Note: a line of **** indicates the start of a new loop
Ok I am not an interstellar travel expert or any such thing, so the technical stuff in this story is probably wrong, but please bear with me and just skip over the many mistakes; I am only going on my knowledge from the real episode this is taken from, "Window of Opportunity" (in my opinion the best episode of Stargate ever made!).
Oh and for those who don't know what Twinkies are, they are a sweet cake with cream in the middle, kind of like Jam Rollettes for all those fellow Aussies.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX 0450
Colonel Jack O'Neill entered the lab, a yawn escaping from his mouth as he spotted one of his team members, Major Samantha Carter studying something through a high-powered microscope. He walked casually over to where Sam was studying.
"So Carter? What's so important that you pulled me from my lovely and peaceful slumber?" he asked contemptuously. Sam looked up apologetically, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth,
"Sorry sir but this is about to mission tomorrow to P6Z 435." She explained. Jack shook his head; with Sam, work always came before relaxation. He made a note to himself to take her fishing one-day and get her away from the conformity of the SGC.
"What about it?" he asked trying to sound enthusiastic, but judging by the expression on her face he wasn't very convincing.
"Well sir, this is a sample the probe brought back from the planet, its soil particles found at the base of the Stargate, it has a very high level of sulfuric chloride present, high enough levels to burn through most materials." She informed her Commanding Officer. They had been assigned together at the very start of the Stargate program, many years before and from that time had become very close, closer than was allowed in the Air Force but they remained within the guidelines of the military, they had to. There was a pause of silence before he answered,
"So what? We have to wear lead shoes?" he asked jokingly. Sam smiled at his supposed joke and shook her head,
"No sir but we will need to wear the DECS tomorrow." Sam suggested with a hint of happiness that she couldn't hide. Jack sighed, rolling his eyes slightly, the Dangerous Environmental Conditions Suits were one of Sam's proudest creations, and she had worked tirelessly for nearly 2 months before they were completed to her satisfaction. They were supposed to protect the wearer from an array of different hazardous situations, perfect for planets that had atmospheres composed of chemicals different to Earth's, according to her.
"It also means sir that we will need to make adjustments to the equipment we take on the mission." She suggested. He nodded he started to leave the room but not before commenting,
"Carter?" Jack posed. Sam turned to face him,
"Yes sir?" she responded.
"Good work." He replied, leaving the room quietly. Sam smiled to herself and went back to work on the sample under the microscope.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX GATE ROOM 0945
"Are the DECS completely safe?" Sam asked the technicians, as the rest of the team, pulled on the grey/silver suits. According to the security guards, she had been there since 0200 that morning checking final last minute preparations to the suits. Now she was running around organising the whole team, making sure that everything was perfect for the mission. As Sam ran by Jack he grabbed her arm through the DECS they were wearing, stopping her in her tracks.
"Carter, who's the commanding officer of SG1?" he asked her quietly. Sam wiped her forehead with the back of her hand,
"You are sir." She responded breathlessly.
"And who should be organising everything for the mission?" he asked. Sam sighed,
"You should be sir." She answered dejectedly, realising why he had stopped her. Jack let go of her arm,
"You've been here since 0200, relax Carter. that's an order," Jack lowered his voice in a calming manner, understandingly, with a slight grin covering his face. She nodded in agreement,
"Thank you sir." Sam replied gratefully, she could always count on the Colonel to stop her when she was pushing herself too hard unnecessarily. She took a couple of deep breaths and calmed the adrenalin rushing through her body. Jack looked up and pulled his cap down over his forehead, yet to put on the head attachment to the DECS,
"We've got everything? Good let's go, happy campers." He ordered cheerfully as a burst of blue shot out from the Stargate. Sam and Daniel picked up a crate of equipment and disappeared through the Stargate. Teal'c looked at Jack, frowning, also picking up a box of supplies for the journey,
"Yeah I feel it too Teal'c, something bad is going to happen." Jack shivered in his suit as the two men walked slowly towards the Stargate and plunged through the wall of blue. In a matter of seconds they were flung out of the Stargate and crashed to the ground, pain shooting through their bodies, the supplies they were carrying hitting the wall and crashing to the floor with a loud thump. Jack shook his head and checked his body for serious injury, but as he stood up he noticed that they were back in the SGC, he gazed around the gate room in confusion.
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COLONEL O'NEILL'S QUARTERS 0421
Jack heard at knock on the door of his quarters, he sat up in bed and looked at the door slightly taken aback. He checked the time on the clock on his bedside table, seeing it was 1158; he looked around his room quickly, not knowing how he ended up in his quarters after being thrown from the Stargate. Jack shrugged his shoulders and dismissed the memory as a dream. The knock came again, but louder,
"Fine! I'm coming, I'm coming." He mumbled, shuffling to the door opening without a second thought. Sam was slightly taken aback by her CO's attire; he was only wearing a singlet and boxer shorts. Jack didn't seem to notice her discomfort,
"What's up Carter?" he asked sleepily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Sam snapped out of her daze and answered,
"Sorry to wake you sir but I need you to come down the lab, there is something unusual about one the samples from the planet and I thought you should see it immediately." She explained, quickly, trying to avoid eye contact with him. Jack instantly looked up at Sam, with a look of disbelief,
"What did you say?" he asked as if to check his hearing. Sam gave him a confused look,
"I asked if you could come down to the lab because I found something strange about one of the samples from P6Z 435." She repeated.
"Ok, I'll be there in five minutes." he replied slowly, still in a slight daze. A scary thought entered his mind, his memory taking him back to a time when he knew what people what was going to happen before it did. He shook it off, not believing it could happen again. Sam nodded slowly,
"Yes sir." She answered and walked away hurriedly. He watched after her, confused about her reaction but then looked down at what he was wearing and got the clue. Jack walked back inside and mumbled to himself,
"Good one Colonel."
Teal'c opened his eyes and found himself in his room at the SGC surrounded by candles. He jumped quickly from his position on the floor and look around the room, slightly confused. He sat back down and positioned himself once again on the floor, believing what he was remembering was a vision, falling back out of the Stargate in the Gate Room, he had often experienced instances in his Kelnoreem where he felt that what was happening was really occurring. A knock came at his door and his eyes snapped open, he called for the person to come in and Daniel entered his room with a large yellow file in his hand,
"Sorry Teal'c but I need your help on symbols that were found on P6Z 435?" He pointed out of the room indicating to his office down the hall, the pen in his hand twisting nervously. Teal'c tilted his head slightly, he remembered that Daniel had come and saw him before about the same topic.
"Daniel Jackson, have you not already asked for my help on this topic previously?" he asked suspiciously. Daniel shook his head,
"No, I just got these from the probe information databank." Daniel looked at Teal'c puzzled. Teal'c stood up hurriedly and pushed his way past Daniel, almost pushing him to the floor without a single word of explanation, leaving him alone in Teal'c's room.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX 0450
Jack entered the lab now wearing the usual khaki's and boots. Hearing the Colonel entering, she glanced at his clothes quickly and was relieved to see he was dressed appropriately. He clapped his hands together,
"So? What's so unusual that you had to wake me up for hmm?" he asked with a hint of annoyance. He looked Sam's way and she immediately looked down at the floor, he could just see the hint of red on her cheeks.
"Well sir, this is a sample the probe brought back from the planet, its soil particles found at the base of the Stargate, it has a very high level of sulfuric chl-" But Sam was cut off by Jack holding up his hand, indicating to her to stop. He shook his hand slightly to convey his growing frustration,
"Chloride, high enough levels to put holes through "most materials" meaning that we have to wear the DECS tomorrow." he finished her sentence for her. She looked at him suspiciously,
"Yes. how did you know that sir?" Sam asked sceptically. Instead of answering her, he looked at his watch and counted down the seconds on his hand,
"Mornin' General." Jack mumbled, holding his breath hoping his he wrong, that all the things were simply random coincidences. As he finished his sentence, the General entered the lab. Jack let out the breath he was holding and covered his face with his hands in frustration,
"Oh this cannot be happening again!" He exclaimed angrily. He remembered the last time he knew everything that was going to happen before it did, the day repeated itself over and over again and it wasn't exactly his idea of fun. Sam stepped forward,
"Sir? What cannot be happening again?" she asked concerned, seeing his frustration. Jack sighed wearily, rolling his eyes.
"You remember P4X 639? That guy, Malik or something was playing with that machine and we were stuck in that time loop thingy?" Jack asked waving his hands to communicate his annoyance. Sam nodded, but then her shoulders dropped,
"You're not serious sir?" she asked unbelievably. He nodded his head,
"Well how else would I know that you were going to tell me all that stuff?" Jack asked her with a more serious tone. General Hammond interjected,
"What are you talking about Colonel?" he asked, slightly confused by his behaviour. Teal'c burst into the room at that moment,
"O'Neill I wish to speak with you, it is a matter of importance." He stated rather quickly and fiercely, but he knew what Teal'c wanted to discuss, he could see it on his face.
"You too huh?" Jack simply asked. Teal'c looked at him confused. He continued,
"Yeah I'm the same, it looks like we are stuck in that time loop thing again Teal'c." Jack responded exhaustedly. A frown immediately covered Teal'c's face; the memory of being hit in the head with that door every time the loop started began to haunt his thoughts.
"Will some one please tell me what is going on!" Hammond demanded, raising his voice considerably.
"I'll like to know that too, Teal'c just ran out on me!" Daniel asked breathlessly, wheezing from his asthma, following Teal'c into the lab, the whole of SG1 was now in attendance. Jack dropped his hands,
"How about we invite the whole base to hear our little saga?" he exclaimed, clearly irritated. Sam raised her hands to calm the people that joined her in the room.
"What Colonel O'Neill is trying to day is that we seem to be stuck in another time loop sir."
"Since when?" Hammond enquired. Jack and Teal'c remained silent, trying to remember what had happened.
"Well I came in and Carter told me about the acid in the soil. The next day we went through the Stargate to P6Z 435 but Teal'c and I got thrown back out of the Stargate into the gate room and then all of a sudden I was back in my quarters, my sleep being interrupted by the Major." He finished on a slightly happier tone, thinking of how nice it would be to still be in Dreamland at that moment instead of living this nightmare. Hammond looked at Teal'c for his account of the story,
"Colonel O'Neill is telling the truth, I too found myself back in my room after being thrown out of the Stargate." He replied. Daniel sighed,
"What about Sam and I?" He asked. O'Neill and Teal'c shook their heads, having no definite answer, Teal'c replied to Daniel's question,
"Major Carter and Daniel Jackson went through the Stargate before us, we are unaware of what become of them." He replied.
P6Z 435 0952
Daniel was at the DHD dialling the co ordinates back to Earth, they had just come through the Stargate to the planet but found Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill were not with them. As Daniel placed his hand in the centre the Stargate lit up but then unexpectedly de-activated. Daniel looked up at the Stargate confused,
"Ah Sam, there's something wrong here." He called over his shoulder to where she was setting up camp not far behind him, not taking his eyes off the Stargate. Hearing his call, she jogged over to where he was standing beside the DHD.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Daniel again dialled the co-ordinates but again the Stargate failed to open, indicating the problem to her, Sam looked puzzled but then dismissed it,
"SG 9 must be coming home from their survey on PO7 818, we'll try in a little while." She assured Daniel. He shrugged his shoulders and left the gate to help set up camp. Sam looked at her watch,
"They shouldn't take too long, we can try again in an hour or so." She commented to herself, unpacking the supplies they had brought with them through the Stargate for the long day ahead.
