A/N: This is slightly A.U. I've always wondered about Laira from A Hundred Days in season three, and here is my chance to mess with it It doesn't focus on Laira or the child, but it does have a major plot element.

Title: Memory of a Time

Rating: PG (may be bumped up)

Pairings: Laira/Jack, Sam/Jack

Season: After the first episode of season eight based off my perspective

Spoilers: 'A Hundred Days' (season 3) and some tiny ones from 'The Lost City Part 1 and 2'

Stuff: I own this planet and its people! I got the title named based of a Linkin Park song, In The End.

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I. All Reunions Aren't' Happy

The sirens in the Embankment Room rang through as the doors opened. SG-1 stood as the wormhole was created. They were going back to P5C 768, or Edora. It had been nearly four years since they had gone, although Jack O'Neill had visited a few times after they saved him from P5C 768. Soon after that they had sent the Gate straight, and were able to get the planet running normally.

 Jack stepped onto the ramp and entered through the wormhole without any hesitation. Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson soon followed, Teal'c taking the rear. Within moments they saw the familiar landscape of P5C 768. Jack took a heavy sigh and started for the town. Daniel finished tying his bandanna around his head before following. Sam stayed behind, watching as the two went off. Teal'c stopped on the steps to the gate and turned to her.

"If we do not leave now, Major Carter, we will arrive late." Teal'c said. Sam looked back at the Stargate for a moment, before nodding to Teal'c and joining him as they lagged behind the rest of the team. Teal'c looked at Sam worriedly. Once they had saved Jack thanks to the Asgard, she was rather quiet. Jack had also been distancing himself away from Sam, more than what their job position called for. Teal'c looked up a head as an older Garren joined them.

"Major Carter! Teal'c!" Garren smiled happily as he joined the two. "It has been a long time since you've come to Edora. Welcome back!" he embraced them both and Sam let out a short laugh and returned the hug. Teal'c oddly returned the gesture before looking at Sam. "Come, O'Neill and Dr. Jackson are waiting at the village! Our village will have a gathering in your honor!" he turned and quickly headed off.

"At least he is in good spirits," Sam said and continued on. Teal'c watched her for a moment before following

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Sam stepped outside Laira's home. She watched the people in side from over her shoulder, dancing and making merry times. She came and sat down on a log, looking up at the sky. There were no comets or asteroids tonight. She sighed sadly, taking out her canteen of water and looking at it for a long moment before taking a large drink of it. Footsteps stopped behind her and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing the large black boots of her Commanding Officer.

"Stars sure are bright tonight." Jack mentioned, looking up at them. Sam nodded and removed her hat, scratching her forehead.

It didn't make any sense to her. Ever since the Asgard saved Jack…it wasn't the same anymore. He was the same to everyone, but her. They had to be distant, because of their duties, their jobs…but, now it was different. Now they just worked along side each other, as if their friendship didn't really live. As if they were just team mates, nothing more.

"Yeah, they are." Sam agreed, not looking up at him. There was a stiff atmosphere between the two; she couldn't recall it ever happening before. Finally she looked up for a moment, seeing him looking behind his shoulder. Sam's eyes followed his to where Laira stood, the nearly-four year old child running around beside her. Sam studied the child's features, recognizing those of her Commanding Officer's. She turned her head to the ground again, looking at it.

"So when the third MALP sent back just a few seconds of telemetry, we knew the gate was hor…" she stopped in the middle of her sentence as Jack passed by her. "zontal.." she finished. She looked at Daniel before bringing herself to look at her Commanding Officer. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine." Daniel reassured. "I just don't think he was expecting to go home again."

Somehow that had hurt her, when Daniel said that. It had only hurt a little, in the pain of shock and confusion. But now, after what they had been through and now after saving him with the Asgard, it somehow hurt worse. Maybe it was because he had been happy on Edora. On P5C 768, happy. Happier with Laira and this village than he was on Earth.

Jack shifted his weight. Sam returned to the present from her thoughts.

"You alright?" Jack asked. Sam closed her eyes for a moment, the hat shading her sad eyes.

"….yes Sir." Sam said softly and hesitantly.

"Alright then." Jack said, turned, and left. Sam turned and watched him return to Laira's side with the small girl at her side.

