Author's Note: Team friendship. Hammond/Jacob friendship. Special Guest: Catherine Langford.

1969 Recap: Hammond hands Sam a note before a mission telling her not to read it until she gets on the other side. SG1 embark on the mission only to step through the wormhole and seemingly find themselves back in the gate room; it disappears almost immediately and they are left under a missile about to undergo a test burn. Teal'c zats the missile saving them but they are quickly taken prisoner. They are in the Cheyenne facility in 1969 with the wormhole somehow transporting them back in time. A young Lieutenant Hammond finds the note which is addressed to himself. He arranges for a flat tire during the transport of SG1 elsewhere and helps them escape after they convince him that they will know him in the future. Jack zats Hammond to ensure he isn't court-martialled or his actions.

The team hitch a ride with a couple, Michael and Jenny, to New York hoping to find Catherine Langford and discover the location of the Stargate. En route, Sam works out that it was a solar flare that must have been responsible for the time travel, and that the rest of Hammond's note, two dates and specific times, must refer to flares that happened in 1969 which will help them get back home. Jack and Teal'c test out Sam's theory at an observatory confirming that the first date and time does correlate to the occurrence of a solar flare, while Daniel and Sam go incognito to Catherine who reveals the location of the Stargate. The team just manage to find the gate and establish a wormhole in time to make the jump forward in time but land many years in the future, leaving an elderly Cassie to send them home to the right time where they are greeted by a relieved General Hammond.

Can't Argue with Destiny

1969

'Take a seat, Lieutenant.'

George Hammond sat down nervously in the chair Major West indicated to him and waited. It had been over a week since he had helped four strangers, who had claimed to be from his future, escape from the custody of his government. His stomach still churned over the decision. Had he made the right choice? The whole incident seemed surreal. Time travel; notes from himself; ray guns…

He'd already endured two days of interrogation following the prisoners' escape before he'd satisfied his own command that he had no knowledge of how the prisoners had gotten free, and the summons to Washington hadn't surprised him.

West looked at him for a long moment before he glanced back down at the folder on his desk and reached for his cigarette pack. He lit one, took a long drag and sat back in his chair as he blew out the blue smoke. 'Hammond, is it?'

'Yes, sir.' Hammond responded crisply.

'You were there when the…spies escaped.' West stated.

Hammond reminded himself to breathe normally. 'Yes, sir.'

'Take me through it, Lieutenant.' West ordered, his eyes never shifted from Hammond's.

'We had a flat, sir. I ordered Franks to assist the driver and I went to the back of the truck to watch the prisoners.'

'Why?'

Hammond wet his lips and his pale red eyebrows rose a little. 'Why, sir?'

'Why?' West waved his hand at Hammond. 'Why did you go back? They were secured, weren't they? The truck was locked. They had nowhere to go. Why did you feel it necessary to go back and check?'

'Well, I…' Hammond stuttered a little before he regained his composure. 'I guess the flat made me a little nervous, sir.'

'Hmmm.' West's cold eyes flickered back to the report. 'You said that the spies had somehow inexplicably managed to free themselves from the cuffs securing them.'

'Yes, sir.'

'And that,' his gaze landed back on Hammond, 'they drew out their ray gun and pointed it at you, at which time you called out for help, and that's the last thing you remember.'

Hammond didn't flinch under the unrelenting stare. 'Yes, sir.'

'You know what I can't figure out, Hammond? How did they get a ray gun?' West said smoothly.

'The female wasn't searched, sir, as we have no female personnel assigned to the base currently.' Hammond pointed out. 'We assumed she had handed over everything voluntarily.'

'Females.' West scowled and stabbed his cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray on the desk and got up suddenly. He paced across the room and stood staring at a map of America, his hands clasped behind his back. 'Off the record, Hammond, who do you think these people were?'

Hammond's blue eyes widened in surprise. 'Sir?'

