer. They allowed themselves a moment but only a moment. She eased back and he let her go.

‘I’d better get started.’ Sam murmured. Her mind was already skipping ahead, listing the systems she would need to get up and running first, the diagnostics she would need to run…who she needed to help her. She turned back to Jack as he reached for his radio. ‘What’s she called?’

Jack sighed. ‘Phoenix.’

‘Phoenix?’ Sam pulled a face. ‘Isn’t that a bird that self-combusts?’

‘And is reborn from the ashes, Carter, don’t forget that.’

She gave him a pointed look.

‘Actually, it was Teal’c’s idea.’ Jack explained defensively. ‘Apparently, it’s the name of some super-mutant cartoon character that battles other mutants.’

Sam’s lips twitched as she listened as Jack radioed the Daedalus to transport them back to the surface.

‘Still couldn’t get them to go for the Enterprise then, sir?’ Sam teased just before the transporter caught them and Jack could answer back.

o-O-o

Something wasn’t right.

Jack rubbed at his chest and stared around the SGC briefing room. Nothing had changed in the last five minutes as far as he could see. He still had another seven months to go before retirement and he was still stuck in what seemed to be a never-ending briefing. Hank Landry who was chairing the meeting was listening with interest to Richard Woolsey, who in Jack’s opinion was boring the pants off everyone else in the room; the slide presentation hadn’t moved on any. The air conditioning wasn’t working; Jack’s once-crisp shirt was stuck to his body. The room was stuffy and beginning to smell faintly of sweat. But he was used to that. The noise of the usual Stargate operations continued on in the background; comforting.

But, something definitely wasn’t right. He’d been in the field too long to ignore his instincts so he sat back and waited attentively. Thirty minutes later, there was a clatter of footsteps on the stairs and Walter Harriman headed straight for Landry. When the SGC commander looked directly at Jack, he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. Uh-oh, Jack mused.

‘Gentlemen, I need to confer with General O’Neill. We’ll call you back in a little while.’ Landry clasped his hands on the table. His harsh gaze prevented Woolsey from arguing.

Jack watched the others leave wistfully. He got to his feet and stretched as the last man exited. ‘So what’s going on?’

‘Jack, you may want to take a seat.’ Landry advised.

Jack froze mid-stretch and stared at him. There was compassion and sorrow in the depths of Landry’s eyes. Panic began to stir in Jack’s belly.

Landry got to his feet. ‘Jack…’

‘No.’ Jack lowered his arms and pointed a finger at Landry. ‘Don’t. Don’t you tell me that.’

‘They say she got the crew to safety.’ Landry said quietly.

Jack turned away. He marched to the internal window, shoved his hands in his pockets and stared sightlessly out at the Stargate.

‘Colonel Carter went down with the ship.’ Landry continued softly.

Jack’s head bowed under the weight of the words; he closed his eyes. Not Carter. Not his Carter.

They were making progress in Pegasus; the guerrilla tactics were working…Ronon’s rebellion was beginning to have an affect although they’d lost Ronon himself. He’d talked to her the previous day after her formal report was done…

‘Sounds like things are going great.’ Jack commented. He moved closer to the monitor on his desk. He hadn’t seen her for weeks.

Sam made a face. ‘Great is maybe an overstatement.’ She leaned in herself and he could see the worry in her blue eyes. ‘I’m a little worried about tomorrow.’

‘You think it’s a trap?’ Jack asked bluntly. The thought had crossed his mind during her earlier briefing of the planned rescue trip to a world targeted by Michael and his army of mutant Wraith.

‘Maybe.’ Sam sighed. ‘But it doesn’t matter; we have to take the risk.’

Jack pursed his lips. He’d always hated the thought of her in danger without him there to watch her six. ‘Carter…’

‘I know.’ She reached out and touched her screen.

He did the same.

Their eyes held; love passed between them without words. They’d never needed words…

She couldn’t be gone. Not Carter.

‘I’m sorry.’ Landry’s hand landed gently on his shoulder. ‘Colonel Carter,’ he cleared his throat gruffly, ‘your wife was an extraordinary woman, Jack.’

Some weeks later as Jack fished off the small wooden dock of his cabin, only snapshots of memory came to mind of the hours and days that had followed Landry’s words.

SG1 returning through the Stargate…Daniel’s red eyes…Teal’c’s shattered expression…Vala’s tear-stained face…

Cassie’s heart-breaking cry of denial as she lost the third woman in her life she considered a mother…

The funeral bathed in bright, golden sunshine that made the white headstone blinding.