SGC BRIEFING ROOM NEXT DAY 0900
"According to report of the previous incident by Colonel O'Neill the last time this occurred, on P4X 639, an alien archaeologist, Malikai," She looked at Jack, indicating the correct pronunciation of the archaeologists' name. He smiled as a silent thank you and Sam continued,
"He was trying to activate a time machine in order to go back to see his wife. To finish his research he made the machine loop time, providing seemingly an endless amount of time to complete his objective." Sam began her briefing. Teal'c, Daniel, General Hammond joined Jack in attendance, listening attentively.
"This machine was powered by ionisation in the planet's atmosphere linked to geomagnetic storms also created a subspace bubble, where 14 planets, including Earth were cut off from the normal flow time. This made other planets outside the subspace bubble unreachable through the gate system. Assuming this has happened again, it means that it would be useful to find out what planets we can contact through a sequence of random diallings as to establish exactly where and how large the bubble is." Sam finished her briefing. Daniel raised his hand slightly indicating he had a question,
"Will P6Z 435 be in the bubble?" he asked off handedly. Sam answered,
"In all probabilities it should be, but I can't be sure until we try to dialling the co ordinates." Daniel nodded, content with her answer.
"Major Carter?" Teal'c piped up.
"Could it be that there is another Major Carter and Daniel Jackson on P6Z 435 if they are not in the bubble?" he asked. Sam breathed out slowly,
"It's possible, if the planet is outside the subspace bubble than there could be another Daniel and I and we would be experiencing the normal time flow or maybe slower." The possibility of another Sam and Daniel in the universe brought silence over the room. All eyes turned towards General Hammond as his orders. He nodded defiantly,
"You have a go."
P6Z 435 1117
Sam pushed in the co ordinates for Earth for what seemed like the millionth time that day and put her hand in the centre of DHD, but as with all the other attempts the Stargate remained closed. She looked at the gate despairingly.
"How could this possible? We gated here so why can't we get back?" Sam asked in frustration. She looked at the gate thoughtfully and instantly had an idea,
"I'll try the Tokrah, there might be something wrong with our gate." She hypothesised to herself; after all there no one listening, Daniel was taking a nap behind her, snoring audibly. She slowly inputted the symbols from memory and took a breath before placing her hand on the DHD once again, but again she was unsuccessful. Sam tried every address she knew but the Stargate remained de activated. She sat down heavily,
"Okay we are stuck on this planet with supplies for only two days." She tried to explain the whole situation to herself logically; slightly afraid of what could happen. Sam looked around her at the landscape and could see a light forest in the distance, large pine trees were visible above a layer of small bushes; it was a significant contrast from the sandy and arid desert terrain they were camped on. She stood up, throwing a flask of water over her shoulder and set off towards the forest, not wanting to disturb Daniel's peaceful nap.
SGC 0930
As the meeting ended, Teal'c and Daniel went to his quarters to look in his files for any useful information that would help and Jack stood up, immediately following Sam to the Stargate controls, talking as he walked,
"Carter we only have 15 minutes until the loop begins again so how bout skipping the rest of the planets and seeing if we can get P6Z 435 huh?" He suggested off handedly. Sam looked back at him as if he was joking,
"15 minutes sir?" she asked confused. Jack nodded, pointing to his watch,
"Yes your brief took half an hour, we went through the Stargate at 0945, in 15 minutes time." He explained tapping his watch thoughtfully. Sam quickly sat at the computer and searched for the co ordinates, the Stargate activated, locking each chevron as it went. After the sixth the two officers held their breath as they attempted to lock the 7th and most important chevron. As the Stargate turned and stopped at the symbol the cage come down but did not light up. The computer beeped,
"Cannot establish a connection." She read dejectedly from the computer screen. Jack clenched his hands into fists in anger. Sam looked at the computer confused,
"This means that P6Z 435 isn't in the subspace bubble but how could that be?" she asked herself out loud. Jack reached for the phone on the wall beside him and dialled the General's office,
"Yes sir, it was unsuccessful, yes sir." He had a brief conversation before he put the phone back in its cradle. Teal'c walked up the stairs and entered the room,
"Any progress O'Neill?" he asked impatiently. He shook his head,
"No the planet outside the bubble so we can't gate there." Jack sighed dejectedly.
"Which means that are in the normal time loop?" Teal'c enquired to Sam. She turned from the computer,
"Yes, they could be living in the normal time flow." She affirmed. The sound of the Stargate activating turned their attention towards the Gate Room. Jack looked at his watch, 0945, the exact time they went through the Stargate.
"It's Showtime boys and girls." He mumbled in a sarcastic tone.
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COLONEL O'NEILL'S QUARTERS 0421
O'Neill was woken up by the now becoming ever familiar knocking at his door. He sat up in bed, rubbing his forehead trying to get rid of the migraine that was developing. He stood out of bed and yelled through the door,
"I'll be in the lab in 5 minutes Carter." He heard a muffled voice in reply,
"Yes sir." Sam answered, slightly shocked by him knowing it was her at the door. He went over to his closet, pulling out his uniform,
"Couldn't done this on a better day, maybe my birthday.." He trailed off, mumbling to himself as he dressed.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX 0450
Jack entered the lab and as Sam turned around but he stopped her even getting a word in,
"I know you want to tell me about the acid in the soil but I have something more important to talk to you about." He began. Sam closed her mouth slowly, slightly bewildered,
"Ok what is it sir?" Sam asked not wanting to know how the Colonel knew about the sulfuric chloride in the soil since she had only just discovered herself a mere half an hour ago. He clapped his hands together,
"We are caught in another one of those time loops." Jack broke the news to his colleague. Sam raised her eyebrows,
"Really? Since when?" she asked curious.
"Since we went to P6Z 435, and yes I am aware you haven't been to P6Z 435 but trust me, we have, at least we tried to." He answered, remembering this same conversation with Daniel the last time they were trapped in the time loop. Sam sighed,
"Ok so what exactly happened?" she enquired making sure she understood everything that had happened, it would help her later on when running simulations.
"Ok well just like now, you knocked on the door of my quarters, interrupting my peaceful sleep, said you needed to show me something, so I came in, you told me about the acid in the soil and the need for the DECS. The next day, at 0945, we were in the Gate Room ready to go, you and Daniel went the through the gate first and than Teal'c and I followed. We got thrown back into the gate room and then I was back on my bed and it started all over again." He described, it was like a broken record. Teal'c entered the lab looking rather annoyed,
"I feel your pain brother!" Jack exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands out to Teal'c dramatically. Teal'c tilted his head sideways, slightly confused by O'Neill's behaviour. Sam had to physically cover her mouth to stop herself laughing out loud. She thought for a moment, a theory was already developing in her mind.
"So that was the first loop right? What number is this?" she inquired. Teal'c stepped forward to join the conversation as Jack answered,
"Third, last time was tried to dial P6Z 435 but we couldn't." he informed her; it was getting monotonous explaining it over and over. Sam looked out the door daydreaming for a moment but than a thought hit her,
"What happened to Daniel and I sir?" she asked slightly anxious. Teal'c answered,
"We are unaware, in the previous loop you mentioned, because we couldn't contact P6Z 435 that you and Daniel Jackson made it to the planet and are still there, living in another time." He explained what had previous taken place. Sam shook off the thought of herself being stuck on another planet as her previous theory surfaced,
"It's possible that another planetary body may have interrupted the connection to P6Z 435, you said that Daniel and I went through the Stargate before you?" she enquired hoping her prove her theory. The two men nodded in response and Sam continued,
"Daniel and I could have gotten past just before it moved into the path of the connection, then, when you tried to get past, it pushed the connection back and you were brought back here." She hypothesised. Jack raised his eyebrows,
"But why the whole looping thing, I mean isn't it cruel enough not letting us see that beautiful planet?" he asked sarcastically, clearly frustrated. Sam smiled slightly,
"I'll check over my notes but I think I may know what happened sir." She tried to instil hope in her fellow team members. Jack glanced at his watch,
"Nice to see you again General." He mumbled as Hammond entered the lab, looking slightly angered.
"What is all this commotion? I heard someone yelling a moment ago." He questioned the group. Teal'c and Sam immediately looked at Jack but he diverted the topic,
"So? What do we do to fix it?" He asked, simply dismissing General Hammond's presence but he interrupted,
"Fix what?" he asked, slightly behind in the conversation. O'Neill shook his head,
"Oh I am so not explaining this again! Carter!" He exclaimed, handing the duty to her. Hammond looked at the Colonel in confusion,
"What is going on here?" He demanded. Sam decided to explain,
"We are experiencing another time loop sir, I believe I can find out what's happening."
"Another time loop?" Hammond asked. O'Neill rolled his eyes in frustration and simply left the room, Teal'c following behind him, leaving Sam to explain the situation. Hammond watched them leave and turned back towards her,
"They are a little frustrated sir." She clarified. The general shook his head, still confused about the whole situation.
P6Z 435 1636
Daniel opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He felt beside him for his glasses and pulled them onto the bridge of his nose. Daniel scanned the campsite but saw no sign of Sam, he stood up quickly and walked over to wear his pack sat, pulling out his radio,
"Sam, come in Sam." He radioed.
"Yeah Daniel, I'm in the forest over the hill just looking for some food, I'll be back in 15 minutes, Carter out." She replied. Daniel dropped the radio back into his bag and reached in for one of the many books had brought with him, Ancient Egypt: A History. He was so enthralled in the book that he did not hear her return with an armful of various fruits she had collected. Sam dropped her gear and looked at Daniel, rolling her eyes at the sight of his nose in a book,
"Daniel, have you tried dialling out again?" she asked interrupting his thoughts. Daniel put down the book, slipping his bookmark at his spot and closing it slowly.
"No I haven't, do you have any idea why we wouldn't be able to dial out?" He asked. She shook her head,
"It doesn't make sense, what is even more confusing is that fact that Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c didn't come through the Stargate with us." Sam commented.
"Could they have stayed behind for some reason? We did go through the Stargate before them, something may have happened." Daniel queried. She shook her head,
"No, if they did pulled back, they would've sent a probe through the Stargate to tell us of the problem, if it was too dangerous to send anyone" She explained the possibility. The two sat in silence, the only sound that could be heard were cicadas chirping in the distance.
"Sam, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Daniel requested, slowly, cautiously. She shot him a look of suspicion,
"Go ahead." She answered, tentatively. Daniel breathed in deeply,
"What's going on between you and Jack?" he asked frankly; glad to get the question off his mind. Instantly Sam lifted her head quickly,
"What do you mean what is going on?" she asked, a slight hint of anxiety.
