Story Bemerkung:
* denotes thought.
Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c were standing in he gate room, waiting to ship out to P2R-163.
"I'm really looking forward to this mission," Daniel said, "...especially with that big alien machine they found. There is supposed to be Ancient writing on the ruins in the area, but no markings on the machine...Sam, I really hope you can help me figure out what it is."
"Maybe...don't get your hopes up. The description SG-8 gave didn't sound like any Ancient device we have ever encountered before."
"There are no threats on the planet...indeed no sentient life of any kind. Would not a scientific or archaeological team be a better choice for this mission?" Teal'c asked.
"Would you rather stay here and keep poor Mitchell company?" Sam said. "I am pretty sure he would appreciate someone to play video games with...he has spent the last 3 days in bed after he broke his leg on PX1-746, and it's starting to drive him insane..."
"It does sound more appealing than this mission, perhaps I should..." Teal'c stated to say when the door opened and General Landry walked in, followed by General Jack O'Neill, wearing BDUs.
"What's that, Teal'c...don't want to go on this mission? I was looking forward to spending some quality time with my old gang..."
"General O'Neill...I will of course accompany you...it has been far too long since you were on a mission with us."
"Yes, we are happy to see you, General," Sam said.
"Good, thank you."
"OK, fellows...it should be a harmless mission, but take care of the general...he has been behind a desk for some time now and is probably a bit rusty..." Landry laughed and slapped O'Neill on the shoulder.
"Haha...very funny..."
The gate finished dialing and opened with a flushing sound. They looked at each other and started to walk up the ramp - it would be nice to be the 'old' SG-1, if only for one mission.
They emerged on P2R-163 - a planet which didn't seem to have been inhabited for thousands of years. There where ruins everywhere - the nearest was just to their right, only a short distance from the Stargate.
"God, I've missed this...even though I have a feeling I'm probably going to be bored out of my skull soon." O'Neill smiled at Daniel who looked like he couldn't wait to get his hands on the fascinating new artifacts.
"The strange device found by SG-8 should be just a short walk from the Stargate," Daniel said, "...it should be inside a relatively undamaged building at the end of a path near the forest...it must be that way," he pointed at a small overgrown road leading towards the treeline.
They followed the path and soon arrived at a building which was in much better condition than the surrounding ruins - it also appeared newer, as if it perhaps hadn't been built until the rest of the place had been abandoned. Reaching the doorway first, Daniel eagerly entered followed by the others.
"OK, Daniel, Sam...have fun. Teal'c and I are going to check the perimeter...look for potential danger...you know, generally pretending to do something useful while you look at the remains of cultures and civilizations which have been dead a couple of millennia." O'Neill said, before he and Teal'c left to see if they could find anything more interesting outside.
Daniel had already started looking at the large artifact. "See you..." he waved distractedly in their general direction.
-
Several hours of intensive study had brought them no answers. They neither knew when it was made, by whom, or for what purpose. Then, just as O'Neill and Teal'c walked back in through the doorway, Sam happened to press at two places at once on the device, and a flat stone noiselessly turned to reveal a control panel.
"Whoa..."
"Howdy guys...I see you just made some progress...working fast, are we?" O'Neill remarked.
"Very funny...there are no markings on the device, nor were there any obvious ways to access the controls...until I accidentally touched the secret 'open' button, that is..."
"Well...I guess we should consider ourselves lucky then...now, can you tell what it does?"
"I need more time to analyse it, before..." Sam started to say, when all of a sudden a low noise came from the device and a distortion wave moved out from it, rippling through them and accelerating out through the walls.
"Oops..I guess I shouldn't have touched that..." Daniel said.
"Daniel...what did you touch..." O'Neill demanded, *why does something like this always happen?*
"Just these buttons..." Daniels shrugged and pointed at them, looking embarrassed.
"I don't think it did anything major..." Sam said, looking at the controls and taking some readings, "...it might just have been a power fluctuation."
"So we are safe?" O'Neill asked.
"Yes, I think we are fine..."
"Good...now, we go back and let Doctor Lam confirm that."
"But...Jack, we haven't even begun to decipher what this machine does...it is clearly Ancient technology..." Daniel protested.