Jack could remember Teal’c holding a weeping Cassie and Daniel’s hand clasped tightly in Vala’s. He had been peripherally aware of the Atlantis expedition members present; Rodney McKay, Jennifer Keller, Radek Zelenka and Evan Lorne, and Carter’s brother and family stood off to the side.

He remembered solemnly watching as the empty casket was lowered into the ground – there had been no body to recover. The gunshots had been loud when they’d fired and they echoed in his head along with the scream from the engines of a trio of F302s – Mitchell’s tribute.

The memory of a grief-stricken George Hammond handing Jack the flag replayed in Jack’s head; how his hands had tightened around the fabric convulsively. He hadn’t wanted it yet he had held it because it honoured her.

All the small moments of grief and loss suddenly seemed to collide in Jack’s mind, in his heart. He wasn’t aware of the keening cry slipping from his lips or the rod falling from his grip. He wasn’t aware of sliding from his chair to land heavily on the wood of the dock as tears streamed down his face. He was barely aware when Daniel raced from the cabin to hold him, when Teal’c’s hand landed on his shoulder in shared pain. He only finally and truly knew she wasn’t with him any longer; that Carter, his Carter, was gone.

Destiny Undetermined

Four months after his official retirement date passed without his actually retiring, and almost a year after Sam’s death, McKay showed up at Jack’s office. Jack waved the scientist into a seat on the opposite side of his desk. He removed his reading glasses but continued to hold a pen in one hand – he had been in the middle of signing off acquisition requests when his XO had called through to let him know McKay had shown up and was asking for a meeting. Jack had no idea what McKay wanted; the last he’d heard McKay and Keller had gotten together – something which amazed him – and had left the programme, although unfortunately Keller had died a month before. A twinge of compassion had Jack putting the pen down; he knew only too well what it was like to lose the woman he loved.

Jack nodded across the desk. ‘I’m sorry.’ He saw McKay’s surprise. ‘About Jennifer.’

‘Thank you.’ McKay said sadly. He fidgeted nervously. ‘I guess you’re wondering why I’m here.’

‘The thought had crossed my mind.’ Jack said caustically.

‘Actually, I was surprised to find you here.’ McKay gestured wildly at the office. ‘I thought, you know, you would have…uh…’

The physicist clearly struggled to find a diplomatic phrase and Jack wondered whether McKay had believed Jack would shoot himself after Carter’s death or was just amazed that he hadn’t followed through on his retirement plans. Jack was certain the latter had surprised a lot of people but after Sam’s death he had felt he owed it to her to continue with the fight – especially when Woolsey had been appointed as Atlantis leader. ‘What’s this about, McKay?’

‘Right. Straight to business.’ McKay pointed at him and tried a smile. ‘As always.’

Jack raised one eyebrow. It was enough of a threat.

‘I know how to fix everything.’ McKay said excitedly.

‘Everything?’ Both of Jack’s eyebrows rose in cynical scepticism.

‘Yes.’ McKay was nothing if not confident. He perched on the very edge of his seat. ‘I think I know how to stop Michael and prevent the spread of the virus here.’

Jack stilled. Without any serious opposition, Michael was well on his way to conquering the Pegasus galaxy and Jack had a gut feeling that Michael wouldn’t stop at the one galaxy. More importantly, the virus that had plagued the Pegasus galaxy was beginning to spread across Earth – and that most definitely was a problem. ‘OK. You got my attention.’

‘Do you remember when you and the rest of SG1 went to the past?’ McKay asked.

‘Which time?’ Jack asked.

‘The first time; nineteen-sixty-nine.’

‘Sure.’ Jack said slowly. ‘I remember.’

‘Good, well, there’s a temporal theory that suggests that an effect may precede the cause.’ McKay gestured at him. ‘In your case, SG1’s trip back likely caused the Stargate programme to be reinstituted by the Air Force and Catherine Langford enabling the future to transpire so you would be able to travel back in time.’

‘Your point?’ Jack asked impatiently.

McKay’s enthusiasm dimmed a little. ‘Right. The point.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I believe we’re experiencing a timeline that is not supposed to exist.’

There was a deathly silence.

‘McKay…’ Jack began.