"I mean it's been obvious." he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Alarms went off inside Sam's head, if it was obvious to Daniel, was it obvious General Hammond? When was it obvious? Had General Hammond found out about the time when her and Colonel O'Neill were supposed to be Zaytarks? Did it mean one of them could be taken off the Stargate program because of it? A thousand thoughts seemed to run through her mind simultaneously. She quickly shook them into the back of her mind; it was not the time or the place to discuss such thoughts.
"What is obvious?" she asked innocently, hoping to cover her reaction of shock from her fellow team member, it didn't work Daniel shook his head, knowing Sam was trying to avoid the topic.
"Come on Sam, we all know that there's more between you and Jack than just mateship in military rank." Daniel observed, deciding to stop beating around the bush on the issue. Sam stood up and turned away from Daniel, not letting him see the look of astonishment and possibly fear on her face.
"I'm sorry Sam, I shouldn't have asked you." He admitted, apologetically. She turned around with a smile on her face,
"I don't blame you, there are probably other people on the base who want to ask that exact same question, I sometimes ask myself." She admitted, dismissing his apology. She returned to where she was originally sitting and sighed,
"All I can say is that." she began, trying to find the right words to describe the situation. Daniel had an idea what she was trying to say,
"You know there's something more there but you won't let it interrupt your professional relationship in the military?" Daniel finished her sentence. Sam nodded,
"Yes, at this moment I am Major Samantha Carter and he is Colonel Jack O'Neill, my commanding officer and it will probably remain that way." She commented briefly. Another moment of silence crept through the camp, as the chirping became increasingly louder as day turned to night.
SGC BRIEFING ROOM THE NEXT DAY 0630
Sam, as usual, took her position at the front of the room, a diagram of a group of planets and moon on the screen behind her, a laser pointer in hand ready to begin. General Hammond entered and was handed a file, when he was seated she began.
"Based on Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c's information of the previous loops I have come up with a theory of how this time loop has occurred a second time." She started, stepping to the side of the screen, and pointing to the screen.
"When Daniel and I went through the Stargate, we were transported to the planet as normal," Sam made a direct line from the Earth and P6Z 435, a blue line indicated the connection. She continued,
"However before Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill stepped into the Stargate, a moon or another planet moved into the connection blocking anything passing through to P6Z 435. When Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c went through, the body, blocking their pathway to the planet, pushed them back to Earth, and they found themselves back in the Gate Room." She explained. Jack put up his hand slightly,
"Colonel?" she asked.
"So we were pushed back home, but why the whole annoying and highly distressing time loop?" he asked. Sam pointed back to the screen,
"I was getting to that." She began, giving him a slightly angered look, for interrupting her. He held up his hands in his defence as she continued the briefing.
"Now what I believe has happened, is that when the moon interrupted the connection to P6Z 435, it caused a shift in the moon's gravitational field, causing a large interruption to the subspace field and so created the bubble around the planets, since P6Z 435 is outside the bubble they could be experiencing a normal time flow or an entirely different one." Sam explained, Jack looked at her blankly; not really understanding what the Major was prattling on about but believed she knew what she was doing, she had been right the last time.
"Major Carter, with this information have we found out, is there any way of getting to P6Z 435 to see if the other Major Carter and Dr Jackson are on the planet?" The general asked. Sam grimaced,
"Well sir, we are caught in the time loop which means that the only planets we can contact are the ones also stuck in the subspace bubble and they are all planets the are classified "off limits" because of the large presence of Gohaul forces." She broke the harsh news to the group before her. Daniel looked slightly shocked,
"So that means that we won't be able to get the planet until we figure out how to break the time loop?" he asked for clarification. She nodded sadly, Jack looked around at all the faces around the room, looks of sadness and hopelessness covered all of them.
"So we are just going to leave Carter and Daniel on that planet to starve to death?!" he yelled angrily. But no one dared answer, each of them not wanting to break the grim reality of the situation to him. Sam looked over at him in shock; she had never seen him have such an angry reaction before. When Jack received no answer, he threw back his chair heatedly, leaving the room in a cloud of anger. He walked rapidly to his quarters, ignoring glances from fellow officers that had to jump out of his path to avoid being thrown to the floor. As he reached his room, Jack slammed the door behind him, photo frames jostling from their positions on the walls of the room. He fell to the bed and tried to calm himself, unclenching his fists and slowing his breathing. A knock came at the door but he gave no answer. Teal'c slowly opened the door and peered into the room.
"Are you alright O'Neill?" he asked cautiously, genuine concern clear in his voice.
"We are just sitting in that room while Carter and Daniel on some alien planet at this moment thinking that someone is bound to come for them, but we're saying, "I'm sorry we are too afraid of the Gohaul to save your life, better luck next life!" Jack exclaimed, venting some of his anger. Teal'c nodded, knowing that he needed time alone. Teal'c stepped out the room and closed the door slowly behind him, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.
P6Z 435 1925
Daniel added sticks to the campfire blazing in the centre of their campsite. Sam was at the DHD trying in vain to dial back home but as with their many other attempts the Stargate failed to open. She dropped angrily to the ground in front of the fire, her DECS crunching as she sat. She sighed deeply,
"I don't know what is going on, we aren't able to dial out, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c never made it here and we only have food supplied for two days, three at the most." She examined the situation they found themselves in. Daniel simply continued adding to the fire, not knowing what to say. Sam pulled a large purple fruit from a vine next to her and split it in half. She cautiously smelt it and then broke off a piece, placing it on her tongue. She chewed it thoughtfully, then handed Daniel the other half. He looked at the fruit with contempt.
"Don't worry Daniel, it's just like a pear." She assured him, Daniel took the fruit, still not entirely convinced and began eating. He chewed thoughtfully, his mind deciding to do some travel back in time.
"Do you remember the mission that that guy made exact robotic copies of us?" he asked, feeling like reminiscing. Sam nodded,
"That's when I was still just a captain," she thought back, it felt like such a long time. Daniel laughed softly and she looked at him confused,
"Why are you laughing?" she asked curiously.
"I just remember when he that guy was telling us about he made us "better" he was saying how interesting you were." he laughed mid sentence. Sam shook her head also smiling, remembering it clearly, Daniel continued,
"And you said "Colonel," and he replied, "Easy Captain,"" Sam started to laugh at the memory, all the humorous moments that had happened off world were usually in some way connected to the Colonel. She narrowed her eyes, thinking back to another memory,
"I've always wondered, when you went to that alternate universe, what was it like? I mean were we all the same?" she queried. Daniel thought back and smiled at the memory,
"Well you had long hair," he commented. Sam raised her eyebrows surprised. Daniel continued,
"And you and Jack were.closer than you are now." He commented, trying to find the right word to describe it without embarrassing her.
"Oh." Was all Sam could say in reply, and changed the subject quickly, as they were speaking of humorous and slightly confusing situations she remembered one,
"Do you remember at the end of that who time loop incident how the Colonel was sitting eating Oatmeal and you asked him if had done anything crazy in the time loop, do you remember that?" she queried, chewing thoughtfully on her last bit of fruit. Daniel threw the core of the fruit to the ground and wiped his hands,
"Yes, he just looked at you weirdly and kept eating, he never gave us a definitive answer." Daniel thought back,
"What would you do if you knew everything was going to go back the way it was?" he asked Sam, it was the perfect way to while away the night. Sam shrugged her shoulders,
"I don't know, I mean I would probably go and see Dad but that's probably it." She answered, not having really thought about it before. Daniel frowned,
"Oh come on, there has to be something you've always wanted to do but couldn't because you could get in trouble for it, maybe something to do with the Colonel maybe?" Daniel hinted, trying to hide the huge smile forming on his face. Sam gave Daniel a stern frown,
"No I haven't, not to do with the Colonel anyway, but I have always wanted to tell the whole world about the Stargate program just so I wouldn't have the pressure of being one of the select few that know about it and have to deny any knowledge of it you know?" She asked, hoping he would understand. Daniel nodded,
"I know how it feels, people come up to you with pictures of Anubis' ship flying into the atmosphere and you want to be the one to reassure them that they aren't crazy, that they aren't seeing things but you can't and it's hard sometimes." He sympathised with her.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
COLONEL O'NEILL'S QUARTERS 0421
Jack looked into the mirror on the nightstand beside his bed he saw his own reflection, he brow drawn together and the wrinkles around his eyes becoming more and more prominent by the second, the worry was starting to show on his face. As Sam knocked for the third time he did not move, wanting to make her believe he was not there, tears forming in his eyes at the thought of her being caught on another planet, with no idea that they could never come and save her, the she would never see any of them again.
"Colonel, its Major Carter, are you here sir?" she yelled through the door but he remained silent. Jack heard her footsteps walk away from the door and he stood up, grabbing his car keys from the hook beside the door, wiping the tears from his eyes quickly. He walked through the SGC stealthily, as he stepped out of the base; he looked towards the sky,
"Nice day for fishing," he commented, trying to divert his thoughts to one of his favourite past times. His car pulled away from Cheyenne Mountain and he headed for his favourite fishing spot, Lake Charlie as he had affectionately named it. His phone rang continually throughout the day, vibrating through the wood of his boat, each time he ignored it, not wanting to go to SCG and having to face the reality that Sam was stuck on a planet somewhere in the universe, slowly running out of food and he was powerless to stop it.
SGC GENERAL HAMMOND'S OFFICE 0734
A knock came at the door and Hammond told the visitor to enter. Major Carter opened the door; he noticed that she was looking slightly concerned about something.
"What is it Major?" he asked cautiously.
"I have been unable to reach Colonel O'Neill sir, I went to his room this morning but there was no answer, I have been ringing his cell phone all afternoon, it is turned on but no one is answering." She expressed her concern.
"Do you know where he is?" Hammond asked. Sam thought for a moment,
"He might be fishing on Lake Charlie sir." She replied, thinking out loud, many times when the Colonel was upset by something he went fishing, he had always retained that it was the best stress relief, but she did not know what he could be upset about.
"Well why don't you go and see if he's there?" he ordered, as if it was the logical thing to do. Sam shook her head,
"One problem sir, I don't know where Lake Charlie is, apparently Colonel O'Neill only calls it Lake Charlie but there is no lake in America with that name." She informed her superior. Hammond sighed realising the significance of the name, Charlie, Colonel O'Neill's son. But he waved off her concern,
"I wouldn't worry about him Major, he probably just wants a couple of hours alone." Sam nodded and stood at attention before leaving the general's office. As she was walking to her office she met up with Daniel.
"Have you heard from Colonel O'Neill? He's not answering his cell phone and I don't know where he is." She inquired. Daniel sneezed before answering,
"No, the last time I saw him was yesterday, sorry." He replied. She waved off his apology and make tracks back to her office.
LAKE CHARLIE 1054
His phone rang for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, he peered down at his phone to see if it was Sam again but the caller id told him it was Teal'c. Jack picked up the phone,
"O'Neill Fishing Enterprises, Trout, Barramundi, Rainbow fish anything you want, we've got the gear for you." He answered, creating his own business and slogan.
"O'Neill, why have you not been answering your phone, Major Carter has been worried, trying to contact you all day." Teal'c asked sternly. Jack pulled his rod over his shoulder and cast it into the water,
"I'm taking the day off Teal'c, I'm fishing." He explained, as if it was a perfectly good excuse.
"You must come back to the SGC so we can investigate the time loop, to help Major Carter and Daniel Jackson." He advised.
