Reading Time: 122 Minutes

Title: Another Country
Author: Daisy May
Fandom: Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis
Genre: Action Adventure, Crossover, Drama, Episode Related, Romance, Time Travel
Relationship(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Other pairings
Content Rating: R
Warnings: Murder (minor character), violence-canon level, character bashing, Discussion-rape
Alpha: Ed Ronhia
Word Count: 156,874
Summary: When Jack O’Neill found himself fourteen years in the past, he had to work out why he’d been sent back to this point. The ‘how’ was uncertain, and probably irrelevant, he decided, for the moment at least. Now all he had to do was change the things he thought were important, preferably without killing his Grandad – ‘or was it killing my Granny? For cryin’ out loud, I wish I’d listened better to Carter!’
Artist: Mizu Sage

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Chapter Six

The search for John Sheppard took longer than Jack had expected. Despite a desire not to draw attention to him, Jack could confirm Sheppard wasn’t serving in either Iraq or Afghanistan – or at least not overtly.

‘I don’t want to go through official channels, at least not yet,’ Jack explained to Daniel over lunch in a quiet corner of the officer’s mess in Cheyenne Mountain one day in early March.

‘Why not?’ Daniel took a mouthful of steak pie and hummed as he savoured the taste. ‘Why don’t we eat in here more often? The food’s much better than in the normal mess.’

Jack gave him an indulgent look. ‘It comes from the same kitchen, Danny. It’s just restaurant style here rather than cafeteria.’ He shook his head as Daniel gave him one of his ‘does not compute’ frowns. ‘Served at the table rather than having to wait in line?’

‘Oh. I never knew that. I just go where you or Sam go. I guess I rarely ate in a restaurant growing up or at college, and now…’ He shrugged.

It took all of Jack’s control not to react to Daniel’s innocent admission: his maternal grandfather’s lack of care, and, indeed, lack of interest in an eight-year-old Daniel after the death of his parents was unconscionable in Jack’s eyes. For Jack, children were precious, and he’d have done anything to get his own son back. Why couldn’t I have gone back far enough to save Charlie? Or even to save Danny from foster care and save Charlie? It wasn’t the first, and wouldn’t be the last time he had such thoughts, but, just as before, he pushed them down and answered Daniel’s initial question.

‘Because I don’t want any higher-ups wondering about our interest in Sheppard, and especially not the NID. If they got to him first, he could easily become a part of their operation without realising they’re on the wrong side.’

‘But surely, once he realised what they were up to – stealing alien technology for their own gain – he’d refuse to have anything to do with them?’

This was such a typical Daniel-Jackson-wide-eyed-naivety that Jack couldn’t help laughing. ‘That’s not how they’d justify it to him, Danny. What do Maybourne, Frank Simmonds, and Robert Makepeace have in common?’

‘Huh?’

‘Come on. What do Maybourne, Simmonds, and Makepeace all have in common?’

‘Umm. They all…work for the NID?’

‘That, and they’re all members of the Air Force senior to Captain Sheppard. They’re his superior officers, and if they order him to do something, he has to do it, or risk a court martial.’

‘But I thought the point was that Sheppard disobeyed orders?’

‘Stupid orders that risked some folks’ lives, yes. But if he was instructed to seize a piece of equipment which they said would protect lives on Earth, or help with the defence of this country? If he didn’t know they were running a clandestine operation, he’d just see the usual chain of command and do as he was told. Hell, much of what the NID does is legitimate: you only have to look at Agent Barrett to see that. How could Sheppard recognise the rogue element within the NID without knowing what to look for?’

‘Okay, so no tipping off the powers that be. How will you find him if he’s not where you expected him to be?’

‘I’m not sure yet, but the more I think about it, the more I think I must have switched dimensions when I came back, or was sent back in time.’

‘Based on…?’

Jack stared at him. ‘I don’t know what you mean?’

‘What’s so different this time than before, aside from Sam being more…manipulative.’

Sitting back in his chair, Jack sipped his coffee and thought again about the irregularities between past – future? – and present. ‘There’s Carter and the crap she’s pulling, and…McKay is different, I’m pretty sure. Carter originally described him as ‘petty, arrogant, and bad with people’.’