Sam waited for Jack to return inside before she stood. She had collected the samples she needed for this mission. She'd wait for the others by the Stargate. She felt a grab on her arm and turned, seeing Daniel standing there. She stared at him; he was like an older brother. The only one she could talk to about anything, even her forbidden relationship, and still get a fraction of help and balance back. They had spent a lot of time together after they defeated Anubis…and, Jack…

"Sam, what's wrong?" Daniel asked, breaking into her thoughts. He saw her eyes shift to the house and he understood, going with Sam until she decided to stop. She stopped in front of the stairs to the Stargate before collapsing on her bottom on the stairs and staring at the ground. Daniel bit his lip, turning off his end of the radio and reached down, turning off Sam's. She would even begin to talk if she knew that Jack might be listening. He sat down beside her. "Alright, let's ask this again. What's wrong, Sam? You were so happy when Jack was back…but lately, you've been just as melancholy as you were then. So, what has gotten you all worked up."

Sam took in a shaky breath, unsure on how to answer. Over the last months Daniel and her and talked so much, and he was now positive that Jack and her loved each other, even though it would never work out. "Daniel…." She said softly. "….how long has it been…since, they saved Colonel O'Neill…?"

Daniel puffed his lower lip out in his thinking position, doing the math. "About three weeks."

Sam nodded slowly. "Three weeks. Three weeks ago, he was brought back…to the SGC….he was smiling, happy to see everyone….but…" she trailed off. Daniel had learned to let Sam say things on her own. "…he saw me, and stared at me…with that look he had before…..and….he hasn't even said my name this whole time…he didn't even say 'Hey Carter!'…" she went to remove her tears away but Daniel caught her hand.

"Now come on, Sam, you know that the rule is to let yourself go." Daniel said slowly, releasing her hand. "If you keep this bottled inside, it's going to become worse." Sam let out a stifled sob and he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Sam, is what really bugging you….Laira…?"

 Sam looked at him sadly. She hung her head again. "I need….time off."

"Don't we all?"

"I….need time off." She said again, not looking up. "It's all been to emotionally stressful…with Janet dieing, and then the search for Atlantis, what happened to Colonel O'Niell…..and how the Tok'ra aren't helping us, I might not see Dad again…..I just, just….need to escape and go away…." She rubbed her eyes, tears coming down. "I….might just, quit the SGC all together."

"Sam, you can't." Daniel said. "I mean, the government wants to close it down already, right? So why not just….." he sighed, stopping his thought as he saw Sam's shoulders shake in tears. Daniel thought for a moment. "You have the samples you need, right?" Sam nodded. "Alright, we'll send you back to the SGC….and if Jack has a problem, then I'll protect you." He smiled and Sam smiled for a moment.

Daniel helped Sam to her feet. He dialed to Earth, and Sam gave their code as the gate opened. Daniel nodded to Sam and she walked through the event horizon. Daniel turned his radio back on to hear Jack's voice yelling for them to get at the gate. He sighed and turned, leaning against the D.H.D. as Jack and Teal'c ran into the area.

Jack looked around and saw Daniel. "Daniel, why didn't you respond?"

"Where is Major Carter?" Teal'c asked, looking around the area. "Did she not accompany you?"

"I sent her home." Daniel said. Teal'c lifted his eyebrow and Jack, once he had recovered from shock, came and stood right in Daniel's face. Daniel stood there, unafraid. After all, what was Jack going to really do?

"I didn't give any authorization to that!" Jack yelled. "Why didn't you tell me?! I thought some damned snake head was coming here! Why the hell did Carter go home, and why the hell are you giving orders for her to go!"

Daniel shook his head. "She is not emotionally stable for this kind of thing right now, Jack. She had what she came for. You don't know what kind of living emotional hell she has lived through!" Jack stared at him. "We lost Janet. Then you went and almost died on us, and due to what's going on at the SGC, it put more stress on her. Now the Tok'ra isn't being friendly anymore, she's afraid of not seeing her dad again….and then she comes into the briefing room to find you sitting there."

Jack didn't say anything.

Daniel sighed and shook his head. "You know, Jack, you are the one that wanted to stay an over night mission. I'm going home." He turned and began to hit the address for Earth. He heard a gun lock. Daniel sighed…Thor had warned them that Jack may be changed when they had freed him. He sighed again and looked over his shoulder. "Jack, for one, I'm not even in the military, so, ordering me around against my consent isn't going to work. You know, we've been through a lot of crap since you decided to go and be Earth's hero, Jack. Don't you dare start pointing guns." He hit the center of the D.H.D., and placed in the code, and went through the gate.