"I'm taking the next couple of loops off, relaxation time, you should try it Teal'c, after all everything will always go back to way it was." Jack hung up the phone, and continued fishing not giving the SGC a second thought.
**************************************************************************** ********************************* SGC SECOND DAY OF LOOP 0943
General Hammond was writing at his desk when a junior officer entered his office breathless,
"General, Colonel O'Neill is the commissary room making a scene sir." He informed him, through gulps of air. The general looked at the officer unbelievingly,
"What's is he doing?" he asked. The officer pointed out of the room,
"You have to see it for yourself, you won't believe it sir." He responded. Hammond shook his head and stood up from his desk, letting the junior officer lead the way. A few minutes later they turned the corner into the commissary room and spotted the Colonel standing beside an enclosure with two chickens running around inside and a small barbeque beside it.
"Colonel O'Neill what the hell do you think you are doing?" he yelled. He watched as Colonel O'Neill leaned down into the pen and picked something up from inside. He looked up at the General,
"Hello General! Care for some breakfast!" he yelled back, tying an apron around his waist that beared the words KISS THE COOK and reaching a white chefs hat. He then revealed 2 eggs in his hand, cracking it against the side of the hot plate. A group had gathered behind General Hammond to see what O'Neill was doing, whispers flew thick and fast across the room, many of the officers laughing at Colonel O'Neill's antics. As the eggs simmered on the barbecue, Jack looked up from cooking, lifting the egg with a spatula towards the crowd,
"It beats Fruit Loops!" He called out cheekily.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
SGC SECOND DAY OF LOOP 0939
Jack pushed a wheelbarrow down the hallways of the SGC, passing many curious onlookers including Daniel who spotted him wheeling past the library he was studying in. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things but dropped his paper on Texts of The Ancients and left the room, following the Colonel. Daniel rushed down the hallway after him and turned the corner only to see the door to the Gate Room closing. He immediately turned and headed for the stairs to the Control Room and as he reached them he looked down and watched Jack in uncertainty. He had parked the wheelbarrow right in front of the Stargate and was throwing what looked to be Twinkies into the activated Stargate. Jack looked up from where he was standing in front of the Stargate and spotted Daniel standing above in the Control Room. He held up the Twinkie for his benefit and waved, yelling up to him,
"Just giving them a little of what Earth has to offer, it's sweet and good to eat!" He answered, sounding like his very own commercial. Daniel stood perfectly still, not able to believe what he was seeing. He reached for the keyboard to the computer to disengage the Stargate but there was not keyboard at the computer, it had been pulled from its port.
"What is going on Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c's voice came from behind Daniel as Teal'c stepped from the stairs, standing beside Daniel at the controls. Teal'c raised his eyebrow at the view of Jack throwing small, packaged food through the Stargate; a faint smile crawled across his face as he glanced at the watch on his wrist.
**************************************************************************** ********************************* SGC MAJOR CARTER'S OFFICE 0901
Dr Fraiser entered Sam's office, smiling more than usual. She looked up from her computer simulation and stared at Fraiser suspiciously, "What's going on Janet?" she questioned her friend, wanting to be let in on the joke. Fraiser walked over to Sam and held out a length of fabric,
"I'm sorry Sam but I was ordered to blindfold you." She replied, the smile not leaving her face. Sam stared at her, becoming more and more confused by the minute,
"Why? What's going on?" Sam demanded.
"Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just need to take you somewhere and you have to be blindfold for it. Colonel's orders." She explained.
"Colonel's? Since when do you have to obey his orders?" Sam queried Janet suspiciously. She ignored the question,
"All will be revealed in due time Sam, trust me you'll be fine." She held the blindfold out to Sam for permission, she slowly turned around and her eyes were instantly covered, Fraiser tied the cloth at the back of her head and took her hand,
"Ok you ready?" she asked, happily, clearly excited about the whole situation. Sam rolled her eyes under the blindfold,
"I guess I mean I don't even know where I'm going." She exclaimed at loss, not really knowing what she was going to happen to her. She felt Janet pull at her hand and she started to walk slowly, being led by her best friend out of her office and towards her awaiting surprise.
Jack stood in front of the Stargate facing the control room; he fidgeted in his black tuxedo, an unusual look for the Colonel. He looked at the wall carefully, studying it with great intent as if trying to decipher an undiscovered Goa'uld ancient text. Teal'c stood behind him also in a black tuxedo, the pair looking like the Blues Brothers.
"What do you think O'Neill?" he asked curiously, indicating to the wall. Jack nodded,
"I like it." He pronounced, graciously. Jack rubbed his hands together nervously, this was the day he had been waiting for, ever since he had first met Sam this is all his dreams were ever about, about this moment being fulfilled, at least for a couple of hours. He knew in normal circumstances he could never do anything so outrageous but thanks to the time loop he could finally tell Sam everything he had ever wanted to say to her ever since he first laid eyes on her, their first ever briefing to do with the Stargate program. He had treated her as every other man in the military would treat a woman who was a threat to their position, immediate defensive strategies. Every time he had made a remark about her incompetency to do the job, she always hit back straight away, taking no punches without punching back. Jack smiled at the memory, and now he was on the verge of his long time dream. He looked at his watch and turned to Teal'c,
"Well they should be getting my resignation about now." He hypothesised, as if it was a very important part of what was about to happen. Jack kicked at the floor with his shoe; his nerves were starting to accelerate as the time drew nearer. He reached into his pocket and his heart almost stopped beating until he felt a hard, furry object at the bottom of his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. Daniel entered the room, pulling his blazer jacket over his shoulders,
"I hope everything goes well Jack," he gave good luck. Jack nodded, his nerves leaving him speechless.
"Janet, where are we going?" Sam asked for then tenth time as she was walking blindfolded down the corridor. She laughed in response,
"I'm not going to ruin the surprise." She answered cryptically.
"Come on Janet at least give me a clue." Sam protested.
"I can't tell you, you'll find out in about 5 minutes." She promised. Sam continued to be led by her best friend, other SGC personnel looked out from their offices and quarters at the strange procession with peaked interest. As they came to the door of the Gate Room, Janet removed Sam's blindfold. She shook her hair back into position after the blindfold had flattened it. Janet smiled and pointed to the door,
"Your surprise is in there, if you think you are ready for it, go in." she instructed Sam; a large smile could not be taken from Janet's face. Sam looked at Janet confusion, curiosity and a little fear. Tentatively reached her card to the lock, she scalded herself for being so childish, after all she was an Air Force Officer, and she was prepared for anything that may be behind that door, or so she thought. She swiped her security card confidently, as the door to the Gate Room slid open her mouth dropped open in amazement and disbelief. She spotted the rest of her team, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel standing in a line in expensive black suits, red roses pinned to their collars, Jack fidgeting with something in his pocket. Sam looked at the wall adjacent from the Stargate and felt her heart skip two or three beats. She was so shocked; words flew from her mouth, tears coming to her eyes and immediately flowed down her cheeks, an overwhelming feeling of happiness engulfing her body. The wall was covered in pink spray paint, a message written saying,
I LOVE YOU
SAM
WILL YOU
MARRY ME?
Sam couldn't move, her legs felt like they were going to give way underneath her, her whole body shaking with the raw emotion she felt. She had wished and hoped for this moment for such a long time but was totally unprepared for what was happening. She looked over at Jack, his usual goofy grin smiling back at her. Sam cautiously tried to step forward, her legs feeling like jelly.
"S-Sir," she managed to say through gulps of emotion, a new wave of tears coming to her eyes. She continued walking towards him, with every step becoming more and more confident in the situation. As she walked by Daniel, who standing first in line, he sneezed into a tissue, she laughed through her tears, Daniel blushed embarrassed. Teal'c bowed respectfully as she passed him, she thanked him in a low whisper that was barely audible. Sam's stomach immediately started to quiver uncontrollably when she reached the last person in the line.
"Wh-what's happening sir?" she asked in disbelief. Jack indicated to the wall flippedly,
"Well I thought that would've about summed it up." he commented. Sam laughed, the smile that had covered her face at the moment she saw her surprise, immediately grew bigger as she stood face to face with Jack, the man she had know for a very long time she loved. Jack tried to compose himself in the situation,
"Ok" he resigned to himself, knowing the time was upon him. He shakily got down onto one knee and looked up at Sam, taking a deep breath to settle his nerves
"Well here goes, I'm not very good at this so don't laugh at me," He requested, up front before starting. Sam giggled in reply,
"Ok." She whispered. Jack wiped his hands on his pants, the sweat making an imprint on his luxurious and expensive rented suit for the occasion.
"The first day I ever met you, I was the typical male, trying to prove my superiority over you, hiding the fact that I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. But of course I underestimated you and to put it simply, I was brought back to earth, you were always one step ahead of me, my ego slightly bruised after that confrontation." He admitted.
"Sorry sir." She apologized to him, wiping the tears from her eyes, the feeling of pure happiness emanating from her
"Anyway, after that time we were put together on the same team and yes it was hard at times to hide my feelings, sometimes I let them slip out at inopportune times particularly if they were off world but we won't discuss that now." he tried to keep on track.
"So I am here today, in my flashy rental suit to finally be able to tell you what I have wanted to for 4 long years." Jack reached into his pocket and pulled a small jewellery box from it, his fingers trembling as he presented to Sam, pulling back the lid of the box, revealing a stunning, gold ring, sparkling diamonds creating a heart shape on the band. She choked back a new wave of tears as she saw the ring for the first time.
"Samantha, will you marry me?" Jack asked, a solitary tear spilling from his eye, not able to control his emotions any longer. She held out her hand, it shaking from the sheer emotion of the moment. As he slipped the ring onto her finger, and held her hand in his they heard a sob from behind them. Together they turned to see who it was and saw Teal'c frantically wiping his eyes, trying not to show the tears that had escaped from his usually sober, expressionless face.
"Hey buddy, you're not getting emotional on me are you?" Jack asked, grinning from ear to ear. Teal'c shook his head vehemently,
"Of course not O'Neill." He stood taller, making himself seem to be in complete control, however Daniel was now using his tissue to wipe his eyes instead of his nose. The alarm on Jack's watch beeped, indicating that he only had a minute until the time loop would begin again. He jumped, turning to face Sam again,
"So what do you think? Could you see yourself as the next Mrs Jack O'Neill?" Jack asked quickly, he needed to know before the time looped again or all of his work would be for nothing. Sam immediately looked down at the floor, feeling her cheeks go red,
"Mrs Samantha O'Neill? I don't know." she asked uncertainly, toying with him. Sam raised her head, not able to keep a straight face,
"Yeah, I could see myself as the next Mrs Jack O'Neill, I love you. and yes. I will marry you." She answered. Throwing her arms around him and kissing Jack to seal her decision.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
TO BE CONTINUED.
Author's After Thought:
Yes I know I am being cruel by making you wait to find out what happens in the next time loop, but I love drawing out the suspense. And as for the Sam and Daniel on the planet.will they die? Will Jack come up with a plan to save the woman he loves? You'll have to wait and see won't you?