'You're an intelligent officer, Hammond.' West said without turning round. 'You have to concede that a team consisting of a black, a woman and a guy with specs is a strange choice for the Russians to send to infiltrate a secure facility. So, I'm asking you, Hammond, who do you think they were?'

'I don't know, sir.' Hammond answered truthfully.

'Did they say anything to you, son?' West turned back to Hammond and pinned him again with another look. 'When you were in the back of the truck?'

'Nothing much, sir.' Hammond answered easily. 'They mentioned the moon landing, I think to distract me.'

West frowned. 'The moon landing?'

'Yes, sir.' Hammond nodded, more comfortable after sharing a partial truth.

West headed back for the desk. 'I'll remind you that you're never to discuss this event with anyone, Lieutenant. You're dismissed.'

'Sir.' Hammond left the office swiftly. He took a deep breath outside the closed door and headed down the corridor. He glanced at his watch. He wasn't due to get his flight back to Petersen until the next day and there was somewhere else he had to visit.

1969

'George!' Jacob Carter beamed at his old friend and gave him a manly hug to welcome him before he stepped back and allowed the other man into his Washington home.

'Jake.' Hammond smiled at the dark-haired Lieutenant happily. 'Sorry to barge in on you like this.'

'Hey, no problem.' Jacob led the way through the apartment to the living room.

'George!' Katherine Carter smiled and crossed the room quickly to hug her husband's friend. 'It's wonderful to see you.'

'It's good to be seen.' Hammond answered. 'You just get more beautiful each time I see you, Kathy.' It was true; the beautiful blonde seemed to age more gracefully with each passing year but this time his eyes lingered on the shape of her face. He was sure he'd seen the same features in the young woman who had named herself as Samantha Carter. It had been a few days before he placed why the name had seemed so familiar to him.

Katherine laughed and patted his arm. 'How's Ellie?' She asked, referring to Hammond's own wife as she waved him into a seat.

'She's great; sends her love.' Hammond said, sitting down.

'And your daughter?' Katherine continued.

'Doing fine.' Hammond allowed with another smile. 'She's a pistol.' He spread his hands. 'How are your kids?'

'Good. They're sleeping.' Jacob said as he sat down in a chair opposite his old comrade.

'I'll get some drinks.' Katherine kissed Jacob's cheek on her way past her husband and Hammond smiled at the wifely gesture and Jacob's evident enjoyment of it.

'So what's going on?' Jacob asked. 'Why are you in town?'

'Debriefing.' Hammond said succinctly. 'I had some time before my flight and thought I'd look you up.'

'Hmmm.' Jacob's dark eyes gleamed suspiciously. 'You know the rumour mill has it there were Russian spies found at that mountain of yours a week ago.'

'You and your rumour mill.' Hammond said fondly. He had to admit that Jacob had a hell of a network.

'Well?' Jacob pressed, realising that Hammond hadn't actually answered the question.

'Jacob, it's a training facility where nothing of import happens at all.' Hammond said with a laugh in an attempt to deflect the other man. 'You really think the Russians are that desperate?'

'Maybe,' Jacob grinned ruefully, 'maybe not. I tell you though the strangest thing happened at one of the armouries here yesterday.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah,' Jacob gestured at him, 'there was some kind of break in. Weird thing is, the whole place is a junkyard of old stuff lying around from the Second World War. I mean who wants any of that?'

Hammond felt his heart pounding. The day before had been August 11th and he couldn't help remembering how it had been one of the dates on the note his future self had apparently written. Was the break in at the armoury connected to the four time travellers in some way?

'Are you OK, George?' Jacob asked concerned.

'Fine. I'm fine.' Hammond managed to get the words out of his mouth. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come by, he mused. He was about to make his excuses and leave when he heard pounding footsteps along the corridor and an instant later a small blond child burst into the room.

'Hey!' Jacob admonished his son even as he swept him up into his arms. 'What have I told you about running in the apartment?'

Mark Carter smiled shyly at his father. 'Sorry, Daddy.' His sleepy eyes landed on the man sitting on the sofa and widened apprehensively.

