Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate or any of the characters you recognize. I'm just borrowing them for entertainment. There is no monetary gain and no copyright infringement intended.

AN: Here is the rest. Let me know what you all think. Thank you so much for coming along on my little adventure. I have really enjoyed the company!!!

Previously:

She didn't know what to expect as the station exploded under the Asgard weapons fire at the exact same moment Jack announced he was dropping the force field. The debris spread out in a show of fireworks. For a moment nothing happened. Then Jack groaned and gripped the side of the chair.

"Sam!" he screamed as he clutched his head in pain and flipped backward out of the chair, hitting the floor. She barely had time to reach out a hand before the pain hit her too, forcing her to her knees. It was more than pain. Her body lurched as if being pulled apart by a million different forces. Then the feeling of being ripped apart changed. She felt her insides twist. She felt as if force fields were trying to compress her into a single point much too small for her body to fit into. The pressure was excruciating. She thrashed against the pain, rolling on the floor, knowing that they hadn't dropped the shield in time.

Chapter 34

Sam became aware slowly. She felt as if her brain had been fried and her body beaten to a pulp. She couldn't open her eyes, wasn't sure if she was even still alive. What had happened? Memories started flooding in. There'd been an unreal amount of pain and then blackness had engulfed her.

As if from a distance, Sam felt hands on her and then nothing as the blackness threatened to take her again. She fought against it. Where was Jack? "Samantha Carter." Was that Teal'c's voice? She couldn't open her eyes. God she felt like she'd been beaten up by a couple squads of Ba'al's Jaffa. "I believe that she is regaining consciousness Daniel Jackson." That was definitely Teal'c. She fought to open her eyes.

"Did O'Neill regain consciousness as well?" he was asking someone.

"Not yet. He's barely breathing." That was Daniel's voice. "Cam should be back with the medical team any moment."

"Teal'c." She fought to find her voice, surprised at how weak she sounded. She'd survived, she thought beginning to remember the last minutes in the jumper. From the sounds and the people around her, they were back in the hall where Ba'al was to be extracted. Somehow she'd survived, but what about Jack? Her memories, who she was, belonged to this timeline more so then they belonged in the other. Jack was another story.

"Jack?" she asked. Sam fought harder to push the weakness away. She needed to know what had happened.

"Sam, oh thank god. What happened?" Vala's voice rang in her ears. She allowed Teal'c to help her sit up. "You and the General just hit the ground and started thrashing and blinking." Vala rushed on. "Your whole body was blinking in and out, well sort of. You never went away, but sometimes it was like there was a ghost of you over top you…"

"He's coming around," Daniel interrupted. Teal'c helped her turn around to where her friend bent over Jack's body. The throng of people around them felt oppressive, but she pushed that awareness away.

"Jack," she called his name as his eyes fluttered.

"Isn't it usually Sir in public?" he choked out, his attempt at humor lost by his scratchy, barely audible voice. Sam felt relief and pain at the same time. It was her general and she was so grateful to hear him and feel him near that she felt a tear roll down her face in relief, but at the same time the thought of never again playing with the lighter side she'd lived with these past weeks tore a hole in her heart. She barely suppressed the tears that threatened. She felt so torn, relief and grief splitting her heart in two.

There were questions flowing around them, but she didn't hear them. Jack was in the process of sitting up. "I'm going to skin that kid alive," he muttered as he allowed Daniel to help him upright. Did he say kid? She felt her heart lurch in another direction. She couldn't bear to lose her General either.

Sam's heart lurched as she pulled his attention to her. "What did you say?" Was it possible that she'd misread him. Which Jack was she talking to? It was a miracle that either of them were alive, she told herself, trying to prepare for his answer. She should be grateful she had either of them, but to lose the man that remembered their lifetime together and had placed the ring on her finger…

He smiled at her carefully, making it obvious his head still throbbed. "It's me Sam," he told her. She didn't know which me he meant. Her look must have conveyed her confusion. "All of me, colonel and general all at once," he clarified. How was that possible? She froze, her mind unable to accept what he was telling her. When she didn't answer him, Jack reached for her, ignoring the questions being thrown at them. He seemed oblivious to the strange looks when he cupped her face in his calloused hands and turned her face fully to his.

"God Sam, I almost killed you." His face contorted in pain at the thought. "My son almost killed both of us." He stopped, blanching white at the thoughts running through us. "He shot himself with my gun." She could see him taking stock of all that he'd lived and trying to balance the conflicting memories. What she didn't see in him or feel in him was the usual reserve he demonstrated around her. It began to hit her. He somehow remembered both timelines. Had the shield dropped at the exact right moment to somehow make the impossible, possible? They'd seen stranger things. She held her breath, hardly daring to hope.