‘Really?’ Daniel screwed up his face. ‘I wouldn’t have said that at all. He’s certainly abrupt at times, and from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t suffer fools gladly, but petty and arrogant? No.’ Daniel shook his head. ‘And he appears to get on really well with Zelenka and Miko, so bad with people is out as well. Miko says she owes him everything.’

Jack frowned at him. ‘What?’

‘I told you McKay arranged for her to go to college, didn’t I?’

‘Well, yes, but why would she owe him for that? It’s not as though he’d miss the money. He’s loaded, and was before he even came to the SGC.’

‘Maybe, but she only got into such a good school because he recommended her, and he paid for all her degrees, not just her undergrad.’

‘And why is that relevant to me thinking I’m in a different dimension?’

‘It’s not, not really. I’m just trying to explain some of the differences which make you think you are.’

Jack leaned back and gazed at the concrete ceiling. For a former pilot, he’d adapted to living underground pretty well. Sheppard hated serving here in the future because he missed the sky. Why don’t I feel the same?

‘Are the only differences you’ve seen so far been about people?’ Daniel asked at length, proving – not for the first time – he could almost read Jack’s mind.

‘I…guess so. Why?’

‘Because they could be explained by a change in circumstances.’ At Jack’s puzzled look, he continued. ‘You admitted you’d never come across McKay at Area 51 before, and your knowledge about him came from Sam alone, as you weren’t on base when he came here originally. And if you hadn’t gone to see McKay in Nevada this time, you might not have decided to bring him here, and we’d still be stuck with Folger and Lee, and…the other one.’

‘Coombes,’ Jack supplied absently, considering what Daniel was saying. Huh. Deciding to get rid of Carter’s sycophants set this whole train rolling. Neither Danny nor I were here when Teal’c got stuck in the gate. All our info about McKay was second hand. Second-hand from Carter. He squeezed his eyes closed. If I hadn’t tried to make things right for him, I might have been able to have my relationship with Carter. Except…it would just have hidden the truth, which was probably always there. Jesus fucking Christ! I fucking hate being manipulated!

Daniel tilted his head. ‘Jack. Surely it’s better you knew what Sam’s done before you got into a relationship with her. And…Well.’ Daniel looked downwards and sighed. ‘None of her previous relationships worked out, as far as I’m aware. Maybe it’s bad luck, maybe it’s…something else?’

‘Bad luck?’ Jack frowned. ‘In what way?’

‘She was engaged to Jonas Hanson at one time. Then there were Martouf, and Orlin, and Narim from Tollan. They all died .’

‘But Carter didn’t kill them. Are you suggesting…What are you suggesting?’

‘That the men she’s been involved with all come to a sticky end.

‘So the odd reference I’ve heard around about Black Widows was aimed at Carter?’

‘Yes? No? I don’t know! I’d just rather you not die, Jack, not now I’ve got you trained!’

Jack regarded him for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Anyhoo. John Sheppard?’

‘What about him?’

‘How can I find him, Daniel? Any ideas?’

Tapping his lip with his finger, Daniel frowned. ‘What about his family? Do you know anything about them? Can they help? Or will that make more—’

‘His family! Of course! Daniel Jackson, you are a genius.

*****

Patrick Sheppard had passed away in the previous timeline before Jack had even heard of him. A billionaire Utilities Mogul wasn’t the sort of father Jack had supposed John Sheppard to have had, although he’d find it difficult to articulate just what sort of father he thought Sheppard might have. He was also pretty certain the IOA had never joined the dots to recognise which family of Sheppards John belonged to, as they’d have certainly tried to use it to their benefit in some way. Bastards!

He’d been vaguely aware of a rift in the relationship between John and his father, and although he’d heard mention from Sam Carter of it being long-standing, he didn’t know what had caused it, other than the owner of a massive company might expect his son to join the family business rather than serve Uncle Sam. Whatever the reason for their animosity, he would have to tread very carefully in his interactions with Sheppard Senior.

Since an Air Force Colonel contacting Patrick Sheppard asking where his son was would raise some awkward questions, Jack asked Daniel to contact Patrick, posing as an old college friend of John.