'You remember your Uncle George?' Jacob said, hugging him as he looked curiously over at him.

Mark nodded slowly.

Hammond smiled warmly at him. 'Well, don't you look all grown up? You were just a baby the last time I saw you.'

Jacob shook his head. 'They grow up so fast, George.'

Katherine appeared in the doorway with her hands filled with a tray of drinks. She placed it on the coffee table and smiled at the sight of Jacob and Mark. The distant sound of a baby wailing drifted in from the corridor.

'I guess that's my cue.' She made her way hastily out of the room.

Hammond picked up his coffee and took a grateful sip as Jacob turned the conversation to the latest sports news. They were in the middle of a heated debate about the baseball player of the past season when Katherine walked back inside with her arms filled with the Carter's youngest child. Hammond stopped talking mid-sentence.

Jacob laughed loudly. 'Anybody would think you hadn't seen a baby before, George.'

'Sorry, I…' Hammond blushed furiously and tried to regain his composure as Katherine sat down beside him.

'You haven't seen her since the christening, have you?' Katherine adjusted her hold so she could show off her daughter better.

Hammond looked over at the small bundle. 'You'll have to forgive me, Kathy but I've forgotten what you guys named her.' His heart pounded loudly in his chest as he waited for the answer.

Katherine gave an exaggerated sigh but her eyes twinkled at him. 'Samantha.'

'Samantha.' Hammond repeated. He shook his head. It couldn't be…could it?

The baby's eyes opened and Hammond suddenly found himself looking into familiar and startling blue eyes.

'Wow.' Hammond muttered.

'She's something, isn't she, George?' Jacob grinned as he adjusted his hold on his son.

Katherine smoothed her hand over the little girl's soft downy hair. 'I think she's destined for great things.'

Hammond nodded. 'I think you could be right, Kathy.' He murmured. 'I think you might be right.'

o-O-o

1997

Catherine Langford punched the elevator button and stepped back. She took a deep breath and tried to rein in her temper. US military morons, she thought derisively; what did they know about the programme really? She ran the telephone conversation she'd had with General West back through her head as her fingers looped around the amulet she wore. Not making progress. No sign of establishing the wormhole. Need to reassign the military personnel. Need to show that the programme isn't standing still. A month left to either establish a wormhole or the programme would be disbanded…

She sighed and headed for the control room. The room was a hive of energy and at the centre of it was a blonde bombshell. Catherine watched her from afar for a while, noting how the young woman had a ready smile for everyone, an encouraging word to the shyest of the technicians, a bright laugh at some joke one of the others told.

Samantha Carter, or rather Lieutenant Samantha Carter. If it wasn't for the uniform Catherine would happily forget the military title. She hadn't been keen when West had suggested Samantha join the team but she had been unable to deny the Lieutenant's academic credentials and her sheer technical brilliance. The team had moved in leaps and bounds as soon as she had joined. The makeshift dialling programme had been almost rewritten and refined; the supercomputer redesigned and put together. Technically, they had everything they needed to make the strange metal ring work and that was largely down to Samantha.

She was going to miss her, Catherine thought sadly. She knew the young woman would be amongst the first they reassigned and they'd grown close during Samantha's time on the project. It was weird, she mused, but she'd always felt like she had known Samantha before; maybe in another life. She sighed and moved on, heading to her office. She stopped at the sound of her name being called and turning questioningly to the man hurrying towards her.

'Doctor Langford.' Gary Fine bustled toward her an envelope in his hand. He beamed at her widely. 'This came for you.'

'Thank you, Gary.' Catherine took it and made to go into her office.

'Are you sure we need this guy?' Gary asked. 'Because if you ask me…'

'I didn't.' Catherine softened her words with a smile. 'Doctor Jackson interests me a great deal. His article on the pyramids…'

'Is a load of hooey.' Gary pointed out. 'He's been discredited by every single reputable academic institution and let's not forget who his grandfather is.'