Jack looked at Teal'c. "What just happened?"

"I believe that Daniel Jackson is upset on how you are treating Major Carter." Teal'c said, looking at his friend. "You treat her as an acquaintance now, not a friend. It upsets Major Carter, who had turned to Daniel Jackson to help her emotional trauma when you were in the Artic Outpost, O'Neill."

Jack sighed and scratched his forehead.

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Sam sat at her desk. The lights were off, and no machines were running besides the clock on the wall. It gave the room a dark cave like feeling, something that she was quiet familiar with. It was just a few weeks ago that she had been late to the meeting and there found Jack in his seat, perky as ever. She wasn't even aware that he had woken up and that the Asgard had returned him to normal. She sighed, putting her chin in her palms and staring out at the dark wall. She would bet anything that Jack was going to have a sit down with her when he returned from Edora. Maybe he should stay there.

She looked up as the door opened. Daniel's head came into the crack and Sam smiled. Daniel flipped on the light and closed the door, pulling out a stool and sitting next to Sam. Sam sighed and looked at Daniel. "I bet the Colonel's pretty upset."

"Surprised more or less." Daniel shrugged, looking at her. "I'm not sure, but I'd….lay low for a while, you know?" he shifted something in his pocket and pulled out a notepaper. "By the way, the people on PC57621, the planet that the Tok'ra had us visit while Jack was….still in, well you know. They are requesting we return. Guess word has reached them about the SGC."

Sam took the letter and smiled, looking over the messy hand writing of the seven year old girl named Cortana. She was a girl on the planet of PC57621, the planet that her father and Selmek requested that they attend to, since they had Tok'ra agents there. It was a near desert planet, with a small variety of plant life. They had found the small city, and stayed with a family. Cortana had an elder sister named Freya, who was fifteen. They were rather fond of her, even Daniel and Teal'c had seen that.

"Well, I'll have to see Cortana and Freya again. One last good bye." Sam sighed. Good byes were painful. She folded the note neatly and put it in a safe pocket in her pants. "When do we leave?" Daniel did quick mental math in his head. Sam thought it was always entertaining to see Daniel do math in his head. You could tell when he made an error because his face would do something funny.

"'Bout a few hours." Daniel finally concluded, having lost count. "They are going to be thrilled to see you again Sam…I wonder what they will think of Jack, they didn't meet him anyways."

Sam sighed, shrugging. She was trying to keep her mind off Jack O'Neill as much as she could at the moment. Silence developed in the room and she stood. "Let's get something good to eat before we head off, Daniel. If I remember right, PC57621's food wasn't the best thing I ever tasted."

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"So….this, place." Jack said, taking off his gear in the locker room. Teal'c stood on the opposite side, his hands behind his back in his normal stance. "PC57621….it's friendly, right? I mean….well….know giant snake heads or anything."

"There had been rumors that part of PC57621 did in fact have contact or were ruled by System Lords at one point, or still are." Teal'c answered. "The town we had stayed in for a day was in not any form touched by the System Lords. In fact, the System Lords seemed very unaware of our presence on the planet at all, O'Neill."

"What's it like?" Jack asked. "Climate, appearance…?"

"It is rather hot. A desert."

"Oh, joy." Jack mumbled. "So, Daniel or Carter or you know anyone there?"

"Major Carter became friends with two young girls from the town." Teal'c informed. Jack looked over his shoulder at them. "They were named Cortana, the younger, and Freya, the older one. Both became very attached to Major Carter…." He watched as Jack slammed the door shut to his locker. "Tell me O'Neill, does this anger you?"

"Guess so." Jack muttered and sighed. He looked up at the ceiling, and all he could think about was Laira and the little girl back on Endora. His little girl, his child. Maybe he could request the President to allow him to stay on Endora. It was a nice place after all, great weather, good food to. "Hey, T.." he turned and noticed that Teal'c had left. He sighed, scratching the back of his head. It seemed now that his whole team had some big conspiracy going on behind his back.

Carter most of all. She had barely said anything to him. Then again, he had said barely anything to her.

She was only his 2IC though. Forbidden relationship.

But the one with Laira on Endora wasn't. At least, it wouldn't be.