‘And you’re sure he won’t find that odd?’ Daniel asked him over supper one night at Jack’s house.

‘I suppose he might, but it’s better than me asking where Sheppard is. He’d want to know why I couldn’t just pull his file.’

‘And you can’t just pull his file because…?’

‘F’crying out loud, we talked about this, Danny.’

‘I was not a part of that conversation, O’Neill,’ Teal’c commented, then raised a single eyebrow when Jack huffed at him.

‘I don’t want Sheppard brought to the attention of anyone who might be watching.’

‘D’you mean junior or senior?’ Daniel asked innocently, and Jack caught sight of a smirk on his face, and promptly threw a cushion at him.

Putting his arms up to defend himself, Daniel lost hold of the can of soda in his hands, which promptly spilled all over the coffee table. Once order was restored and clean-up completed, Daniel took the new cell phone Jack offered him, and the piece of paper with Patrick Sheppard’s telephone number on it.

‘Will this connect to him personally?’

‘No, it’s for the main switchboard of Sheppard Industries,’ Jack informed him. ‘I doubted whether a college-chum of John’s would have access to a direct number, and in any case, I couldn’t find one.’

‘So I might well just get routed between secretaries and never speak to Senior at all?’ Daniel gave his friend a flat look. ‘How is that going to help?’

‘Just…just call the number tomorrow morning, Daniel,’ Jack sighed. ‘We’ll deal with that if or when it happens. Work the problem right in front of you.’

‘As far as I can tell, there are several problems right in front of us at present. And why can’t I call now?’

‘Because it’s almost 19:00 here, so 21:00 there?

‘It’s unlikely the CO of a corporation keeps office hours, and it may be better to call at this time as there probably aren’t as many folk around. I may reach him more easily.’

Jack shrugged. ‘Up to you.’

Daniel regarded him for a moment. ‘I’ll go and do it in my room. More privacy, and you won’t interrupt me!’

Jack looked over to Teal’c who, again, raised an eyebrow. The Jaffa eyebrow of doom, Jack thought, irreverently. ‘Any thoughts, T-man?’

‘I have not, O’Neill.’

Daniel returned to the sitting room twenty minutes later to find his two friends waiting expectantly.

‘So, get his entire life-history?’ Jack asked him, making Daniel frown and look at his watch.

‘Huh. I didn’t realise we’d been talking quite that long.’

Jack stared at him for a long moment. ‘And? So? Therefore?’

Daniel gave him a puzzled look.

‘The phone call, Dr Jackson. Did you get hold of Patrick Sheppard? Do you know where John is?’

‘Oh, yes. He’s at…ummm…ACC? No, ASS. No, no—’

‘Danny! You had one job! Did you actually speak to Patrick Sheppard?’

‘Yes!’ Daniel scowled at him. ‘We had a very interesting conversation.’

‘About?’

‘Oh, about all sorts of things, and—’

‘Daniel Jackson. I believe O’Neill will pull out his hair unless you answer his questions with all haste,’ Teal’c told him.

Daniel looked at him suspiciously. ‘Did you just make a joke? Only, it’s always difficult to tell with you, Teal’c and—’

‘DANIEL!’ Jack bellowed, now on his feet. ‘Focus!’ He took a deep breath to steady himself and sat back down carefully. ‘Dr Jackson. Will you please tell me the whereabouts of Captain John Sheppard?’

‘I already told you. He’s doing a course at AS…or AC something.’

Jack frowned at him. ‘ACSC?’

Daniel pointed a finger at him. ‘That’s the one. In Alabama, right?’

‘The Air Command and Staff College? Danny, are you sure you got that right? Only, as far as I know, Captain Sheppard never went to ACSC. Never did any further education after college.’

‘Well, he’s there now, or at least Major Sheppard is, until the end of May, his father told me, and…’

‘And?’ Jack prompted as Daniel considered how to explain the sense of something important not actually verbalised by Sheppard Senior, but evident all the same.

‘Mr Sheppard seemed…to be waiting for me to say something else, and it was as though he was…disappointed when we ended our conversation. I got the feeling I was…missing something?’

‘Missing something? Missing what?’