"What happened, Sam?" He was asking her. "I thought this wasn't possible. I thought there wasn't any way for me to be both of me." She was as confused as he was. "Sam?" He questioned her again. "Do you remember?" He seemed unsure now. Sam pulled her mind from the questions racing through her brain. Jack needed her. She reached to grip his forearms. "I'm me Jack, I remember everything."

Jack just looked at her for a moment in relief." "Thank God," he whispered before leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was full of relief. She returned it, grateful for him comfort. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to deepen the kiss.

"Guys," Daniel's voice interrupted, but she only dimly heard him.

"Ah, guys," Daniel had the worst timing, wait… Daniel! Sam suddenly realized where they were as Jack jumped and the broke apart. They'd apparently gotten more comfortable with shows of affection while in the other timeline then she'd realized.

"I don't know what happened," she pointed out, trying to cover her embarrassment. "Us having both our memories shouldn't be possible, but then again I told you I wasn't sure what would happen."

"Not to mention the curve ball Charlie threw at us." Jack must have been a little embarrassed. He had actually backed up a little from her, but hadn't put much distance between them. Her general never would have felt comfortable enough to forget the audience and kiss her like that and she never would have responded so freely. Wow, the changes in them both were going to take some getting used to.

"Guys," Daniel raised his voice a little more forcefully, pulling her attention back to the present. She tried to see what Daniel was pointing at and looking so confused about.

She wasn't sure what Daniel was pointing at. "Dad?" The tentative quality of Charlie's voice cut through everything else. Sam watched Jack still before he pulled himself together and got to his feet. She was surprised when he reached a hand down to her and pulled her to her feet. The hand he laid on the small of her back felt natural and strange at the same time, but she allowed him to guide her with him to his son. Thor stood off to one side, answering Teal'c's questions, before the big Jaffa nodded sagely and moved to stand near his friends.

Jack didn't say a word. He dropped his hand from her back and reached out to cup the back of his son's neck. He stared into the young man's eyes for a moment before pulling him into his arms and holding on tight. Sam smiled at the scene and took a step away. She found Thor and stood beside him. The room was quiet as everyone watched the normally private general embrace the young man Thor had brought with him and hold on as if his life depended on it.

"I was unsure that you would survive." The alien moved to stand right next to her. "Charlie confessed what he had done after I fired on the station. It was too late to prevent what he had done from coming to pass." Sam could tell that Thor hadn't been pleased. She'd never seen him angry before and wondered if Charlie had. "You dropped the shielding just as the change in timeline reset. I read life signs oscillating before the jumper and both of you disappeared."

Sam nodded. She was sure their life signs had been all over the place. "It was not an experience I'd recommend, but I remember everything from both timelines and Jack does too." Thor nodded. She figured he must have suspected as much when Jack had known and greeted his son.

Jack finally let go of Charlie, but he hadn't allowed the young man to move far from him. She could see his pride as he introduced his son to his friends. Daniel was taking it all in as was Teal'c, but Vala was firing questions off with both barrels. Sam glanced up to see Cam running into the hall, medics in tow. After letting her know that he would stay nearby while he confirmed that his readings were correct and that there was no further damage to the space time continuum, Thor beamed himself back out. He hadn't seemed very comfortable in the crowd in the first place.

The Tokra seemed to be confused as the rest of them, but they patiently stood to the side and watched the Tauri's display. Sam just watched Jack, she felt her heart burst with the relief and love she felt for the man smiling from ear to ear as his son shook hands with his friends. Sam was content to take it all in until Jack turned to her and held out his hand. She was a little taken aback by his comfort at publicly touching her and hesitated. She might have gotten carried away with the kiss, but their usual reserve was starting to feel more comfortable.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her in challenge. Oh yeah, this was going to be different. The brashness and disregard for what others might think that she'd gotten used to in the other timeline, coupled with the confidence of the general she'd fought beside for years was going to make dealing with the man she loved a whole new adventure.

Never one to hide from a challenge, she crossed the small space that separated them without breaking eye contact. Reaching out and taking his hand, she heard Vala urgently whispering to Daniel something about bumps on the head affecting them. She ignored the other woman and concentrated on the man before her. Jack didn't stop at holding her hand, he pulled her against him and kissed her neck. "I told you always Sam. There's no going back now."

"I wouldn't have it any other way O'Neill."

THE END