"General...I agree with Daniel," Sam said, "what if it leads to new advances...something we can use to protect Earth...we shouldn't leave so..." O'Neill interrupted her.
"We're going back, and that's final...if nothing bad happened to us, then you can go back and play tomorrow..."
He turned around and started to lead the way back to the Stargate. When they arrived there, Daniel dialed Earth, and they entered the wormhole...only to emerge in an alien landscape. They were clearly not in the gate room under Cheyenne Mountain - they were outside!
"All right...what happened?...where are we?" O'Neill asked.
Sam looked at Daniel, "did we misdial?"
"No, I'm pretty sure I dialed the right address...this should be Earth..."
Sam looked up at the dark, star-filled sky. "I think it is...the sky looks like Earth's sky, but we are not in North America..."
"Please don't tell me we time travelled...we are not in ancient Egypt..." O'Neill exclaimed.
"No...if we were that far in the past some of the constellations would look different, even to the naked eye, due to the movement of the stars relative to each other...also, due to precession of the Earth axis, Polaris would not be the pole star..."
"Yes, even I know that...now, does that mean we are in past or not?"
"We are not in the past, we are in the right time, or close to it...I don't think we have travelled to another time at all.
Teal'c interrupted them, "someone is coming. I suggest we continue this discussion at a later time and find a place to hide until we have determined whether they are friendly or not."
They quickly moved over to some buildings and looked out from behind them.
"They are Jaffas," Teal'c said, "Horus guards..."
"In that case you better take this," Daniel handed him his hat, which Teal'c quickly put on, hiding the symbol of the serpent guards.
The Horus guards stopped just beside the Stargate and started to look around for whomever it was that had just been there...then one of them pointed in the direction of SG-1. It was clear that they had been detected and that they would need a better place to hide - quickly.
They shot the first of the Horus guards, which by now were almost upon them - many more where coming fast and they fled. Running through the small passageways between the buildings of the city, they could hear the guards calling for reinforcements. Soon the whole area would be crawling with Jaffas...it was only a matter of time before they would be captured. Then, just as they had turned a corner, a door opened and a young woman called to them in a low voice, "this way, hurry..."
Deciding that it was a chance worth taking they ran into the house and quickly followed the woman through a couple of rooms until they came to a room in the back where a man was standing beside an opening in the floor. "Quickly," he said, "get down there before Ra's guards come here."
"Thank you," Daniel said to the man, before he followed the rest of SG-1 down into the darkness. The trapdoor closed after them and they heard the carpet being dragged over it.
"I really don't hope we have to stay down here for too long..." O'Neill said. He turned to Sam, "so...what happened...what's with all the Jaffa, if this present day Earth..."
"Well...the most likely explanation is that the Ancient machine somehow changed the timeline when Daniel touched the controls...it must have been built with the purpose of changing something in the past...something the inventor wanted undone."
"Of course, and in this timeline Ra never left Earth...there was no rebellion, no uprising against him." Daniel said.
"But...if that means that to these people it was always like this...then why do we remember it being different?" O'Neill wondered. He turned and looked at Sam, "shouldn't we have changed also...or were we protected because we were on a different planet?"
"No, something like this would most likely affect more than just Earth...the reason we are unchanged must have been because we were all standing close to the device, which were probably protected by a field of some sort...it makes sense...you would not want the machine to disappear because of an adjustment and you would like to be able to tell if what you did had the desired effect."
"So...since we are not in the past, we can interfere all we want, right?"
"True, but given the situation, I think we would be better off trying to get back to the planet and attempt to undo the changes..."
"Yes," Daniel added, "most likely all the Goa'uld we have killed in the last 9 years are still alive in this timeline, so even if we somehow manages to kill Ra, we would just have to start all over again...and this time we would not have the SGC."
"Could we not contact the Tok'ra?" Teal'c said.
"We don't know where they are or if any of them are still alive," Sam said, "or, indeed, if they have ever existed. There is just no way to know what has happened in this version of our reality...how different it is."
"I understand...so we go back and repair the damage to history?"
"Yes, if we can."
"So...our first task is to get back to the Stargate and away from Earth without getting captured." O'Neill said.
"What a mess...well...at least the Ori priors are probably gone from this galaxy, I suppose that is worth something..." Daniel said.