‘If I knew that I wouldn’t be saying I thought I missed something!’ Daniel retorted, flinging out a hand and narrowly missing Teal’c, who never moved a muscle. ‘You said Senior and Junior had a poor relationship in the past, but—’

‘I said they had no relationship whatsoever,’ Jack corrected him. ‘ Sam told me they hadn’t spoken in years, and John hadn’t spoken with his brother either until his father’s funeral in 2008.’

‘Well, Patrick Sheppard certainly has a good relationship with his son now,’ Daniel said flatly. ‘In fact, he’s invited me to pay a visit to Virginia at the end of the month as John will be home for spring break.

*****

With McKay and Kusanagi busy with finding a DHD, Jack turned his mind to one of his other problems: the Replicators.

The battle between the Asgard and the Replicators had, ultimately, led to the extinction of the Asgard – in the Milky Way at least – and was something Jack wanted desperately to prevent. As Teal’c had suggested at the time, the Replicator girl, Reese, might be the key to helping the Asgard in their fight against the Replicators in their home galaxy. In any case, Jack had several warnings to give to Thor, not least that trying to trap the Replicators within a time-dilation field would only allow them to speed it up, giving them a longer period in which to evolve and possibly create an army of humanoid Replicators.

Bearing in mind the failure of SG-2 to contact the Asgard after SG-1 had returned from their mission to P3S-517 with Reese in the past, Jack advised General Hammond to try to contact the Asgard as soon as possible. The Asgard communicator which Thor had given to Jack in 1999 could only be used off-world – Thor hadn’t wanted to give the Taur’i too easy a means of contacting with them – unless there happened to be an Asgard ship in orbit. Thus, while SG-9 were now sent to use the communication stone on a planet towards the outer edge of the Milky Way, SG-17 went to Cimmeria to use the Hall of Wisdom Thor had created on Cimmeria to allow the Cimmerians a means of communicating directly with their Asgard protectors. It would also double as an orientation mission for SG-17’s recruit, 2^nd Lt Kevin Elliot, who hadn’t died on Revanna this time around, something which gave Jack immense relief. We don’t leave our people behind.

‘What exactly are you aiming to achieve regarding the Asgard?’ General Hammond asked Jack during one of their bi-weekly briefings.

‘I’m hoping they might find a way to destroy – or at least incapacitate – their Replicators if they can study Reese without reactivating her. We were pretty certain she was ground zero for all the Replicators in the Milky Way and Ida galaxies.’

”What happened last time?’ Daniel asked. ‘Since you told us the Asgard essentially committed mass suicide, I take it they never got to study her.’

Jack grimaced. ‘I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me that, Danny. I’m afraid I didn’t cover myself in glory over the kid—android.’

‘So what happened?’

‘Long story short, the base was overrun by replicator blocks she created and we’d set the auto-destruct. You were trying to reason with her, Danny, to get her to shut them all down and return to sleep mode when Carter and I finally managed to break through the gate room door and I shot her.’

‘It sounds as though you were only acting on orders, Jack,’ Hammond told him. ‘If the auto-destruct was set, we had a finite amount of time to either eliminate the threat, or destroy the entire base with us in it.’

Jack felt an immense wave of relief wash over him: he hadn’t realised just how much he’d blamed himself from killing the girl. Machine, robot, whatever.

‘I’m more concerned that I apparently gave permission for the android to be brought back to base,’ Hammond continued. ‘Why did I allow it?’

Jack hesitated. He’d been against bringing it back in the first place, but Carter’s desire to further her knowledge of nanotechnology, as well as Daniel’s to investigate the end of a civilisation had persuaded him, and, in his turn, he had persuaded the general to grant permission. ‘I…I persuaded you, sir,’ he admitted somewhat shamefacedly. ‘Carter said it would be okay and…’

‘And I probably didn’t help, did I?’ Daniel asked, a wry smile on his face. ‘Did I argue about her rights and want to gain her trust?’ At Jack’s nod of acknowledgment, he gave a bark of laughter which had nothing to do with amusement. ‘Sounds about right.’

‘It wouldn’t have been a problem if we hadn’t activated it,’ Jack pointed out. ‘I was against doing that, but…’

‘But Sam can be very persuasive when dealing with technology, can’t she?’ Daniel added.