Catherine sighed. 'Gary, Doctor Jackson may have come up with some unique theories but surely the very existence of our Doorway to Heaven should make us a little more sympathetic to his theories.'

Gary looked suitably abashed and he rushed to change the subject as his cheeks flooded with red. 'What did General West say?'

'Oh, the usual.' Catherine said dismissively. She sat down in her leather chair and reached for her letter opener. 'We just need to find the seventh symbol.'

'I'll…uh…get back to it.' Gary gestured down the corridor and when Catherine didn't argue he moved away swiftly.

Catherine shook her head a little. Gary was good, amongst the best – or he wouldn't be at the mountain at all – but he lacked…imagination. She nodded. That was it; imagination. Perhaps the young Doctor Jackson would have it. She slit open the envelope and withdrew the contents of the official Air Force background check she had requested. Photos and documents spilled out and onto her desk. She sifted through them and froze.

Her trembling fingers picked up the photo and she stared at it in shock. She knew that man; she had met him before…her mind flashed back…

New York. 1969. The son of a friend of her father's. He had asked about the ring…he had wanted to know about its location. It had been that meeting which had prompted her to renew her interest, to petition the military and continue her father's research yet Daniel Jackson was the spitting image of the German that had sat on her sofa and drank tea with her in 1969. She shook her head. It couldn't be the same man…it just couldn't.

A short sharp knock on her door alerted her to the imminent entry of someone and she jerked her gaze up to see Samantha Carter walking in her head down as she jotted something on a clipboard.

'Catherine, we've managed to make some modifications to the dialling programme and…' Sam looked up and stumbled to a halt at the pale shock that lined the older woman's face. 'Catherine? Are you OK?' She hurried forward.

Catherine stared at the Lieutenant and for the first time saw past the uniform and saw another version of the same woman; dressed in a peasant skirt and blouse, pink sunglasses adorning her face and sat next to Daniel Jackson on her sofa in 1969.

'Catherine?' Sam asked gently.

'I'm fine.' Catherine said hastily. 'I'm fine.' She shook herself. 'Just a little distracted. You were saying…'

'It can wait.' Sam said, frowning. 'Are you sure you're OK?'

'Nothing a good cup of tea won't cure.' Catherine assured her brightly. 'I'm sorry, Samantha, but I need to…' she waved a hand at the mess on her desk.

Sam's blue eyes dropped and she took in the heap of photos and documents. 'Oh. Oh, of course.' She smiled brightly. 'I'll leave you to it.' She left closing the door behind her.

Catherine got to her feet and paced a little. What did it mean? Was the Doorway to Heaven actually a time travel device? They thought it was a way to travel the stars…would she hire Daniel Jackson and would he and Samantha Carter travel back through time to 1969? They obviously knew her or they wouldn't have sought her out all those years ago? Or was she being fanciful? Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

She sat down heavily and picked up the photo again. The man who had introduced himself as the son of a German professor close to her father was Daniel Jackson and the woman who had sat beside him was Samantha Carter. There was no doubt in her mind. Somehow they had travelled back in time but obviously at some point in the future because Samantha definitely had no knowledge of their meeting in the past.

He'd done it. The thought shot through her like lightening. Daniel Jackson would find the seventh symbol, she realised. They would get the ring to work and they would actually go through the wormhole. That was the future. She had seen it already. She picked up the phone excitedly. 'Hello? Yes. I need to make immediate transport arrangements.' Her fingers tapped the photo thoughtfully. 'I have a lecture I need to attend.'

o-O-o

1998

Hammond didn't bother looking up from the report he was reading at the knock on his office door. He called for the person to enter almost absently as he ran his eyes over the details of the latest gate schedule.

'General Hammond.'

Catherine Langford's voice had Hammond's head snapping up. 'Doctor Langford.' He rose to his feet and gestured at the chair in front of his desk. 'Please come in.'

Catherine closed the door behind her and took a seat a little tentatively. 'I'm sorry to disturb you, General.'

'Not at all,' Hammond said charmingly, 'and please call me George.' He smiled at her. 'How is Doctor Littlefield?'