‘Look, hear me out here, OK?’ McKay jumped up and started to pace. ‘I know this sounds crazy but I think I’m right.’ He took a quick breath and continued before Jack could interrupt. ‘I think we’re in a timeline that needs to happen in order for us to change the past.’

Jack sighed. It had been a long time since anyone had tried to confuse him with technobabble and given McKay wasn’t Carter, his tolerance level was about out. ‘What?’

‘You know I worked out that John Sheppard was thrown forty-eight thousand years into the future.’ McKay said turning to look at him hopefully.

‘Oh. That.’ Jack looked at him bemused. ‘So?’

‘So, if Sheppard is in the future, I believe we can help him get back to the past.’

‘And that’s going to help how?’ Jack bit out.

‘If Sheppard gets back to the past, we can make sure this timeline never happens.’ McKay made a vague notion. ‘Gone. Erased. Just like that.’

Jack lowered his hands to the desk and pushed himself to his feet. ‘Maybe I didn’t make myself clear before.’ He paused for effect. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Ah, well I think I’ve narrowed down the pivotal event in this timeline that enabled Michael to get such an advantage.’ McKay shook a finger at him. ‘I believe if we can get Teyla away from Michael before the birth of her son, we can prevent Michael from using him to build his army and…you know,’ he made a hurrying gesture, ‘taking over the galaxy.’

Jack stared at him. ‘And we do that…’

‘By giving Sheppard the information he needs to save Teyla in the past.’ McKay said as though it was incredibly obvious. ‘Like that note you sent yourself once.’

There was another silence.

‘So,’ Jack straightened, ‘you want us to help Sheppard in the future get back to the past to fix the present by wiping it out of existence.’

‘Exactly.’ McKay beamed at him like a proud teacher.

Jack was torn between being impressed at the audaciousness of the plan and exasperation. ‘You ever heard of causality, McKay?’

‘Well, that’s why this plan is genius.’ McKay said passionately. ‘By us helping Sheppard get back to his own time, we would enable an effect in the past,’ he pointed behind him, ‘and by effect I mean stopping Michael.’

Jack looked at him blankly.

McKay waved his hands around his head. ‘Look, the point is that we can stop this from happening.’

‘Well, why didn’t you just say so?’ Jack said dryly, sitting back down.

‘I thought I just did.’ McKay said bemused.

‘And you’re not just doing this because of…Jennifer?’ Jack asked bluntly, hiding his compassion when McKay flinched. ‘Because changing the timeline will bring her back?’

‘Does it matter if I am if everything else changes too?’ McKay argued back.

Jack leaned back. He could understand McKay’s grief, his loss. Did it really matter if McKay’s motives were personal if he ended up saving two galaxies, he asked himself? ‘And you have a plan for how we can do this?’ He questioned pointedly.

McKay nodded eagerly. ‘At first, I was thinking I’d have to come up some new physics so I could predict a way to get a message to the future and help Sheppard get back to the past but I then I realised there’s another way.’ He paused as though waiting for Jack to supply it.

Jack leaned back in his chair and glared at him.

McKay retook his seat. ‘The time machine.’

‘The time machine.’ Jack repeated.

‘Yes. The one SG1 found and used to go back to the past to get the ZPM.’ McKay said, gesturing again. ‘We fly it to Atlantis and jump into the future; get Sheppard; take him back to the past with the information and then…’

‘And then?’ Jack prompted.

‘Well, I haven’t quite worked that bit out.’

Jack sighed. It was almost a good plan. ‘McKay…’

‘But don’t worry; I’m very good under pressure. Sheppard will tell you that and I’m sure I’ll come up with something.’ McKay pushed on.

‘McKay!’ Jack snapped.

McKay stopped and sat back. ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s not a bad plan.’ Jack allowed.

The physicist brightened.

‘There’s just one problem.’ Jack said, leaning forward to rest his hands on the desktop. ‘The time machine doesn’t work.’

‘The…what?’ McKay stared at him. ‘But it has to work.’

‘Well, it doesn’t.’ Jack picked up his pen and fiddled with it. ‘When we first ran into the Ori, we considered it as an option.’

‘You were going to go back and stop us from ever coming across the Ori.’ McKay realised. ‘Look,’ he said urgently, ‘it doesn’t matter, I can fix it.’

Jack bristled slightly. ‘Carter couldn’t fix it.’

‘Ancient tech wasn’t her area of expertise.’ McKay shot back. He held Jack’s gaze. ‘Please.’

