Jack and Daniel landed in Minnesota. Jack looked a little rested and ready to go, however the same couldn't be said for Daniel. On the 4-hour flight Daniel could do nothing but think of Jack's intent to see his son. He knew that he wanted to see Charlie, but truthfully all Daniel really cared about was getting back to Sam and Teal'c. He wondered if Jack had completely forgotten about them. It would be the first time ever, Jack wasn't known for leaving a man behind. In this case though, Daniel wondered if the man that Jack was considering on saving was more a boy.
They got onto a bus and headed downtown to the Museum. Both of them kept quiet from one another the entire time. Jack didn't want to hear Daniel's repetitious `you're changing history' speech, and Daniel didn't want to hear `I know what I'm doing, so leave me alone'. It seemed the two were at odds more than normal.
As they pulled up to the museum, both got out with some relief that this might just end here. Get in, get out, and get back. Or at least that was Daniel's thoughts. Jack's thoughts were: `We get the diamond, we get the calibrator, I go see Charlie.'
"You think they have what we're looking for here?" Daniel broke Jack's train of thought.
"Museum right? Well, that's a museum. And I do know that they study that sort of stuff here. I've come here often enough."
"Jack O'Neill in a museum. There's just something incredibly wrong with the universe when I say that." Jack shot Daniel a dirty look and they went in.
They started to look around, noticing several mineral specimens. Daniel started to get excited, however he had also thought about the size of diamond they need. It made him less excited, but still, if there were ever a chance. Jack went to the back of the museum and looked for the curator. He found her standing there looking over a sample of amethyst with great pride.
"Excuse me, ma'am. I was wondering if you could help us?" Daniel asked her.
"Certainly…wait, I recognize your face. Aren't you Dr. Daniel Jackson?"
"No, I'm," he looked back at Jack "Willy…Willy Donovan."
"I'm sorry Mr. Donovan, you resemble Dr. Jackson quite a bit. One would've almost thought you to be his brother."
"I get that a lot actually. But I'm interested in mineral studies and was wondering if you knew where I could get a large, unprocessed diamond from."
"Well, large…that's a difficult thing to say, but unprocessed we can do. What size were you looking for."
"Something in a quarter inch diameter, and about 10 to 12 inches long." She laughed.
"You're joking right? If they found something like that it probably went to a place where it'll be polished and cut for purposes of jewelry."
"I thought maybe you might have gotten your hands on something like that. I mean diamonds are of scientific interest."
"Yes, they are. And they've also done a lot of work with them in such things as laser science, not to mention other properties in which the diamond is known for. You'd have to go to MIT ever to get one, and I don't think you'd get passed the front desk. And those few museums that have something like that wouldn't sell it for the world. There's too much to be studied there."
"Well… how about a calibrator?"
"A calibrator is easier to come by, we've just got in some new ones and were about to auction off the old, we can give you one of the old ones for $100."
Daniel looked at Jack. Jack looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You gonna pay the lady Willy?"
"Dean, you have poker winnings you've been holding onto for a couple of years now. Part with them in a good cause."
"I will get you back for this Willy."
"I have no doubt about that."
Jack handed her the 100-dollar bill and she went and got the calibrator for him. They looked it over, and were happy that it was capable of field research. So such a unit would run on a battery pack. They walked out and stood there on the street.
"What are we going to do about the diamond Jack?"
"I haven't a clue. More than likely we're not going to find one, and we just don't have time to look for others, we're going to have to hope Carter and Teal'c found one. We've got the calibrator, so we're good. Now I've got business to take care of."
"You're still going through with this?"
"I thought we established that this conversation was over on the plane."
"You did, I didn't."
"So let me clear it up for you, I going to see my son. Okay? That's final." Jack took off and hailed a cab. The cab pulled up and Jack got into it ordering the address to go to. Daniel just barely got into the cab before it started to move. He looked at Jack and tried to give him the expression of disapproval and some understanding.