'He's still being checked over in your infirmary.' Catherine confirmed. She shifted, inching forward on the chair. 'I cannot thank you enough for allowing us to rescue him.'

'I'm just pleased at the outcome.' Hammond said. 'You'll be returning to New York?'

'Yes.' Catherine smiled. 'Ernest and I have a whole lifetime to catch up on together.' She shifted again, her expression sobering. 'I thought that I might take the opportunity to speak with you before I leave; one Stargate programme leader to another?'

'It's an honour.' Hammond said sincerely.

'You may not feel that after you've heard what I have to say.' Catherine laughed lightly. She gestured at him. 'I've debated whether to say anything but,' her dark eyes met his curious blue ones, 'I would want to know in your place.'

Hammond leaned forward over his desk. 'Please go on.'

Catherine nodded. 'You may not believe this, General, but I swear to you that it's the truth.'

'Believe me when I say nothing much around here surprises me anymore.' Hammond said encouragingly.

'Sometime in the future,' Catherine began, 'Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson will travel back in time.'

Hammond blinked at her; his heart started pounding in his chest.

'I know that sounds crazy,' Catherine waved a hand at him, 'and I assure you I'm not mad.'

'It doesn't sound as crazy as you might think.' Hammond murmured. 'Perhaps you should tell me everything.'

'Where to begin?' Catherine wondered out loud, smoothing her hands on her thighs. 'I was in New York teaching at the time when I received a call from a man who claimed to be the son of a friend of my father, and asked me for a meeting.' Her eyes unfocused as her mind travelled back in time to her New York parlour. 'He arrived with a pretty blonde woman and he spoke fluent German. He knew about the Stargate and claimed to have found a…well, that's not important. He knew enough that he gained my trust and I told him where the Stargate was located. Of course, it had been packed up and put out to pasture in some armoury in Washington after what I thought were my father's failed experiments in 1940s.'

'What year was this?' Hammond asked urgently.

Catherine met his gaze and wondered at the banked excitement there. 'It must have been 1969.'

Hammond gave a sigh and slumped back in his leather chair. '1969?'

She nodded enthusiastically. 'But that isn't what's important; what's important is that the young woman and man who I met in 1969…'

'Are actually Captain Carter and Doctor Jackson.' Hammond completed.

'I didn't realise it until I saw Daniel's photo in the material the Air Force put together for the background check on him.' She shook her head a little in disbelief. 'I must have worked for over a year with Samantha and not recognised her.'

'But you didn't say anything?' Hammond checked.

'Of course not.' Catherine looked at him askance and she gestured at him furiously. 'Believe me, I almost decided not to tell you.'

Hammond got to his feet and paced over to the small internal window and stared out of it for a moment before he turned back to Catherine. 'I have a confession.'

'Oh?'

He cleared his throat. 'I'm already aware that SG1 will visit the past.'

Catherine's eyes widened. 'You…how?'

Hammond gestured at her as he sat back down. 'I was stationed here at the mountain in '69. Somehow a group of four people managed to sneak into the missile silo. They were arrested. In the pocket of one of their vests, I found a note in my handwriting telling me to help them.'

'Incredible.' Catherine murmured. Her eyes intent on the General's.

'Against my better judgement, I helped them escape.' Hammond sighed. 'Luckily, Colonel O'Neill was able to destroy all the evidence of their visit and he knocked me out so I was able to avoid a court-martial.' He tapped the top of his desk thoughtfully. 'They must have sought you out after they left me in order to find the Stargate. I always wondered how they discovered where it was because my note was pretty brief.'

'You…' Catherine stared at him. 'You know that they found it?'

Hammond nodded. 'Two guards from the armoury reported seeing four people disappear through shimmering blue water in the middle of the metal ring.'

'The Air Force knew all along how to activate the Stargate?' Catherine stuttered.

'No.' Hammond shook his head. 'The guards were unable to say what symbols had been dialled. It only confirmed that…'

'The Stargate could be dialled.' Catherine got to her feet and paced. 'This is…amazing. It explains so much.'