A sound as of heavy armoured boots came from above and quited all further discussion. The noise disappeared after a while and some time later they heard the carpet being pulled back and the trapdoor opened. The man from before were looking down at them, "the guards have left, it is safe to come up now."
They climbed up from their hide-out. "Thank you for helping us strangers," O'Neill said.
The man nodded, "you were being hunted by Jaffas...that was all we needed to know."
The woman came into the room, "The Jaffa seems to have given up the search, so it should be safe for you to leave...I'm sorry we can't offer you to stay any longer...I'm sure you understand the danger..."
"Yes, of course," Teal'c said, "we are grateful for your assistance."
"By the way...do you know if the Stargate always is guarded?" O'Neill wondered.
"Stargate?" both the man and the woman looked at him with a puzzled expression, "what is that?"
"The chaapa'ai." Daniel translated.
"Ah...no, it is not normally guarded, but there are usually some Jaffa close by. There is no reason to guard it...none of the humans here have the knowledge to operate it...it is only used by Ra and his Jaffa...and for transporting slaves and various goods of course..."
O'Neill nodded. "Right."
They again thanked their saviors, said goodbye and left to see if they could get to the Stargate or find somewhere else to hide for the time being.
-
They had managed to get to the same building they had hid behind earlier that day and were now watching the Stargate. A small group of Jaffas where standing around it, either guarding it or perhaps waiting for someone to arrive through it.
"Any suggestions as to what we do now?...return to the kind folks that saved us before?" O'Neill asked.
"I don't think we should do that," Daniel said, "they wanted to help, but they also seemed pretty scared...which isn't really surprising, they may very easily get in trouble."
"Yeah...I'm surprised they helped us in the first place, but I guess the Jaffa aren't very popular..." Sam remarked.
Suddenly the gate started dialing and then opened with a wooshing sound. A small party - a female Goa'uld and 3 Jaffas emerged. "Oh, no...it's Hathor," O'Neill moaned, "why does it have to be Hathor?"
"I believe this to be a fortunate event," Teal'c said, "...if she also is Ra's queen in this reality, then the majority of the Jaffa guarding the gate will accompany her, leaving only one or two behind."
Just as Teal'c had predicted, most of the Jaffas followed Hathor and only two stayed to guard the gate.
"I guess they won't leave the gate unguarded and risk us trying to make it through - they must somehow have realised that the people they tried to catch earlier today were not locals..." Daniel said.
O'Neill smiled grimly, "yeah...must've been the weapons we used to shoot that Jaffa...bet they've never seen projectile weapons before."
Hathor's party were by now far enough away that the footsteps of the guards could no longer be heard.
"All right," O'Neill said, "I guess now is the time if we want to do it...Teal'c, Carter, prepare to open fire on those to guards on my mark. Daniel, the moment they are down you must run for the DHD and dial out as quickly as possible...the shots will be heard and more Jaffa will be here fast."
"One more thing," Sam added, "we should dial to another planet first before going back to P2R-163...the glyphs could be seen."
O'Neill, Teal'c, and Sam jumped out from their cover and started shooting at the guards, which only managed to get a few shots off before they fell - fortunately, none of SG-1 was hit. As soon as he saw them fall, Daniel ran to the DHD and started dialing. Just as the Stargate opened, Jaffa where coming from all directions.
"Go, go, go..." O'Neill yelled and they all ran for the wormhole. Teal'c was the last one through, just as he entered, he felt the top of his shoulder being lightly zinged by a shot from a staff weapon. He stumbled out onto the other side, almost falling.
"Teal'c!" O'Neill yelled, as he and Daniel quickly caught him. "What happened?"
"Staff weapon." Teal'c gasped. They pulled him away from the gate as it closed behind them. As soon as the wormhole had shut down, Sam started dialing a new address and they went through. To throw off anyone following, they repeated this one more time, before they dialed the planet with the Ancient device.
They emerged on P2R-163 and quickly proceeded to the building containing the machine which had altered the timeline. Teal'c insisted on walking without assistance, but it was obvious that he was in pain.
"Teal'c, how are you doing?" Daniel asked, concerned.
"I will be fine."
"Yes...just remember, you don't have Junior to take care of you anymore...," O'Neill said. He then turned to Sam, "Carter, fix the damn timeline, so we can go home, will you?"