Another silence.

Jack slowly nodded. ‘OK. I’ll arrange for you to take a look at it.’

McKay let out an audible breath of relief and jumped to his feet. ‘Thank you. You won’t regret this.’

‘Make sure I don’t.’ Jack said as he waved McKay out of his office. He waited until the door shut behind his guest before he made a call to Area 51 and arranged for McKay to work on the time machine, justifying it on the basis that they could always use another puddle-jumper. He frowned. He had worried if McKay’s motives might be personal but he couldn’t deny his own were similarly confused. If McKay was right, the timeline would change and Carter wouldn’t die…a knock on the door caught his attention and he called for the person to enter as he resumed a position that suggested he had been working rather than thinking.

Daniel walked in. ‘Hey.’

‘Hey.’ Jack frowned. ‘Were we supposed to meet?’ He’d been forgetting things of late.

‘No.’ Daniel gave a shy smile. ‘I was in the neighbourhood for a budget meeting for the SGC. You want to grab some lunch?’

‘Sure.’ Jack got to his feet. ‘I could eat.’

They ended up in a restaurant downtown. They covered recent personal events over starters and mains; Jack covered McKay’s plan over dessert.

Daniel sipped his coffee and stared at Jack. ‘You’re kidding.’

‘Nope.’ Jack finished his cake with a flourish. ‘He’s serious.’

‘And you’re actually letting him take a look at the time machine?’ Daniel’s eyes were incredulous behind the panes of glass.

Jack shrugged lightly. ‘Carter couldn’t get it to work, Daniel. I doubt McKay will.’

‘And if he does?’ Daniel prompted, his fingers tightening around the thin ceramic mug he held. ‘Have you thought about the consequences of changing the timeline? I mean, you’re talking about changing the future of everyone in two galaxies. Do you…we even have the right to do that?’

‘I don’t know, Daniel.’ Jack replied sarcastically. ‘What I do know is that we’re looking at this virus wiping out most humans in two galaxies and Michael ruling with his band of merry Wraith mutants. Carter died trying to prevent this from happening and I don’t know about you but it’s not the future I’ve been fighting for all these years.’

‘I agree but,’ Daniel sighed, ‘changing the timeline is huge, Jack.’

‘McKay figures it’s all destined.’ Jack took a sip of beer.

‘That in deciding to help Sheppard get back to the past, we’re actually creating the future that should have been.’ Daniel surmised rapidly.

Jack pointed his beer bottle at his old friend. ‘Something like that.’

‘I guess he could be right.’ Daniel admitted slowly. He kept his eyes pinned to Jack. ‘You’re going to help him, aren’t you?’

Jack considered how to reply for a long moment before he cleared his throat. ‘If he gets the time machine to work, I’ll help him.’ He let his eyes drop. ‘Ever since…,’ he stopped for a second, ‘ever since Carter died, it’s been like I’ve just been waiting for something like this to happen. Some crazy idea that will save us all.’ His eyes moved back to his friend. ‘And if it stops all this from happening, how can I not help him?’

Daniel nodded. He raised his mug. ‘Count me in.’

But the mission was not to be. It took McKay a month to end up back in Jack’s office.

‘It can’t be fixed.’ McKay admitted unhappily. ‘I’ve tried everything and every time I think I’ve got it, something else just doesn’t work.’ He paced back to Jack’s desk. ‘It’s like someone figured out how to stop anyone from ever using it.’

Jack figured that someone was Carter, or a previous version of Carter; one who had lived out a life in the distant past.

‘I’m sorry.’ McKay finished abruptly. ‘The plan won’t work this way.’

‘There’s another way?’ Jack asked surprised.

‘Of course.’ McKay looked at him as though he was dense. ‘Through the wormhole like your trip to nineteen-sixty-nine.’

Jack looked at him bemused. ‘Don’t you need a solar flare for that?’

‘Yes,’ McKay pointed at him, ‘which is the problem. I’m going to need to work out how to predict a solar flare on the Atlantis sun thousands of years from now, a flare that would be able to direct Sheppard back to the past at the right time for him to get back and save Teyla. And of course, some way of actually telling Sheppard all this.’

‘Can you do it?’ Jack asked seriously.

‘Well, I’ve been working on some theories…’ McKay trailed off at Jack’s hard stare. ‘No.’

Jack sighed heavily.

‘You have to understand, this is a whole new ball game. I’m going to have to create a whole new set of math for this.’ McKay explained.