'It does?'

She spun around and pointed at Hammond. 'I always wondered why the Air Force was so willing to hear my petition to reopen the programme and why they had brought the Stargate here to the mountain.' She shook her head as she sat down heavily. 'It all makes sense.'

'I'm glad it does to you.' Hammond commented.

'Don't you see?' Catherine said passionately. 'This is a perfect example of effect preceding cause. Because SG1 travelled back in time, the Air Force moved the Stargate here; they were open to the idea of the programme being reinstated which meant it was more likely it would be.' She gestured. 'It was that visit in the past that renewed my interest in the Stargate and prompted me to seek out getting my father's research restarted. More than that, it was the reason why I approached Daniel; I knew he would be successful because I had already met him.'

'I know how you feel.' Hammond said with a laugh. 'I think West assigned me to the programme at the Pentagon because he knew I'd been at the mountain in 1969.'

Catherine placed a hand on his desk. 'Tell me honestly, would you have put them together as a team if you hadn't met them in the past?'

Hammond stared at her for a long moment. 'Honestly?' He sighed. 'No.' He clasped his hands. 'Teal'c was an enemy soldier, and both Doctor Jackson and Colonel O'Neill had conspired to fabricate the truth about the first mission to Abydos.'

'And Samantha? Her abilities as a scientist would normally take precedence over a field assignment?' Catherine pressed.

Hammond nodded.

'But knowing you had seen them in the past changed your mind?' Catherine surmised.

'Yes.' Hammond sighed. 'It wasn't easy to convince my superiors though especially about Teal'c.'

'I can imagine.' Catherine sighed and leaned back. 'Incredible. To think that their visit to the past may have spurred all this.' She waved a hand at his office.

'I can't tell you how many times I've wondered if I've made some decision that would change all this.' Hammond confessed.

'You have to keep believing in yourself, General.' Catherine said firmly. She stood up. 'Well, I shall leave you to it. I can see they are in good hands.'

'I'm pleased you think so.' Hammond said, rising to his own feet.

Catherine smiled at him. 'Whatever help you gave them meant they went back through the Stargate, General.' Her smile widened at his look of incomprehension. 'They'll come home.' She clarified and saw the spark of realisation in his pale blue eyes. 'They'll come back home.'

o-O-o

1999

'…obviously as I knew the solar flares were the most likely cause of time travel, that combined with Captain Carter's injury confirmed to me that it was this mission when you would be sent back.' Hammond explained to his spellbound audience of the newly returned SG1. They had changed out of their '69 outfits and were back in the plain green of the base BDUs. 'So I wrote the note and gave it to Captain Carter. I hoped that the information on there would enable you to get home.'

'It did, sir.' Sam smiled warmly at him.

'I can't believe that you've known all this time.' Daniel murmured. He pushed his glasses up his nose. 'I mean, I don't know how you managed not to say anything.'

'Yes, well,' Hammond gave a small smile, 'I knew saying anything explicit might have affected the time-line.'

'It must be quite a relief,' Daniel continued, 'to finally be able to talk about it and acknowledge that it happened.'

'I was able to speak to Doctor Langford about it.' Hammond noted with a smile. 'She confided her own experience in me when we rescued Doctor Littlefield.'

'She recognised us?' Daniel's eyes widened with shock. 'Wow. She never said anything.'

Hammond nodded. 'We've both been waiting for this for a long time.'

'I'll have to call her.' Daniel mused out loud. 'Thank her for her help.'

'I'm sure she'd appreciate that.' Hammond said with a smile. 'And I have to admit that I'm pleased that I don't have to second guess my actions any longer and worry that the decisions I make will change the future. You've all given me some bad moments, I can tell you.'

The team in front of him exchanged an amused look.

'I think I speak for all of us, sir, when I say thank you.' Jack smiled at him warmly. 'We couldn't have made it home without your help. Speaking of which, sir,' he coughed, 'your actions in 1969…'

'You could be retrospectively court-martialled, sir.' Sam finished, seeing where Jack was going with his statement.