"I am trying, sir...Daniel, could you show me exactly what you did?"
"I think I just turned this wheel-like button a little bit...and then I may have touched these..." he pointed to some buttons and other controls.
Sam sighed and started examining the controls closer - after a little while she fiddled with some of them. "OK...I believe everything is back in their original position. I am ready to switch the machine on...we should all be staying close to it to be protected against its effects."
"Sam...could Teal'c not stay outside and have his wound healed when everything goes back to normal...it would never have happened then, right?" Daniel asked.
"Yes and no, if the timeline changes it would never have happened, but I am not 100% sure that I have it totally right and everything goes back to normal...if someone is outside the field and we end up in yet another changed timeline, that person would not remember the original timeline...it is just too risky."
"Of course...I suppose we could even end in a reality where one of is dead..."
"I understand," Teal'c said. "Do not concern yourself with my injury."
"All right then, push the button, Carter." O'Neill said.
Sam hit the controls and the machine again sent out the distortion field. Daniel looked at Sam, "well, everything looks the same, but I guess that doesn't tell us anything?"
"No, the ruins on this world are ancient...no pun intended...and the machine itself, though younger than the ruins, was also likely built and used long before most of human history....it would not be affected just because we changed something in the last 10.000 years of galactic history."
They walked back to the Stargate. Everything looked exactly the same here also.
O'Neill looked tired. "Time for the moment of truth, then...Daniel, open a wormhole to Earth."
"Wait," Sam said, "if something is still not right, then we should not risk all our GDO's - we should only bring one. Id we had been caught in that other timeline and they had taken away our stuff, then we would now be stranded...unable to return to Earth."
O'Neill looked at her. "...but I thought you had fixed the machine, Carter?"
"Yes, I am almost certain everything is back to normal...I just have a small, nagging doubt..."
He nodded. "OK...I suppose it is better to be safe than sorry. You three leave your GDO's here."
They hid 3 of their GDO's behind the DHD, Daniel dialed Earth, and they went through - and found themselves in the gate room of SGC. "Yes!" O'Neill exclaimed. "See?...no need to worry. We are finally home again..."
"Wait, sir, I am not sure everything is as it should be..." Sam started to say, when they were approached by a large man wearing what looked like a cross between the standard uniform and...something a Jaffa would wear? *...and the uniform of everyone else in the room are wrong too...* Sam groaned loudly.
"Congratulations, Teal'c..." the large man said, "our Lord Apophis has just increased the award for capturing the infamous SG-1..."
"What!..." O'Neill yelled as guards quickly surrounded them and took them away.
"Teal'c...I see you got yourself injured...does your symbiote not heal you as it should?...and where is the rest of your Jaffas?"
"They were killed by SG-1. My symbiote was injured and are healing itself first...I will be alright."
"Good...you will report your success to Lord Mahes. Dismissed."
-
O'Neill, Daniel, and Sam had been thrown into a holding cell at the SGC. It was located in the same area as in their reality, but looked more like those they had been in when captured by the Goa'uld. The guards had left them, so apparently they were not going to be interrogated just now.
"Great," O'Neill said. "Apophis has taken Earth...Carter, this was not what I meant when I asked you to fix the timeline..."
"Sorry, sir...I did say that I believed everything was back to normal, not that I was certain of it...I need to study the device further before we can make a new attempt at getting back home."
"That is, if we ever get a chance at even trying..." Daniel noted.
"Oh...will you stop being a pessimist?...we have gotten out of far worse situations than this one...we will pull through." O'Neill said.
Daniel shrugged, then nodded as he conceded the point. "What about Teal'c? They seemed to believe he was the one who had captured us...I hope he played along. Perhaps he can get us out."
"Maybe...I wonder...do you think the we of this timeline could have been in the service of Apophis and then betrayed him?"
"Doubtful," Sam said. "It is much more likely that 'we' simply fled when Apophis conquered Earth."
They all turned their heads towards the door as it opened and a group of guards arrived, dragging Teal'c between them. It was clear that he had been tortured. They unlocked the cell and threw him in, slamming the door after him and left without saying a word.
"Teal'c?" Daniel said, "what happened...are you all right?"