‘So, we’re looking at…’

‘Years.’ McKay admitted. ‘But it doesn’t matter. Even if I spend the rest of my life doing this, if I get it right then the timeline will reverse back to the moment Sheppard gets back to Atlantis.’

‘I’m probably not going to be around to help you when that happens.’ Jack pointed out.

‘Right.’ McKay looked panicked for a moment before he shrugged. ‘I guess I’ll have to take my chances in the future.’

Jack winced at the statement. He stood up. ‘Well, good luck.’

‘Thank you.’ McKay said. ‘Again.’ He nodded awkwardly and made to leave. He was at the door when he turned back. ‘You know I didn’t get it.’

‘Get what?’

‘When we first met,’ McKay explained, ‘I didn’t get why you would stop all travel through the gate to save your friend no matter how long it took.’ The scientist looked back at Jack sincerity shining from his eyes. ‘I get it now.’

Jack nodded in understanding.

McKay left his office and Jack reached for the phone. He dialled the number from memory.

Daniel picked up at the other end. ‘Hello.’

‘It’s me.’ Jack announced. ‘I just got a visit from McKay.’

‘He couldn’t get it to work?’

‘No.’ Jack twisted the cord between his fingers. ‘There’s a plan B.’

‘Solar flare?’ Daniel guessed. ‘Message through the gate.’

‘Yeah but he thinks it could take years.’ Jack said. He shifted the receiver to his other hand and leaned back.

‘I’m sorry, Jack.’

‘You know the hell of it is that I think he could do it.’ Jack sighed heavily. ‘Only I won’t be around to help him.’

Daniel was silent.

‘Hello?’ Jack checked. ‘You still there?’

‘Hmmm?’ Daniel suddenly surfaced. ‘Sorry, I was just thinking. Can’t you send a message to someone in the future too telling them to help McKay?’

‘Daniel…’

‘I mean, like a standing order or something?’

Jack stopped to think about the idea. ‘That could work.’ He wrapped up the call and pulled out a sheet of paper. He scribbled his order onto it and tucked it into an envelope. He looked at the sealed order on his desk and something settled within him. There was a plan; it would work.

He took a long look around his office and his eyes settled on one of the pictures on his desk. He picked up the snapshot of him and Sam sitting on his fishing dock years before; just after they had defeated the Replicators and the Goa’uld – before the Ori and the realisation that Atlantis had discovered the Wraith. They had thought the fighting was over. For him, Jack realised, it finally was. A sense of peace descended on him; he was done waiting for something to happen; done fighting.

Maybe it was time to reconsider the retirement.

Destiny Determined

Three months away from retirement, General Evan Lorne glanced at the retreating figure of McKay as the Airman led the physicist away to await Lorne’s decision. He got up and closed the door before he frowned heavily and opened a drawer in his desk. He reached in and pulled out a worn envelope. He sat down and upended the contents onto his desktop; a letter from his predecessor and a smaller unopened envelope. He picked up the letter first. It was well read; the pages smudged from his finger-tips, the lettering beginning to fade away.

‘Evan,

Congrats on the job – you deserve it! There’s a tradition that General Landry started for the outgoing SGC commander to write a letter welcoming the latest and who am I to argue with tradition?

You’re an experienced guy, so I only have a few words of advice;

One, never touch anything they bring back through the gate.

Two, you’ll probably want to resign in about a month (another tradition) but you won’t do it.

Three, don’t worry about Daniel Jackson descending into the office naked; we’re all pretty sure he’s Ascended for good this time.

Four, take the envelope included in this one seriously. It contains the last standing order of General Jack O’Neill.

Good luck,

Cameron Mitchell.’

Lorne put the letter down and picked up the unopened envelope. He turned it over in his hands. He’d worked with SG1 as a Major both at the SGC and in Pegasus; the fact that he had, made him a legend amongst the men and women serving under his command.

He read the outside instructions with a sinking heart.

‘To be opened in the event Rodney McKay proposes a time travelling mission.’

Lorne tore open the paper and extracted the single sheet. The tight feeling in his chest prompted him to breathe. He smoothed the paper out flat; the words were handwritten.

‘To the SGC commander; standing order by the authority of General O’Neill.

If Earth isn’t safe, help McKay.’