Ok I am not an interstellar travel expert or any such thing, so the technical stuff in this story is probably wrong, but please bear with me and just skip over the many mistakes; I am only going on my knowledge from the real episode this is taken from, "Window of Opportunity" (in my opinion the best episode of Stargate ever made!).
Oh and for those who don't know what Twinkies are, they are a sweet cake with cream in the middle, kind of like Jam Rollettes for all those fellow Aussies.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX 0450
Colonel Jack O'Neill entered the lab, a yawn escaping from his mouth as he spotted one of his team members, Major Samantha Carter studying something through a high-powered microscope. He walked casually over to where Sam was studying.
"So Carter? What's so important that you pulled me from my lovely and peaceful slumber?" he asked contemptuously. Sam looked up apologetically, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth,
"Sorry sir but this is about to mission tomorrow to P6Z 435." She explained. Jack shook his head; with Sam, work always came before relaxation. He made a note to himself to take her fishing one-day and get her away from the conformity of the SGC.
"What about it?" he asked trying to sound enthusiastic, but judging by the expression on her face he wasn't very convincing.
"Well sir, this is a sample the probe brought back from the planet, its soil particles found at the base of the Stargate, it has a very high level of sulfuric chloride present, high enough levels to burn through most materials." She informed her Commanding Officer. They had been assigned together at the very start of the Stargate program, many years before and from that time had become very close, closer than was allowed in the Air Force but they remained within the guidelines of the military, they had to. There was a pause of silence before he answered,
"So what? We have to wear lead shoes?" he asked jokingly. Sam smiled at his supposed joke and shook her head,
"No sir but we will need to wear the DECS tomorrow." Sam suggested with a hint of happiness that she couldn't hide. Jack sighed, rolling his eyes slightly, the Dangerous Environmental Conditions Suits were one of Sam's proudest creations, and she had worked tirelessly for nearly 2 months before they were completed to her satisfaction. They were supposed to protect the wearer from an array of different hazardous situations, perfect for planets that had atmospheres composed of chemicals different to Earth's, according to her.
"It also means sir that we will need to make adjustments to the equipment we take on the mission." She suggested. He nodded he started to leave the room but not before commenting,
"Carter?" Jack posed. Sam turned to face him,
"Yes sir?" she responded.
"Good work." He replied, leaving the room quietly. Sam smiled to herself and went back to work on the sample under the microscope.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX GATE ROOM 0945
"Are the DECS completely safe?" Sam asked the technicians, as the rest of the team, pulled on the grey/silver suits. According to the security guards, she had been there since 0200 that morning checking final last minute preparations to the suits. Now she was running around organising the whole team, making sure that everything was perfect for the mission. As Sam ran by Jack he grabbed her arm through the DECS they were wearing, stopping her in her tracks.
"Carter, who's the commanding officer of SG1?" he asked her quietly. Sam wiped her forehead with the back of her hand,
"You are sir." She responded breathlessly.
"And who should be organising everything for the mission?" he asked. Sam sighed,
"You should be sir." She answered dejectedly, realising why he had stopped her. Jack let go of her arm,
"You've been here since 0200, relax Carter. that's an order," Jack lowered his voice in a calming manner, understandingly, with a slight grin covering his face. She nodded in agreement,
"Thank you sir." Sam replied gratefully, she could always count on the Colonel to stop her when she was pushing herself too hard unnecessarily. She took a couple of deep breaths and calmed the adrenalin rushing through her body. Jack looked up and pulled his cap down over his forehead, yet to put on the head attachment to the DECS,
"We've got everything? Good let's go, happy campers." He ordered cheerfully as a burst of blue shot out from the Stargate. Sam and Daniel picked up a crate of equipment and disappeared through the Stargate. Teal'c looked at Jack, frowning, also picking up a box of supplies for the journey,
"Yeah I feel it too Teal'c, something bad is going to happen." Jack shivered in his suit as the two men walked slowly towards the Stargate and plunged through the wall of blue. In a matter of seconds they were flung out of the Stargate and crashed to the ground, pain shooting through their bodies, the supplies they were carrying hitting the wall and crashing to the floor with a loud thump. Jack shook his head and checked his body for serious injury, but as he stood up he noticed that they were back in the SGC, he gazed around the gate room in confusion.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
COLONEL O'NEILL'S QUARTERS 0421
Jack heard at knock on the door of his quarters, he sat up in bed and looked at the door slightly taken aback. He checked the time on the clock on his bedside table, seeing it was 1158; he looked around his room quickly, not knowing how he ended up in his quarters after being thrown from the Stargate. Jack shrugged his shoulders and dismissed the memory as a dream. The knock came again, but louder,
"Fine! I'm coming, I'm coming." He mumbled, shuffling to the door opening without a second thought. Sam was slightly taken aback by her CO's attire; he was only wearing a singlet and boxer shorts. Jack didn't seem to notice her discomfort,
"What's up Carter?" he asked sleepily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Sam snapped out of her daze and answered,
"Sorry to wake you sir but I need you to come down the lab, there is something unusual about one the samples from the planet and I thought you should see it immediately." She explained, quickly, trying to avoid eye contact with him. Jack instantly looked up at Sam, with a look of disbelief,
"What did you say?" he asked as if to check his hearing. Sam gave him a confused look,
"I asked if you could come down to the lab because I found something strange about one of the samples from P6Z 435." She repeated.
"Ok, I'll be there in five minutes." he replied slowly, still in a slight daze. A scary thought entered his mind, his memory taking him back to a time when he knew what people what was going to happen before it did. He shook it off, not believing it could happen again. Sam nodded slowly,
"Yes sir." She answered and walked away hurriedly. He watched after her, confused about her reaction but then looked down at what he was wearing and got the clue. Jack walked back inside and mumbled to himself,
"Good one Colonel."
Teal'c opened his eyes and found himself in his room at the SGC surrounded by candles. He jumped quickly from his position on the floor and look around the room, slightly confused. He sat back down and positioned himself once again on the floor, believing what he was remembering was a vision, falling back out of the Stargate in the Gate Room, he had often experienced instances in his Kelnoreem where he felt that what was happening was really occurring. A knock came at his door and his eyes snapped open, he called for the person to come in and Daniel entered his room with a large yellow file in his hand,
"Sorry Teal'c but I need your help on symbols that were found on P6Z 435?" He pointed out of the room indicating to his office down the hall, the pen in his hand twisting nervously. Teal'c tilted his head slightly, he remembered that Daniel had come and saw him before about the same topic.
"Daniel Jackson, have you not already asked for my help on this topic previously?" he asked suspiciously. Daniel shook his head,
"No, I just got these from the probe information databank." Daniel looked at Teal'c puzzled. Teal'c stood up hurriedly and pushed his way past Daniel, almost pushing him to the floor without a single word of explanation, leaving him alone in Teal'c's room.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX 0450
Jack entered the lab now wearing the usual khaki's and boots. Hearing the Colonel entering, she glanced at his clothes quickly and was relieved to see he was dressed appropriately. He clapped his hands together,
"So? What's so unusual that you had to wake me up for hmm?" he asked with a hint of annoyance. He looked Sam's way and she immediately looked down at the floor, he could just see the hint of red on her cheeks.
"Well sir, this is a sample the probe brought back from the planet, its soil particles found at the base of the Stargate, it has a very high level of sulfuric chl-" But Sam was cut off by Jack holding up his hand, indicating to her to stop. He shook his hand slightly to convey his growing frustration,
"Chloride, high enough levels to put holes through "most materials" meaning that we have to wear the DECS tomorrow." he finished her sentence for her. She looked at him suspiciously,
"Yes. how did you know that sir?" Sam asked sceptically. Instead of answering her, he looked at his watch and counted down the seconds on his hand,
"Mornin' General." Jack mumbled, holding his breath hoping his he wrong, that all the things were simply random coincidences. As he finished his sentence, the General entered the lab. Jack let out the breath he was holding and covered his face with his hands in frustration,
"Oh this cannot be happening again!" He exclaimed angrily. He remembered the last time he knew everything that was going to happen before it did, the day repeated itself over and over again and it wasn't exactly his idea of fun. Sam stepped forward,
"Sir? What cannot be happening again?" she asked concerned, seeing his frustration. Jack sighed wearily, rolling his eyes.
"You remember P4X 639? That guy, Malik or something was playing with that machine and we were stuck in that time loop thingy?" Jack asked waving his hands to communicate his annoyance. Sam nodded, but then her shoulders dropped,
"You're not serious sir?" she asked unbelievably. He nodded his head,
"Well how else would I know that you were going to tell me all that stuff?" Jack asked her with a more serious tone. General Hammond interjected,
"What are you talking about Colonel?" he asked, slightly confused by his behaviour. Teal'c burst into the room at that moment,
"O'Neill I wish to speak with you, it is a matter of importance." He stated rather quickly and fiercely, but he knew what Teal'c wanted to discuss, he could see it on his face.
"You too huh?" Jack simply asked. Teal'c looked at him confused. He continued,
"Yeah I'm the same, it looks like we are stuck in that time loop thing again Teal'c." Jack responded exhaustedly. A frown immediately covered Teal'c's face; the memory of being hit in the head with that door every time the loop started began to haunt his thoughts.
"Will some one please tell me what is going on!" Hammond demanded, raising his voice considerably.
"I'll like to know that too, Teal'c just ran out on me!" Daniel asked breathlessly, wheezing from his asthma, following Teal'c into the lab, the whole of SG1 was now in attendance. Jack dropped his hands,
"How about we invite the whole base to hear our little saga?" he exclaimed, clearly irritated. Sam raised her hands to calm the people that joined her in the room.
"What Colonel O'Neill is trying to day is that we seem to be stuck in another time loop sir."
"Since when?" Hammond enquired. Jack and Teal'c remained silent, trying to remember what had happened.
"Well I came in and Carter told me about the acid in the soil. The next day we went through the Stargate to P6Z 435 but Teal'c and I got thrown back out of the Stargate into the gate room and then all of a sudden I was back in my quarters, my sleep being interrupted by the Major." He finished on a slightly happier tone, thinking of how nice it would be to still be in Dreamland at that moment instead of living this nightmare. Hammond looked at Teal'c for his account of the story,
"Colonel O'Neill is telling the truth, I too found myself back in my room after being thrown out of the Stargate." He replied. Daniel sighed,
"What about Sam and I?" He asked. O'Neill and Teal'c shook their heads, having no definite answer, Teal'c replied to Daniel's question,
"Major Carter and Daniel Jackson went through the Stargate before us, we are unaware of what become of them." He replied.
P6Z 435 0952
Daniel was at the DHD dialling the co ordinates back to Earth, they had just come through the Stargate to the planet but found Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill were not with them. As Daniel placed his hand in the centre the Stargate lit up but then unexpectedly de-activated. Daniel looked up at the Stargate confused,
"Ah Sam, there's something wrong here." He called over his shoulder to where she was setting up camp not far behind him, not taking his eyes off the Stargate. Hearing his call, she jogged over to where he was standing beside the DHD.