"No, I am not 'all right'...but I will be, when I get out of here," he was quiet for a moment as he gathered his strength, "...I was brought before 'Lord Mahes'...to report of my success in capturing you...it...it was General Hammond...he is now a Goa'uld! He sensed that I no longer carry a symbiote and immediately grew suspicious. Since I was unable to answer his questions to his satisfaction, he decided that I were to be tortured for information..." he looked at O'Neill, "...do not worry, I did not reveal anything..."
"I know..." O'Neill carefully patted Teal'c on the shoulder.
Teal'c told them what little else he had learned about this timeline. Apparently Apophis had attacked and conquered Earth nearly 8 years ago. A few of the SG teams, among those SG-1, had managed to flee. They had made a number of small attacks against Apophis's forces over the years and warrants had been put out for them. SG-1 had been the last to be captured. Tomorrow, Apophis himself would come for the prisoners.
Next day, Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, and O'Neill were all taken to the surface and transported aboard Apophis's ha'tak. Guards immediately grabbed them and started dragging them off to appear before their Lord.
'Welcome. So...the infamous SG-1 has finally been brought before me...and you, Teal'c my loyal first prime...why have you betrayed your God?..." Apophis said.
O'Neill groaned. This was going to be a long day.
-
Later, SG-1 is back in a holding cell aboard Apophis's ha'tak after a lengthy 'interrogation' session. They were in a bad shape.
"We need to get out of here, soon if we want to survive..." Daniel said.
"Yes...any ideas?" O'Neill asked.
Teal'c looked towards the door. "Be quiet...someone is coming."
A woman looked quickly around her and hurried to the holding cells door.
"Sha're?!" Daniel asked, unbelieving.
"My Daniel...it has been so long...I have missed you."
"I have missed you too...but how can this be?...is it really you?" he looked over her, realising that she was pregnant. "Amaunet is sleeping while you are with child?"
"Yes...the demon sleeps...she will awaken in one month, when the child is born...Daniel, you must hurry," she handed him a zat'nik'tel, "..use this to open the door and flee."
They got out of the cell just in time to see two Jaffa turn around a corner. Daniel quickly grabbed Sha're and pulled her to safety, while O'Neill shot the two guards. They quickly ran to them and took their weapons, Teal'c then took one of the uniforms and put it on. After doing this, they quickly shot the guards a couple more times until they disappeared.
O'Neill turned to look at Sha're. "OK...which way to the docking bay?"
"Follow me..." she carefully led them down a corridor. They all walked quietly, from time to time stopping to listen for foot steps. They only met one more group of Jaffas, which they took out easily. Arriving in the docking bay, they ran for the nearest teltac. Sha're kissed Daniel.
"Goodbye, my Daniel..."
"No...you are coming with us!" Daniel said.
"I cannot go with you...in one month the demon awakens...she will hurt you..." she started crying.
"Sha're, we know someone who can help you...who can remove the demon..." he turned to Sam, "...the Tok'ra will help her, right?"
"Yes, of course they will...and before you ask...no, it won't affect the timeline. She just needs to stay inside the field with the rest of us when we make the next attempt to change things back..."
"All right, time to leave. Get in the ship." O'Neill said.
They all entered the ship, with Sha're following them at Daniel's insistence. Teal'c opened the landing bay and they flew out, quickly cloaking the teltac just as a few shots were fired in their direction. Fortunately, none of them hit.
"That went surprisingly well..." Daniel noted.
"So...now we just set a course back to P2R-163, Carter adjusts the alien device, and we go home! No problem!" O'Neill said.
"Hopefully..." Daniel added in a low voice, however, he soon forgot his gloominess since Sha're was with him.
Despite Daniel's pessimism they got away from Apophis's ship and arrived safely back at P2R-163 without any incident. They landed the teltac next to the Stargate, where they picked up their GDO's and again walked to the building with the timeline-changing machine.
"OK, Carter, the damn machine is waiting for you, please get it right this time." O'Neill said and sat down against the nearest wall.
"Yes, sir..." Sam said, not looking very happy, as she walked over to the device. "When we go through the Stargate the next time, Sha're should wait here until we know we are back in our own timeline...it will be safer for her."