He slumped back in his chair. Was Earth safe? It had been decimated by the virus. They’d got a handle on it eventually but it had reduced their population by over a third before they’d got it under control. Michael’s prodigy – Teyla’s son – was making headway in conquering the Milky Way. He’d left Earth alone but he was happily engaging them in battle off-world and Lorne figured it was only a matter of time. Earth wasn’t safe. Still, Lorne hesitated.

‘It’s a big decision.’

‘You got that right.’ Lorne muttered. He froze and turned around. His eyes widened. ‘Daniel?’

‘Hey.’ There was a faint glow around the archaeologist’s form that gave away his Ascended nature. He pointed at the desk. ‘I see you got Jack’s order.’

‘I did.’ Lorne picked it up again. ‘Are you here to talk me into doing this?’ He asked suspiciously.

Daniel laughed. ‘No.’

‘To talk me out of it?’ Lorne checked.

Daniel shook his head, his eyes twinkling in amusement. ‘This is your decision, Evan. I’m just here to, oh I don’t know,’ he hunched his shoulders and wrinkled his nose, ‘give you a sounding board.’

Lorne seemed bemused. ‘OK. I guess I could use a sounding board.’

Daniel moved swiftly to sit the chair McKay had occupied. ‘So. What are you thinking?’

‘I’m thinking I just don’t know if I can follow General O’Neill’s order.’ Lorne sighed heavily. ‘If I let McKay do this…’

‘You could change the timeline?’ Daniel prompted. ‘And do you have the right to do that?’

‘Does anyone?’ Lorne wondered. He flushed realising that SG1 had changed the timeline in the past. ‘Sorry.’

‘No, you’re right.’ Daniel said understandingly. ‘Changing the timeline is a huge deal and I don’t believe it’s ever something we did lightly.’

‘But you did it for the greater good?’ Lorne mused out loud. ‘To save Earth.’

Daniel nodded. ‘Jack wrote that order for that very reason.’

Lorne looked at him questioningly. ‘What?’

‘McKay went to Jack years ago with this plan. Jack spoke with me about it.’ Daniel admitted. ‘McKay’s original plan was to use the Ancient time-machine – go forward in time to rescue Sheppard and take Sheppard back to the past. Only McKay couldn’t get the time machine to work.’

‘And if he had General O’Neill would have allowed him to execute his plan.’ Lorne realised.

‘Jack would have gone with him.’ Daniel confirmed. ‘Even back then it was clear that Michael wasn’t going to be stopped easily and the virus had started to spread around Earth. When McKay couldn’t fix the time machine, he told Jack it could take years to come up with the math needed to make his plan B work. Jack knew leaving the standing order was his only way of helping McKay.’

‘By ensuring any future SGC commander was at least forced to take the request seriously.’ Lorne murmured.

Daniel clasped his hands atop his stomach. ‘Jack died two hours after handing that order to General Landry.’

Lorne was aware of the stories; how O’Neill had handed Landry the envelope as his last act before they had gone to a surprise retirement party in the gate room. How O’Neill had given a speech paying tribute to the Stargate programme, the men and women he had served with including his late wife, and how he had stepped from the podium and collapsed. The reports said it had been a stroke; there had been nothing anyone could have done to save him.

‘So, I’m supposed to agree to this because it was the last act and wish of a great man?’ Lorne frowned. ‘Because General O’Neill would have agreed to this?’

Daniel gestured at him. ‘I just want you to consider why Jack left that order; how important it was to him that he did.’

‘I’m not General O’Neill.’ Lorne stated.

‘But you are a good General, Evan.’ Daniel said. ‘You’re respected; admired. You’ve had some hard decisions and you’ve made them. But you haven’t been scared to take chances and that has worked in your favour.’

‘Not every time.’ Lorne was compelled to point out. ‘I’ve made my share of mistakes too.’

‘So did Jack.’ Daniel replied. ‘You know Jack told me McKay believed that it was destined.’

‘Destined?’

‘That Sheppard got thrown into the future for the specific purpose of ensuring that this future didn’t happen because we would be able to get him back to our past to change things.’ Daniel explained fervently. ‘Think about it; think about all the things that have happened to make it possible – all things that still have to happen even if you agree to this.’

‘Such as?’ Lorne asked.

‘Well, McKay coming up with a solution; Jack leaving a standing order that actually has made it into your hands right now.’ Daniel expanded. ‘And if you agree, it’s going to be a miracle if everything plays out in the future to get Sheppard back to the past. I mean, the holographic technology has to work, Atlantis has to still be intact, the Stargate there has to work, the solar flare McKay predicts has to happen.’