"What's wrong?" she asked. Daniel again dialled the co-ordinates but again the Stargate failed to open, indicating the problem to her, Sam looked puzzled but then dismissed it,
"SG 9 must be coming home from their survey on PO7 818, we'll try in a little while." She assured Daniel. He shrugged his shoulders and left the gate to help set up camp. Sam looked at her watch,
"They shouldn't take too long, we can try again in an hour or so." She commented to herself, unpacking the supplies they had brought with them through the Stargate for the long day ahead.
SGC BRIEFING ROOM NEXT DAY 0900
"According to report of the previous incident by Colonel O'Neill the last time this occurred, on P4X 639, an alien archaeologist, Malikai," She looked at Jack, indicating the correct pronunciation of the archaeologists' name. He smiled as a silent thank you and Sam continued,
"He was trying to activate a time machine in order to go back to see his wife. To finish his research he made the machine loop time, providing seemingly an endless amount of time to complete his objective." Sam began her briefing. Teal'c, Daniel, General Hammond joined Jack in attendance, listening attentively.
"This machine was powered by ionisation in the planet's atmosphere linked to geomagnetic storms also created a subspace bubble, where 14 planets, including Earth were cut off from the normal flow time. This made other planets outside the subspace bubble unreachable through the gate system. Assuming this has happened again, it means that it would be useful to find out what planets we can contact through a sequence of random diallings as to establish exactly where and how large the bubble is." Sam finished her briefing. Daniel raised his hand slightly indicating he had a question,
"Will P6Z 435 be in the bubble?" he asked off handedly. Sam answered,
"In all probabilities it should be, but I can't be sure until we try to dialling the co ordinates." Daniel nodded, content with her answer.
"Major Carter?" Teal'c piped up.
"Could it be that there is another Major Carter and Daniel Jackson on P6Z 435 if they are not in the bubble?" he asked. Sam breathed out slowly,
"It's possible, if the planet is outside the subspace bubble than there could be another Daniel and I and we would be experiencing the normal time flow or maybe slower." The possibility of another Sam and Daniel in the universe brought silence over the room. All eyes turned towards General Hammond as his orders. He nodded defiantly,
"You have a go."
P6Z 435 1117
Sam pushed in the co ordinates for Earth for what seemed like the millionth time that day and put her hand in the centre of DHD, but as with all the other attempts the Stargate remained closed. She looked at the gate despairingly.
"How could this possible? We gated here so why can't we get back?" Sam asked in frustration. She looked at the gate thoughtfully and instantly had an idea,
"I'll try the Tokrah, there might be something wrong with our gate." She hypothesised to herself; after all there no one listening, Daniel was taking a nap behind her, snoring audibly. She slowly inputted the symbols from memory and took a breath before placing her hand on the DHD once again, but again she was unsuccessful. Sam tried every address she knew but the Stargate remained de activated. She sat down heavily,
"Okay we are stuck on this planet with supplies for only two days." She tried to explain the whole situation to herself logically; slightly afraid of what could happen. Sam looked around her at the landscape and could see a light forest in the distance, large pine trees were visible above a layer of small bushes; it was a significant contrast from the sandy and arid desert terrain they were camped on. She stood up, throwing a flask of water over her shoulder and set off towards the forest, not wanting to disturb Daniel's peaceful nap.
SGC 0930
As the meeting ended, Teal'c and Daniel went to his quarters to look in his files for any useful information that would help and Jack stood up, immediately following Sam to the Stargate controls, talking as he walked,
"Carter we only have 15 minutes until the loop begins again so how bout skipping the rest of the planets and seeing if we can get P6Z 435 huh?" He suggested off handedly. Sam looked back at him as if he was joking,
"15 minutes sir?" she asked confused. Jack nodded, pointing to his watch,
"Yes your brief took half an hour, we went through the Stargate at 0945, in 15 minutes time." He explained tapping his watch thoughtfully. Sam quickly sat at the computer and searched for the co ordinates, the Stargate activated, locking each chevron as it went. After the sixth the two officers held their breath as they attempted to lock the 7th and most important chevron. As the Stargate turned and stopped at the symbol the cage come down but did not light up. The computer beeped,
"Cannot establish a connection." She read dejectedly from the computer screen. Jack clenched his hands into fists in anger. Sam looked at the computer confused,
"This means that P6Z 435 isn't in the subspace bubble but how could that be?" she asked herself out loud. Jack reached for the phone on the wall beside him and dialled the General's office,
"Yes sir, it was unsuccessful, yes sir." He had a brief conversation before he put the phone back in its cradle. Teal'c walked up the stairs and entered the room,
"Any progress O'Neill?" he asked impatiently. He shook his head,
"No the planet outside the bubble so we can't gate there." Jack sighed dejectedly.
"Which means that are in the normal time loop?" Teal'c enquired to Sam. She turned from the computer,
"Yes, they could be living in the normal time flow." She affirmed. The sound of the Stargate activating turned their attention towards the Gate Room. Jack looked at his watch, 0945, the exact time they went through the Stargate.
"It's Showtime boys and girls." He mumbled in a sarcastic tone.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
COLONEL O'NEILL'S QUARTERS 0421
O'Neill was woken up by the now becoming ever familiar knocking at his door. He sat up in bed, rubbing his forehead trying to get rid of the migraine that was developing. He stood out of bed and yelled through the door,
"I'll be in the lab in 5 minutes Carter." He heard a muffled voice in reply,
"Yes sir." Sam answered, slightly shocked by him knowing it was her at the door. He went over to his closet, pulling out his uniform,
"Couldn't done this on a better day, maybe my birthday.." He trailed off, mumbling to himself as he dressed.
SGC CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN COMPLEX 0450
Jack entered the lab and as Sam turned around but he stopped her even getting a word in,
"I know you want to tell me about the acid in the soil but I have something more important to talk to you about." He began. Sam closed her mouth slowly, slightly bewildered,
"Ok what is it sir?" Sam asked not wanting to know how the Colonel knew about the sulfuric chloride in the soil since she had only just discovered herself a mere half an hour ago. He clapped his hands together,
"We are caught in another one of those time loops." Jack broke the news to his colleague. Sam raised her eyebrows,
"Really? Since when?" she asked curious.
"Since we went to P6Z 435, and yes I am aware you haven't been to P6Z 435 but trust me, we have, at least we tried to." He answered, remembering this same conversation with Daniel the last time they were trapped in the time loop. Sam sighed,
"Ok so what exactly happened?" she enquired making sure she understood everything that had happened, it would help her later on when running simulations.
"Ok well just like now, you knocked on the door of my quarters, interrupting my peaceful sleep, said you needed to show me something, so I came in, you told me about the acid in the soil and the need for the DECS. The next day, at 0945, we were in the Gate Room ready to go, you and Daniel went the through the gate first and than Teal'c and I followed. We got thrown back into the gate room and then I was back on my bed and it started all over again." He described, it was like a broken record. Teal'c entered the lab looking rather annoyed,
"I feel your pain brother!" Jack exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands out to Teal'c dramatically. Teal'c tilted his head sideways, slightly confused by O'Neill's behaviour. Sam had to physically cover her mouth to stop herself laughing out loud. She thought for a moment, a theory was already developing in her mind.
"So that was the first loop right? What number is this?" she inquired. Teal'c stepped forward to join the conversation as Jack answered,
"Third, last time was tried to dial P6Z 435 but we couldn't." he informed her; it was getting monotonous explaining it over and over. Sam looked out the door daydreaming for a moment but than a thought hit her,
"What happened to Daniel and I sir?" she asked slightly anxious. Teal'c answered,
"We are unaware, in the previous loop you mentioned, because we couldn't contact P6Z 435 that you and Daniel Jackson made it to the planet and are still there, living in another time." He explained what had previous taken place. Sam shook off the thought of herself being stuck on another planet as her previous theory surfaced,
"It's possible that another planetary body may have interrupted the connection to P6Z 435, you said that Daniel and I went through the Stargate before you?" she enquired hoping her prove her theory. The two men nodded in response and Sam continued,
"Daniel and I could have gotten past just before it moved into the path of the connection, then, when you tried to get past, it pushed the connection back and you were brought back here." She hypothesised. Jack raised his eyebrows,
"But why the whole looping thing, I mean isn't it cruel enough not letting us see that beautiful planet?" he asked sarcastically, clearly frustrated. Sam smiled slightly,
"I'll check over my notes but I think I may know what happened sir." She tried to instil hope in her fellow team members. Jack glanced at his watch,
"Nice to see you again General." He mumbled as Hammond entered the lab, looking slightly angered.
"What is all this commotion? I heard someone yelling a moment ago." He questioned the group. Teal'c and Sam immediately looked at Jack but he diverted the topic,
"So? What do we do to fix it?" He asked, simply dismissing General Hammond's presence but he interrupted,
"Fix what?" he asked, slightly behind in the conversation. O'Neill shook his head,
"Oh I am so not explaining this again! Carter!" He exclaimed, handing the duty to her. Hammond looked at the Colonel in confusion,
"What is going on here?" He demanded. Sam decided to explain,
"We are experiencing another time loop sir, I believe I can find out what's happening."
"Another time loop?" Hammond asked. O'Neill rolled his eyes in frustration and simply left the room, Teal'c following behind him, leaving Sam to explain the situation. Hammond watched them leave and turned back towards her,
"They are a little frustrated sir." She clarified. The general shook his head, still confused about the whole situation.
P6Z 435 1636
Daniel opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He felt beside him for his glasses and pulled them onto the bridge of his nose. Daniel scanned the campsite but saw no sign of Sam, he stood up quickly and walked over to wear his pack sat, pulling out his radio,
"Sam, come in Sam." He radioed.
"Yeah Daniel, I'm in the forest over the hill just looking for some food, I'll be back in 15 minutes, Carter out." She replied. Daniel dropped the radio back into his bag and reached in for one of the many books had brought with him, Ancient Egypt: A History. He was so enthralled in the book that he did not hear her return with an armful of various fruits she had collected. Sam dropped her gear and looked at Daniel, rolling her eyes at the sight of his nose in a book,
"Daniel, have you tried dialling out again?" she asked interrupting his thoughts. Daniel put down the book, slipping his bookmark at his spot and closing it slowly.
"No I haven't, do you have any idea why we wouldn't be able to dial out?" He asked. She shook her head,
"It doesn't make sense, what is even more confusing is that fact that Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c didn't come through the Stargate with us." Sam commented.
"Could they have stayed behind for some reason? We did go through the Stargate before them, something may have happened." Daniel queried. She shook her head,
"No, if they did pulled back, they would've sent a probe through the Stargate to tell us of the problem, if it was too dangerous to send anyone" She explained the possibility. The two sat in silence, the only sound that could be heard were cicadas chirping in the distance.
"Sam, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Daniel requested, slowly, cautiously. She shot him a look of suspicion,
"Go ahead." She answered, tentatively. Daniel breathed in deeply,
"What's going on between you and Jack?" he asked frankly; glad to get the question off his mind. Instantly Sam lifted her head quickly,
"What do you mean what is going on?" she asked, a slight hint of anxiety.
"I mean it's been obvious." he trailed off, not knowing what to say. Alarms went off inside Sam's head, if it was obvious to Daniel, was it obvious General Hammond? When was it obvious? Had General Hammond found out about the time when her and Colonel O'Neill were supposed to be Zaytarks? Did it mean one of them could be taken off the Stargate program because of it? A thousand thoughts seemed to run through her mind simultaneously. She quickly shook them into the back of her mind; it was not the time or the place to discuss such thoughts.