"Daniel...no!...I want to go with you, I will not stay here alone..." Share said.
"Sha're...it is just to keep you safe. I will come back for you as soon as we know everything is as it should be...do you remember what I explained to you?...about how history was changed?"
"Yes, but it does not seem possible that something that has already happened can be made different...or to not have happened at all!"
"I agree completely...I just wish nature agreed with me instead of the idiot that built that thing!" O'Neill gestured towards the Ancient device.
-
Several days later.
"Which attempt was this again? O'Neill asked, while they were returning from the Stargate to the Ancient machine.
"I believe it was number eleven, O'Neill." Teal'c stated.
"This time at least, we weren't in any danger, almost everything and everyone seemed normal, none of us were dead...I almost think we should stay here instead of risking another attempt..." Daniel said.
"That's easy for you to say, you weren't the one married to General Hammond...besides, they were still fighting both Anubis and the replicators..." Sam remarked.
"Yes, there is that..." he laughed, "I can still see your expression when Hammond tried to kiss you...it was priceless!"
"Haha...very funny." Sam didn't look amused, "...anyway, I believe I now know enough about how the device works to be able to calibrate it correctly." They had now reached the alarmingly familiar building and Sam immediately started fiddling with the machine.
"So, the next attempt should be the last?" O'Neill looked hopeful.
"Yes, it should."
"That's the best news I've had in...what...4 days?"
"Indeed, it has been almost 4 days." Teal'c said, "I, for one, shall be most pleased to return home again."
"Just a moment..." Sam made some final adjustments, "all right, I'm ready...everyone, stay inside the field."
Daniel, Sha're, O'Neill, and Teal'c all went to stand beside Sam. She hit the controls and the by now very familiar distortion effect appeared.
"Carter, can that thing be rigged to blow?" O'Neill asked.
"Yes, I believe I can overload the power source - that should destroy it completely."
"Good, if we return to find that all is as it should be, then I would like you to return and blow the damn thing so no one else stumbles in and does something stupid."
"Understood, sir. That's a wise precaution."
They all went to the Stargate, Daniel dialed Earth, and they sent their IDC. After a moment they all walked into the wormhole and soon arrived on Earth, in the familiar surroundings of the SGC.
"Stand down, folks." Landry said. "Welcome back. We were getting very worried...what happened?" He suddenly saw Sha're, "...and who is that?"
"It's a very long story, Hank. We will tell you everything that has happened, but first we have some very important questions...and Teal'c need to go to the infirmary." O'Neill said.
"Of course."
Teal'c went to the infirmary and the rest of them walked with Landry to the briefing room where they gave a short version of what had happened. If, as it appeared, it turned out that everything was back to normal, then they would give a longer report. For now, they had a large number of questions which Sam and Daniel had agreed would assure they were in the right timeline.
Much later they were finally sure that the timeline had been restored. Ra had been blown up with his ship on Abydos, Apophis was dead, Jacob had blended with Selmak and become Tok'ra, tretonin was now available to the Jaffas, and so on... Everything checked out. Satisfied that they were indeed home in their own timeline, O'Neill finally relaxed. Now there was just one more thing that needed to be done before he could feel completely safe.
"Carter...I'm convinced. We are actually back in our own timeline...there are no little surprises, pleasant or otherwise. I suggest you go and blow that damn time-altering device immediately, before anyone messes further with it."
"Yes, sir...with pleasure."
Sam collected some things she would need, the wormhole was again opened up to P2R-163, and she quickly stepped through.
Teal'c had been to the infirmary and been patched up. The others had gone to the mess hall to get something to eat and then on to the rec room for some much deserved and needed relaxation. Even Daniel and Sha're had joined them for a little while, even though they longed to spend some time alone. Teal'c had insisted on going to hang out with the others instead of staying in the infirmary and after some time, Dr. Lam had agreed to it. Cameron Mitchell was much better, so he decided to join Teal'c.
"You really were in a alternate timeline?" Mitchell asked, very interested, as Teal'c explained while they walked to the rec room.
"Yes...several, in fact."
Mitchell appeared thoughtful, "...and Sam went to blow up the machine...I think I have a fun idea," he smiled ...
An hour later the speakers were announcing the gate activation and since it was Sam's IDC, they all converged on the gate room.