Lorne leaned back in his chair. ‘So even if I agree to McKay’s plan, this may not work.’

‘Put it this way,’ Daniel said sympathetically, ‘given the odds of everything happening the way it needs to in order for it to work, then if it does work maybe McKay is right; maybe it’s destined to happen; maybe we aren’t meant to have this future at all.’

Lorne lowered his gaze back to the letter in his hand and O’Neill’s order. ‘But what if…’ he asked, raising his head to look at Daniel and finding an empty space in the chair. He looked around quickly; the office was empty. He was on his own. He looked down at the order again. He placed it carefully on his desk.

Changing the timeline was a big deal but Daniel’s comment about destiny had struck a chord. Lorne sighed; he also couldn’t ignore the fact that a man he had deeply respected and who he had considered a role model – O’Neill – had considered the plan important enough to leave a standing order. O’Neill had even qualified it; if Earth wasn’t safe…because if Earth was safe the plan wasn’t needed.

Earth wasn’t safe.

Lorne felt the pinpricks of responsibility on his conscience. He had always felt responsible for allowing Teyla to fall into Michael’s hands…if they had rescued her before her son was born then maybe Michael couldn’t have achieved so much in so little time. And John Sheppard…Lorne had been the last to talk to him. The SGC had a long-standing edict never to leave a man behind. Didn’t his old CO deserve a chance to be saved and returned to his own time?

His decision made, Lorne picked up his internal phone. ‘Have Doctor McKay brought to my office.’

o-O-o

‘I don’t know what to think.’

Jack watched his monitor as Sam leaned forward, propping her elbows on her desk a galaxy away. Atlantis had dialled into the SGC for its regular update. Jack had taken advantage of being there to grab a one-to-one session with his wife.

‘John’s whole account of what happened seems unbelievable.’ Sam concluded. She had just finished briefing Jack on Sheppard’s story: of finding himself forty-eight thousand years in the future with a holographic McKay who had helped him get back to the past via the Stargate and a handy solar flare.

‘Which bit?’ Jack asked wryly. ‘The time travel or the Doomsday future?’ He tried hard to keep his voice even. It had been hard listening to her recount John’s prediction of her death. He vowed silently that he wouldn’t allow it to happen; they wouldn’t allow it to happen.

‘I was thinking Rodney rewriting the future just to make sure his wife doesn’t die.’ Sam said dryly.

‘That doesn’t sound strange to me at all.’ Jack murmured. It’s what he would have done given the opportunity.

Sam gave him a loving look before she sighed. ‘I’m just waiting on Sheppard’s DNA check.’

‘Wise.’ Jack commented.

‘It’s weird but I think this may have actually been meant to be.’ Sam mused out loud. ‘The odds of this future Rodney’s plan working to send John back to us. The math alone that he would have had to create…I think this is case of a cause in one timeline creating the correct effect in another.’

Jack didn’t even try to follow her. ‘So what next?

‘If the account of the future is right, we need to get Teyla back before she delivers her child.’ Sam said firmly.

Jack smiled into the web camera on his laptop. His brown eyes gleamed with humour and love. ‘Sounds like you’re going to have a busy day.’

She smiled back and nodded ruefully. ‘You had something to discuss with me?’

‘It can wait till next time.’ Jack said, dismissing his news with a wave of his hand.

‘Jack.’ Sam raised an eyebrow expectantly.

‘Hayes signed off on my retirement.’ Jack said.

‘Oh my God.’ Sam smiled brightly. ‘When?’

‘Three months from now.’ Jack grinned at her and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. ‘You want to go fishing?’

Sam touched the monitor, her eyes softening as they met his. ‘Always.’

‘It’s a date then.’ Jack said gruffly.

Her eyes flickered away briefly before they returned to his apologetically. He read her need to leave easily.

‘Go.’ Jack ordered. ‘Go, save the galaxy.’ He held her gaze until the screen went blank and he knew the Stargate in the gate room would have winked out.

He sighed and looked around Daniel’s office where he had taken his call with Sam. He frowned. It sounded like they had dodged a bullet if the story of the future was right; maybe he owed McKay a drink. He pushed it out of his mind. Three months to his retirement. No more Replicators or Wraith or bad guys…just him, Carter and fishing. Sounded like destiny to him.

fin.