"What is obvious?" she asked innocently, hoping to cover her reaction of shock from her fellow team member, it didn't work Daniel shook his head, knowing Sam was trying to avoid the topic.
"Come on Sam, we all know that there's more between you and Jack than just mateship in military rank." Daniel observed, deciding to stop beating around the bush on the issue. Sam stood up and turned away from Daniel, not letting him see the look of astonishment and possibly fear on her face.
"I'm sorry Sam, I shouldn't have asked you." He admitted, apologetically. She turned around with a smile on her face,
"I don't blame you, there are probably other people on the base who want to ask that exact same question, I sometimes ask myself." She admitted, dismissing his apology. She returned to where she was originally sitting and sighed,
"All I can say is that." she began, trying to find the right words to describe the situation. Daniel had an idea what she was trying to say,
"You know there's something more there but you won't let it interrupt your professional relationship in the military?" Daniel finished her sentence. Sam nodded,
"Yes, at this moment I am Major Samantha Carter and he is Colonel Jack O'Neill, my commanding officer and it will probably remain that way." She commented briefly. Another moment of silence crept through the camp, as the chirping became increasingly louder as day turned to night.
SGC BRIEFING ROOM THE NEXT DAY 0630
Sam, as usual, took her position at the front of the room, a diagram of a group of planets and moon on the screen behind her, a laser pointer in hand ready to begin. General Hammond entered and was handed a file, when he was seated she began.
"Based on Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c's information of the previous loops I have come up with a theory of how this time loop has occurred a second time." She started, stepping to the side of the screen, and pointing to the screen.
"When Daniel and I went through the Stargate, we were transported to the planet as normal," Sam made a direct line from the Earth and P6Z 435, a blue line indicated the connection. She continued,
"However before Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill stepped into the Stargate, a moon or another planet moved into the connection blocking anything passing through to P6Z 435. When Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c went through, the body, blocking their pathway to the planet, pushed them back to Earth, and they found themselves back in the Gate Room." She explained. Jack put up his hand slightly,
"Colonel?" she asked.
"So we were pushed back home, but why the whole annoying and highly distressing time loop?" he asked. Sam pointed back to the screen,
"I was getting to that." She began, giving him a slightly angered look, for interrupting her. He held up his hands in his defence as she continued the briefing.
"Now what I believe has happened, is that when the moon interrupted the connection to P6Z 435, it caused a shift in the moon's gravitational field, causing a large interruption to the subspace field and so created the bubble around the planets, since P6Z 435 is outside the bubble they could be experiencing a normal time flow or an entirely different one." Sam explained, Jack looked at her blankly; not really understanding what the Major was prattling on about but believed she knew what she was doing, she had been right the last time.
"Major Carter, with this information have we found out, is there any way of getting to P6Z 435 to see if the other Major Carter and Dr Jackson are on the planet?" The general asked. Sam grimaced,
"Well sir, we are caught in the time loop which means that the only planets we can contact are the ones also stuck in the subspace bubble and they are all planets the are classified "off limits" because of the large presence of Gohaul forces." She broke the harsh news to the group before her. Daniel looked slightly shocked,
"So that means that we won't be able to get the planet until we figure out how to break the time loop?" he asked for clarification. She nodded sadly, Jack looked around at all the faces around the room, looks of sadness and hopelessness covered all of them.
"So we are just going to leave Carter and Daniel on that planet to starve to death?!" he yelled angrily. But no one dared answer, each of them not wanting to break the grim reality of the situation to him. Sam looked over at him in shock; she had never seen him have such an angry reaction before. When Jack received no answer, he threw back his chair heatedly, leaving the room in a cloud of anger. He walked rapidly to his quarters, ignoring glances from fellow officers that had to jump out of his path to avoid being thrown to the floor. As he reached his room, Jack slammed the door behind him, photo frames jostling from their positions on the walls of the room. He fell to the bed and tried to calm himself, unclenching his fists and slowing his breathing. A knock came at the door but he gave no answer. Teal'c slowly opened the door and peered into the room.
"Are you alright O'Neill?" he asked cautiously, genuine concern clear in his voice.
"We are just sitting in that room while Carter and Daniel on some alien planet at this moment thinking that someone is bound to come for them, but we're saying, "I'm sorry we are too afraid of the Gohaul to save your life, better luck next life!" Jack exclaimed, venting some of his anger. Teal'c nodded, knowing that he needed time alone. Teal'c stepped out the room and closed the door slowly behind him, leaving Jack alone with his thoughts.
P6Z 435 1925
Daniel added sticks to the campfire blazing in the centre of their campsite. Sam was at the DHD trying in vain to dial back home but as with their many other attempts the Stargate failed to open. She dropped angrily to the ground in front of the fire, her DECS crunching as she sat. She sighed deeply,
"I don't know what is going on, we aren't able to dial out, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c never made it here and we only have food supplied for two days, three at the most." She examined the situation they found themselves in. Daniel simply continued adding to the fire, not knowing what to say. Sam pulled a large purple fruit from a vine next to her and split it in half. She cautiously smelt it and then broke off a piece, placing it on her tongue. She chewed it thoughtfully, then handed Daniel the other half. He looked at the fruit with contempt.
"Don't worry Daniel, it's just like a pear." She assured him, Daniel took the fruit, still not entirely convinced and began eating. He chewed thoughtfully, his mind deciding to do some travel back in time.
"Do you remember the mission that that guy made exact robotic copies of us?" he asked, feeling like reminiscing. Sam nodded,
"That's when I was still just a captain," she thought back, it felt like such a long time. Daniel laughed softly and she looked at him confused,
"Why are you laughing?" she asked curiously.
"I just remember when he that guy was telling us about he made us "better" he was saying how interesting you were." he laughed mid sentence. Sam shook her head also smiling, remembering it clearly, Daniel continued,
"And you said "Colonel," and he replied, "Easy Captain,"" Sam started to laugh at the memory, all the humorous moments that had happened off world were usually in some way connected to the Colonel. She narrowed her eyes, thinking back to another memory,
"I've always wondered, when you went to that alternate universe, what was it like? I mean were we all the same?" she queried. Daniel thought back and smiled at the memory,
"Well you had long hair," he commented. Sam raised her eyebrows surprised. Daniel continued,
"And you and Jack were.closer than you are now." He commented, trying to find the right word to describe it without embarrassing her.
"Oh." Was all Sam could say in reply, and changed the subject quickly, as they were speaking of humorous and slightly confusing situations she remembered one,
"Do you remember at the end of that who time loop incident how the Colonel was sitting eating Oatmeal and you asked him if had done anything crazy in the time loop, do you remember that?" she queried, chewing thoughtfully on her last bit of fruit. Daniel threw the core of the fruit to the ground and wiped his hands,
"Yes, he just looked at you weirdly and kept eating, he never gave us a definitive answer." Daniel thought back,
"What would you do if you knew everything was going to go back the way it was?" he asked Sam, it was the perfect way to while away the night. Sam shrugged her shoulders,
"I don't know, I mean I would probably go and see Dad but that's probably it." She answered, not having really thought about it before. Daniel frowned,
"Oh come on, there has to be something you've always wanted to do but couldn't because you could get in trouble for it, maybe something to do with the Colonel maybe?" Daniel hinted, trying to hide the huge smile forming on his face. Sam gave Daniel a stern frown,
"No I haven't, not to do with the Colonel anyway, but I have always wanted to tell the whole world about the Stargate program just so I wouldn't have the pressure of being one of the select few that know about it and have to deny any knowledge of it you know?" She asked, hoping he would understand. Daniel nodded,
"I know how it feels, people come up to you with pictures of Anubis' ship flying into the atmosphere and you want to be the one to reassure them that they aren't crazy, that they aren't seeing things but you can't and it's hard sometimes." He sympathised with her.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
COLONEL O'NEILL'S QUARTERS 0421
Jack looked into the mirror on the nightstand beside his bed he saw his own reflection, he brow drawn together and the wrinkles around his eyes becoming more and more prominent by the second, the worry was starting to show on his face. As Sam knocked for the third time he did not move, wanting to make her believe he was not there, tears forming in his eyes at the thought of her being caught on another planet, with no idea that they could never come and save her, the she would never see any of them again.
"Colonel, its Major Carter, are you here sir?" she yelled through the door but he remained silent. Jack heard her footsteps walk away from the door and he stood up, grabbing his car keys from the hook beside the door, wiping the tears from his eyes quickly. He walked through the SGC stealthily, as he stepped out of the base; he looked towards the sky,
"Nice day for fishing," he commented, trying to divert his thoughts to one of his favourite past times. His car pulled away from Cheyenne Mountain and he headed for his favourite fishing spot, Lake Charlie as he had affectionately named it. His phone rang continually throughout the day, vibrating through the wood of his boat, each time he ignored it, not wanting to go to SCG and having to face the reality that Sam was stuck on a planet somewhere in the universe, slowly running out of food and he was powerless to stop it.
SGC GENERAL HAMMOND'S OFFICE 0734
A knock came at the door and Hammond told the visitor to enter. Major Carter opened the door; he noticed that she was looking slightly concerned about something.
"What is it Major?" he asked cautiously.
"I have been unable to reach Colonel O'Neill sir, I went to his room this morning but there was no answer, I have been ringing his cell phone all afternoon, it is turned on but no one is answering." She expressed her concern.
"Do you know where he is?" Hammond asked. Sam thought for a moment,
"He might be fishing on Lake Charlie sir." She replied, thinking out loud, many times when the Colonel was upset by something he went fishing, he had always retained that it was the best stress relief, but she did not know what he could be upset about.
"Well why don't you go and see if he's there?" he ordered, as if it was the logical thing to do. Sam shook her head,
"One problem sir, I don't know where Lake Charlie is, apparently Colonel O'Neill only calls it Lake Charlie but there is no lake in America with that name." She informed her superior. Hammond sighed realising the significance of the name, Charlie, Colonel O'Neill's son. But he waved off her concern,
"I wouldn't worry about him Major, he probably just wants a couple of hours alone." Sam nodded and stood at attention before leaving the general's office. As she was walking to her office she met up with Daniel.
"Have you heard from Colonel O'Neill? He's not answering his cell phone and I don't know where he is." She inquired. Daniel sneezed before answering,
"No, the last time I saw him was yesterday, sorry." He replied. She waved off his apology and make tracks back to her office.
LAKE CHARLIE 1054
His phone rang for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, he peered down at his phone to see if it was Sam again but the caller id told him it was Teal'c. Jack picked up the phone,
"O'Neill Fishing Enterprises, Trout, Barramundi, Rainbow fish anything you want, we've got the gear for you." He answered, creating his own business and slogan.
"O'Neill, why have you not been answering your phone, Major Carter has been worried, trying to contact you all day." Teal'c asked sternly. Jack pulled his rod over his shoulder and cast it into the water,
"I'm taking the day off Teal'c, I'm fishing." He explained, as if it was a perfectly good excuse.
"You must come back to the SGC so we can investigate the time loop, to help Major Carter and Daniel Jackson." He advised.