Sam had managed to overload the power source of the Ancient device, and it was now fully and thoroughly destroyed. Satisfied that no one would ever be able to repair it and use it to mess with their timeline, she dialed Earth and went home. She could finally relax.
She stepped out onto the ramp in the gate room and just stared.
"All hail Carter, Supreme System Lord of the Tau'ri!" Mitchell, Daniel, O'Neill, Teal'c, and a few people from some of the other SG-teams all shouted as one, while they gave the 'mirror-universe' salute.
"What!...I mean..." she still looked utterly confused. Daniel started laughing and soon all the others joined him.
"Your expression...it was fantastic!..I mean, you should just have seen yourself..." Daniel said.
Teal'c smiled. "It was indeed quite entertaining."
Sam just looked at them for a moment. "You're just too much, you know that?..." she started smiling, "...but I guess it was a great joke..." She started laughing with them, finally relaxing.
"All right, guys," O'Neill said. "I know it's only afternoon, but I'm pretty tired after all that's happened, so I am going to head up to my temporary quarters and get some sleep before I return home...."
O'Neill left for his quarters. He felt really tired and just barely managed to take a quick bath, before he threw himself on the bed and quickly fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Teal'c and Mitchell had returned to the infirmary. Sha're, who had been to see the doctor, went over to Daniel and Sam. Daniel put an arm around her and smiled at her, then turned to Sam.
"Sam, I assume we have to wait until after Sha're has given birth before the Tok'ra can attempt to remove Amaunet?"
"Yes, I am quite sure the symbiote needs to be awake for the process, but we should probably try and contact them soon...it sometimes takes a while to get hold of them, especially now where the alliance isn't as solid as it once were...I suggest we go talk to Landry immediately."
Daniel and Sha're agreed to this and the three of them were soon standing in Landry's office.
"General, as we talked about earlier, we need the help of the Tok'ra to remove Amaunet from Sha're," Daniel said.
"...we would like your permission to contact them." Sam added.
"The Tok'ra!" Landry exclaimed, "I knew I had forgotten something...sorry, Colonel, but when we were unable to reach you after 48 hours, we tried to contact the Tok'ra...all we got back was a short message saying that an Ori prior had just arrived to preach Origin and that they would move base before he came back for their answer."
"A sensible precaution...well, I'm sure they will contact us when they have settled on the new planet."
Just then, the speakers started blaring: "Unscheduled off world activation." They hurried to the control room. "Receiving IDC, sir...it's the Tok'ra," Harriman said.
"Open the iris." Landry turned to Sam, "...aren't you going to meet them?"
She looked a little confused. "Yes, sir...of course," she quickly walked to the gate room, followed by Daniel, Sha're, and Landry.
Sam came into the room as a man in his early sixties emerged from the wormhole, carrying a small child. Following him was a young man, who had with him a slightly bigger child. For a short moment, Sam just stood there, staring, before she managed to recover enough to speak. She shook her head slightly, as if she still had trouble believing what she saw. "Dad...Martouf..."
They both looked a little strangely at her. "Is something the matter, my Samantha?" Lantash said, as he put down the little girl. She immediately ran to Sam, happily shouting, "Mommy, mommy...I've missed you."
Sam still didn't know what to believe, but bent down and hugged the girl anyway. This was very strange, but she was very cute. Besides, the Ancient time-altering device was destroyed, so Sam had to accept the timeline as it was...it was not going to change... She looked up at her father, standing a short distance away, holding her son. Then she looked at Martouf/Lantash and smiled. As they pulled her into a tight hug, she decided she liked this version of the timeline better, much better.
-
Meanwhile, in O'Neill's quarters.
Sleeping soundly, O'Neill didn't hear the door being opened, as a young woman snuck in, and closed the door quietly behind her. She looked down at him and smiled, while noiselessly undressing and dropping her clothing on the floor before climbed onto the bed. Slowly, she let her hands slide lovingly over his body, waking him as gently as possible. She smiled, snuggled closer, and spoke seductively. "Dearest...We are so happy that you are safely back with us again...we missed you..." and as her voice and expression became more amorous, "...We need you so much...please, husband, fuck us..."
O'Neill looked at her with a shocked expression, "Anise..."
THE END.