'I've already spoken with my superiors. I raised it with them as soon as it was confirmed that you had disappeared.' Hammond waved away their concern. 'While they weren't particularly happy with my past actions, they've agreed that there will be no court-martial given the circumstances.' He took a breath. 'But they have also indicated that this mission report will be given the highest security clearance and sealed.'

'They don't want anyone to know that the Stargate was able to be used for time travel.' Jack concluded.

'Exactly, Colonel.' Hammond confirmed.

'A wise decision.' Teal'c noted.

'Well, that's unlikely to happen, sir.' Sam pointed out. 'We could only ever time travel intentionally if we were able to predict the exact time of a solar flare and our technology is nowhere near advanced enough to predict solar flare activity.'

'Be that as it may, Captain, the orders still stand.' Hammond said. 'Further, all missions where the wormhole may take us too close to the sun during a known period of solar flares will be delayed.'

'Yes, sir.' Sam acknowledged the orders with a nod.

'So, this shouldn't happen to us again?' Jack checked, tapping the table with a pen. 'I can live with that.'

'Me too, Colonel.' Hammond looked around the table briefly. 'I think we're done here unless anyone has anything else to add to the report?'

They shook their heads.

'Well, it's good to have you back, SG1. Dismissed.' Hammond headed for his office. He paused in the doorway and looked back at the team he met all those years before as they filed out of the room and nodded in satisfaction.

SG1 headed to the elevator together.

'I looked up Michael and Jenny.' Sam admitted as soon as they got inside the small compartment.

'And?' Jack asked, curious himself to know what had happened to the two people who had helped them in the past.

'Michael went to 'Nam. He was medically discharged in 1971.' Sam informed him crisply. 'He and Jenny are still married and living in Idaho.'

They all breathed a sigh of relief.

'That's good.' Jack said. 'That's good.'

'You know what is weird,' Daniel began, wrapping his arms around his chest as he leaned on the back wall of the elevator.

'What?' Jack asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

'Well, when you think about it, we went back in time which prompted General Hammond to ensure we ended up together as a team.' Daniel said. 'I can't help but wonder…'

'Wonder what?' Jack prompted.

'Oh, what happened in the original time-line?' Daniel said, waving at the military man.

'This could be the original time-line.' Sam argued. 'One theory of time travel presupposes that effect can precede cause.'

'I do not understand, Captain Carter.' Teal'c said, looking over at his female team-mate with a slightly quizzical expression.

'Well, one theory suggests that an event in the future can have an effect on the past even though it hasn't happened yet.' Sam explained. 'So, in this case, our journey back to 1969 enabled the future that actually created the event that sent us back to 1969.'

Teal'c frowned and Jack shook his head imperceptibly to stop him from continuing to ask Sam for an explanation; it wasn't going to get any clearer.

'You mean our actions prompted the military to re-look into the Stargate.' Daniel suggested.

'Or Catherine.' Sam pointed out. 'Our visit may have prompted her to reopen the research.'

'Which the military might have been more open to as they would have known that the Stargate had been dialled successfully again when we went through.' Daniel added. 'The two guards at the armoury saw us.'

'Indeed.' Teal'c murmured.

'And you heard General Hammond.' Sam continued. 'He admitted that he was more predisposed to put us together as a team because he had met us in the past.'

'Are you suggesting the universe conspired to make us a team, Carter?' Jack asked dryly.

'Or destiny.' Daniel asserted. 'Maybe we were destined to be SG1.'

'You know I kinda like the sound of that.' Jack admitted, rocking back on his heels.

'Me too, sir.' Sam agreed.

'As do I.' Teal'c finished.

Contentment filled the elevator; destiny had made them a team and more than that, it had made them a family.

o-O-o

Author's Note: This completes volume one of Aftershocks. The TAGs will continue in volume two which is now posted. The story id for Aftershocks II is 3512344.