"I'm taking the next couple of loops off, relaxation time, you should try it Teal'c, after all everything will always go back to way it was." Jack hung up the phone, and continued fishing not giving the SGC a second thought.
**************************************************************************** ********************************* SGC SECOND DAY OF LOOP 0943
General Hammond was writing at his desk when a junior officer entered his office breathless,
"General, Colonel O'Neill is the commissary room making a scene sir." He informed him, through gulps of air. The general looked at the officer unbelievingly,
"What's is he doing?" he asked. The officer pointed out of the room,
"You have to see it for yourself, you won't believe it sir." He responded. Hammond shook his head and stood up from his desk, letting the junior officer lead the way. A few minutes later they turned the corner into the commissary room and spotted the Colonel standing beside an enclosure with two chickens running around inside and a small barbeque beside it.
"Colonel O'Neill what the hell do you think you are doing?" he yelled. He watched as Colonel O'Neill leaned down into the pen and picked something up from inside. He looked up at the General,
"Hello General! Care for some breakfast!" he yelled back, tying an apron around his waist that beared the words KISS THE COOK and reaching a white chefs hat. He then revealed 2 eggs in his hand, cracking it against the side of the hot plate. A group had gathered behind General Hammond to see what O'Neill was doing, whispers flew thick and fast across the room, many of the officers laughing at Colonel O'Neill's antics. As the eggs simmered on the barbecue, Jack looked up from cooking, lifting the egg with a spatula towards the crowd,
"It beats Fruit Loops!" He called out cheekily.
**************************************************************************** *********************************
SGC SECOND DAY OF LOOP 0939
Jack pushed a wheelbarrow down the hallways of the SGC, passing many curious onlookers including Daniel who spotted him wheeling past the library he was studying in. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things but dropped his paper on Texts of The Ancients and left the room, following the Colonel. Daniel rushed down the hallway after him and turned the corner only to see the door to the Gate Room closing. He immediately turned and headed for the stairs to the Control Room and as he reached them he looked down and watched Jack in uncertainty. He had parked the wheelbarrow right in front of the Stargate and was throwing what looked to be Twinkies into the activated Stargate. Jack looked up from where he was standing in front of the Stargate and spotted Daniel standing above in the Control Room. He held up the Twinkie for his benefit and waved, yelling up to him,
"Just giving them a little of what Earth has to offer, it's sweet and good to eat!" He answered, sounding like his very own commercial. Daniel stood perfectly still, not able to believe what he was seeing. He reached for the keyboard to the computer to disengage the Stargate but there was not keyboard at the computer, it had been pulled from its port.
"What is going on Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c's voice came from behind Daniel as Teal'c stepped from the stairs, standing beside Daniel at the controls. Teal'c raised his eyebrow at the view of Jack throwing small, packaged food through the Stargate; a faint smile crawled across his face as he glanced at the watch on his wrist.
**************************************************************************** ********************************* SGC MAJOR CARTER'S OFFICE 0901
Dr Fraiser entered Sam's office, smiling more than usual. She looked up from her computer simulation and stared at Fraiser suspiciously, "What's going on Janet?" she questioned her friend, wanting to be let in on the joke. Fraiser walked over to Sam and held out a length of fabric,
"I'm sorry Sam but I was ordered to blindfold you." She replied, the smile not leaving her face. Sam stared at her, becoming more and more confused by the minute,
"Why? What's going on?" Sam demanded.
"Don't worry I'm not going to hurt you or anything, I just need to take you somewhere and you have to be blindfold for it. Colonel's orders." She explained.
"Colonel's? Since when do you have to obey his orders?" Sam queried Janet suspiciously. She ignored the question,
"All will be revealed in due time Sam, trust me you'll be fine." She held the blindfold out to Sam for permission, she slowly turned around and her eyes were instantly covered, Fraiser tied the cloth at the back of her head and took her hand,
"Ok you ready?" she asked, happily, clearly excited about the whole situation. Sam rolled her eyes under the blindfold,
"I guess I mean I don't even know where I'm going." She exclaimed at loss, not really knowing what she was going to happen to her. She felt Janet pull at her hand and she started to walk slowly, being led by her best friend out of her office and towards her awaiting surprise.
Jack stood in front of the Stargate facing the control room; he fidgeted in his black tuxedo, an unusual look for the Colonel. He looked at the wall carefully, studying it with great intent as if trying to decipher an undiscovered Goa'uld ancient text. Teal'c stood behind him also in a black tuxedo, the pair looking like the Blues Brothers.
"What do you think O'Neill?" he asked curiously, indicating to the wall. Jack nodded,
"I like it." He pronounced, graciously. Jack rubbed his hands together nervously, this was the day he had been waiting for, ever since he had first met Sam this is all his dreams were ever about, about this moment being fulfilled, at least for a couple of hours. He knew in normal circumstances he could never do anything so outrageous but thanks to the time loop he could finally tell Sam everything he had ever wanted to say to her ever since he first laid eyes on her, their first ever briefing to do with the Stargate program. He had treated her as every other man in the military would treat a woman who was a threat to their position, immediate defensive strategies. Every time he had made a remark about her incompetency to do the job, she always hit back straight away, taking no punches without punching back. Jack smiled at the memory, and now he was on the verge of his long time dream. He looked at his watch and turned to Teal'c,
"Well they should be getting my resignation about now." He hypothesised, as if it was a very important part of what was about to happen. Jack kicked at the floor with his shoe; his nerves were starting to accelerate as the time drew nearer. He reached into his pocket and his heart almost stopped beating until he felt a hard, furry object at the bottom of his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. Daniel entered the room, pulling his blazer jacket over his shoulders,
"I hope everything goes well Jack," he gave good luck. Jack nodded, his nerves leaving him speechless.
"Janet, where are we going?" Sam asked for then tenth time as she was walking blindfolded down the corridor. She laughed in response,
"I'm not going to ruin the surprise." She answered cryptically.
"Come on Janet at least give me a clue." Sam protested.
"I can't tell you, you'll find out in about 5 minutes." She promised. Sam continued to be led by her best friend, other SGC personnel looked out from their offices and quarters at the strange procession with peaked interest. As they came to the door of the Gate Room, Janet removed Sam's blindfold. She shook her hair back into position after the blindfold had flattened it. Janet smiled and pointed to the door,
"Your surprise is in there, if you think you are ready for it, go in." she instructed Sam; a large smile could not be taken from Janet's face. Sam looked at Janet confusion, curiosity and a little fear. Tentatively reached her card to the lock, she scalded herself for being so childish, after all she was an Air Force Officer, and she was prepared for anything that may be behind that door, or so she thought. She swiped her security card confidently, as the door to the Gate Room slid open her mouth dropped open in amazement and disbelief. She spotted the rest of her team, Jack, Teal'c and Daniel standing in a line in expensive black suits, red roses pinned to their collars, Jack fidgeting with something in his pocket. Sam looked at the wall adjacent from the Stargate and felt her heart skip two or three beats. She was so shocked; words flew from her mouth, tears coming to her eyes and immediately flowed down her cheeks, an overwhelming feeling of happiness engulfing her body. The wall was covered in pink spray paint, a message written saying,
I LOVE YOU
SAM
WILL YOU
MARRY ME?
Sam couldn't move, her legs felt like they were going to give way underneath her, her whole body shaking with the raw emotion she felt. She had wished and hoped for this moment for such a long time but was totally unprepared for what was happening. She looked over at Jack, his usual goofy grin smiling back at her. Sam cautiously tried to step forward, her legs feeling like jelly.
"S-Sir," she managed to say through gulps of emotion, a new wave of tears coming to her eyes. She continued walking towards him, with every step becoming more and more confident in the situation. As she walked by Daniel, who standing first in line, he sneezed into a tissue, she laughed through her tears, Daniel blushed embarrassed. Teal'c bowed respectfully as she passed him, she thanked him in a low whisper that was barely audible. Sam's stomach immediately started to quiver uncontrollably when she reached the last person in the line.
"Wh-what's happening sir?" she asked in disbelief. Jack indicated to the wall flippedly,
"Well I thought that would've about summed it up." he commented. Sam laughed, the smile that had covered her face at the moment she saw her surprise, immediately grew bigger as she stood face to face with Jack, the man she had know for a very long time she loved. Jack tried to compose himself in the situation,
"Ok" he resigned to himself, knowing the time was upon him. He shakily got down onto one knee and looked up at Sam, taking a deep breath to settle his nerves
"Well here goes, I'm not very good at this so don't laugh at me," He requested, up front before starting. Sam giggled in reply,
"Ok." She whispered. Jack wiped his hands on his pants, the sweat making an imprint on his luxurious and expensive rented suit for the occasion.
"The first day I ever met you, I was the typical male, trying to prove my superiority over you, hiding the fact that I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. But of course I underestimated you and to put it simply, I was brought back to earth, you were always one step ahead of me, my ego slightly bruised after that confrontation." He admitted.
"Sorry sir." She apologized to him, wiping the tears from her eyes, the feeling of pure happiness emanating from her
"Anyway, after that time we were put together on the same team and yes it was hard at times to hide my feelings, sometimes I let them slip out at inopportune times particularly if they were off world but we won't discuss that now." he tried to keep on track.
"So I am here today, in my flashy rental suit to finally be able to tell you what I have wanted to for 4 long years." Jack reached into his pocket and pulled a small jewellery box from it, his fingers trembling as he presented to Sam, pulling back the lid of the box, revealing a stunning, gold ring, sparkling diamonds creating a heart shape on the band. She choked back a new wave of tears as she saw the ring for the first time.
"Samantha, will you marry me?" Jack asked, a solitary tear spilling from his eye, not able to control his emotions any longer. She held out her hand, it shaking from the sheer emotion of the moment. As he slipped the ring onto her finger, and held her hand in his they heard a sob from behind them. Together they turned to see who it was and saw Teal'c frantically wiping his eyes, trying not to show the tears that had escaped from his usually sober, expressionless face.
"Hey buddy, you're not getting emotional on me are you?" Jack asked, grinning from ear to ear. Teal'c shook his head vehemently,
"Of course not O'Neill." He stood taller, making himself seem to be in complete control, however Daniel was now using his tissue to wipe his eyes instead of his nose. The alarm on Jack's watch beeped, indicating that he only had a minute until the time loop would begin again. He jumped, turning to face Sam again,
"So what do you think? Could you see yourself as the next Mrs Jack O'Neill?" Jack asked quickly, he needed to know before the time looped again or all of his work would be for nothing. Sam immediately looked down at the floor, feeling her cheeks go red,
"Mrs Samantha O'Neill? I don't know." she asked uncertainly, toying with him. Sam raised her head, not able to keep a straight face,
"Yeah, I could see myself as the next Mrs Jack O'Neill, I love you. and yes. I will marry you." She answered. Throwing her arms around him and kissing Jack to seal her decision.
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TO BE CONTINUED.
Author's After Thought:
Yes I know I am being cruel by making you wait to find out what happens in the next time loop, but I love drawing out the suspense. And as for the Sam and Daniel on the planet.will they die? Will Jack come up with a plan to save the woman he loves? You'll have to wait and see won't you?