"You're not going to let this go are you?"
"No Jack, I'm not. This isn't a good idea, and I know deep in my heart of hearts that you know it too."
"Let me explain something to you then Daniel. My son was killed, and everyone has used his memory to do whatever possible to either hurt me or communicate with me. I'm sick and tired of it. This is the one shot I've got. I can possibly change what happened even, not have to lose my son."
"Sam's better at explaining this than I am, but let me give you my thoughts on this. Let's say that you do get this off the ground and you save him. Then what? Can we use the thing to send Sam back so her Mother won't die in that car accident, how about Teal'c? We can send him to stop Cronus from murdering his father. How about me Jack? Can you send me back to knock my parents out of the way before they're killed under that display? You think you're the only one who's suffered the loss? I think it's something we've all shared in one respect or another, a loss that pushed us forward. Just this one time though it's holding you back. Are you forgetting that Sam and Teal'c need us right now? They're stuck in alien territory, and we need to travel to the Antarctic to ever get back. And we need find a way to melt enough ice to get to the DHD so we can dial out. Or manually dial it so we can get through since we know it's got power to it. But in either case I can't do that alone. You've gotta make your choice Jack, do you go for the long shot, or do you do the sensible thing?"
Jack stared at Daniel for a second and then leaned back. He kept his mouth shut for the remainder of the cab ride. Eventually the cab stopped and dropped the two off. The cab driver took the money and looked up at Jack with a questioning expression. "Say Mac, what were you talkin' about? You ain't about to cause trouble are ya?"
"No, we were rehearsing for a play. We're doing a sort of Back to the Future, but more of a drama."
The cab driver just giggled and shook his head. He took off in his cab and Jack started to walk. Daniel ran behind him and kept staring towards the front. Daniel kept up behind and kept thinking of ways to stop his companion. He kept begging for a solution to the problem. He thought of knocking Jack out, but then he'd have to drag him around. This was a time where Teal'c and Sam would've been great to have around. Of course he thought of that a lot ever since he arrived on Earth.
They walked for about a mile and Jack stood outside of a school building. He looked at the clock on the school and it was almost time for school to let out. "There's time to walk away now Jack. We don't have to do this."
"You don't have to do this Daniel, I do."
"No, you don't. You want to. And in the meantime I want you to think about what you might be changing. If you save Charlie, you're family dynamic might change. That means you might not get picked for the Stargate program because you've got more to lose. Dammit Jack, the SGC needs you, and more importantly SG-1 needs you. What happened or what will happen makes you the individual you are. It was a defining moment. You shatter that then everything gets shattered with it. Teal'c will never join the team, Abydos might be destroyed, and the Goa'uld might have attacked before we had any way to stop them."
The school bell rung and the classes poured out. Jack and Daniel stood in an alleyway across from the school and watched the kids run out and start to get on buses and head for home. After a small time Charlie walked out of the building. He was smiling and talking with friends, enjoying life in general. Jack stood there and looked at him. He started to take a step forward towards him and just stopped. He stared at his son from the distance and a tear ran down his cheek. His expression never changing, the tears flowed. He could see his son, almost touch him, and could if he just stepped a bit farther. He didn't know what to do. In his head he could hear Daniel's words. About what he'd change, about how he got the chance to save who was important to him, but the team he called family never would. He turned around and stared at Daniel.
"Let's go back to the gate. We can't do anything else here. We'll have to hope Carter and Teal'c found something to use for a crystal." Daniel put his hand on Jack's shoulder trying to reassure his friend that he did the right thing. Jack quickly jerked back and started walking.
"Daniel, do me a big favor and don't talk to me or touch me. Matter of fact when we get home if you could go to Hell I'd be really happy." Daniel lowered his head and started to walk with Jack.
He shook his head, understanding that Jack lost the one moment that he wanted more than anything else. He tried to comfort the thought that Jack was reacting to the loss yet again, but his words did sting.
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