Sighing heavily, Jack nodded his head. ‘In hindsight, she’s always been that way,’ he agreed reluctantly. ‘Remember when SG-10 got stuck on the planet with the black hole?’

‘I missed that,’ Daniel reminded him. ‘I was stuck off-world with SG-6.’

‘Right. I’d forgotten—’ General Hammond cleared his throat, bringing Jack’s attention back to the point. ‘Well, Carter was more concerned with studying the black hole than the effect it was having on the members of SG-10,’ Jack continued. ‘Activating the android fell into the same class. Her desire for knowledge outweighed the risk of turning the damn thing on.’

‘It doesn’t sound as though any of us covered ourselves with glory,’ Hammond commented, ‘although I am concerned with Major Carter’s desire to study the thing. As she frequently tells us, she’s an astrophysicist, yet she appears to have an insatiable desire to study everything with which we come into contact.’

‘But, as Jack just said, she’s always been like that,’ Daniel pointed out.

‘Agreed, but given the new context in which to view her actions, I have to question many of the decisions she’s taken.’ Hammond tapped his pencil absently on his briefing notes. ‘Having one of the engineers examine the android would make more sense, but she apparently kept the technology to herself.’

‘She allowed Janet Fraiser to examine it,’ Jack felt obliged to say.

‘Yet Dr Fraiser is not a researcher. I’m afraid this is more evidence to support Dr McKay’s allegation regarding Major Carter’s…reluctance to pass on research to the proper parties.’

‘But you can’t act upon this knowledge, can you, sir?’ Daniel asked. ‘It hasn’t actually happened here, and now probably won’t.’

‘No, I can’t act in this instance, Dr Jackson, but a familiar pattern is emerging, and I intend to keep a close eye on it.’ General Hammond turned his attention back to Jack. ‘Anything further to add?’

‘Just that if we manage to make contact with the Asgard, we be frank about where my knowledge has come from.’

‘You want to tell them you’ve travelled in time?’

Jack nodded. ‘I do, sir. It’s the only way to convince Thor I’m telling the truth, and for him to then act on my knowledge. Nor can we afford for him to ignore the risk Anubis will pose for him personally, and, subsequently, for the rest of the galaxy. I’d also like to ask him to retrieve a couple of spare Stargates for us.’

‘Stargates, not just DHDs?’ Hammond raised an eyebrow.

‘Yes, sir. Unless we can prevent him, Anubis is going to use a weapon called a Stargate Destroyer against us, which, huh, will destroy our gate.’

‘Go on.’

‘It’s an Ancient device built to destroy a Stargate from another Stargate by transmitting large amounts of energy, causing the other gate to overload and explode. Anubis used it on us and I’d rather not go that route again.’

‘Why would the Ancients build a thing like that?’ Daniel asked, doodling absently on his notepad.

‘I’m guessing the answer you’re looking for isn’t because they’re arrogant fucks?’

‘Jack!’

‘It’s true though, isn’t it?’ Jack demanded. ‘Wait until you see what those bastards left in the Pegasus galaxy, then you won’t argue with me!’

‘Colonel! Dr Jackson!’

Ooops. Back to ‘Colonel’ again!

Hammond glanced at his watch and shifted in his chair. ‘I have my grandchildren coming to stay this weekend, so I’d like to wrap this up now, please, gentlemen. Colonel, you’ll be in command over the weekend. If we get a response from the Asgard, you have a go to both brief Thor and to request he retrieve a couple of Stargates for us. I’m assuming you want to store them on Level 29 as we did the second Stargate when we kept it here?’

‘It’s the only place with easy enough access, sir, and probably the safest. I’d also prefer we keep it as quiet as possible – although I am aware of how quickly news travels here.’

‘Mmm. Probably a forlorn hope there, Jack. Still, we can hope. Is that all?’

‘All that’s relevant for the moment, sir.’

‘Good. Now disappear, the pair of you, and unless the planet’s at risk, don’t disturb me this weekend. I haven’t been able to spend much time with Kayla and Tessa recently. I’m hoping to make up for lost time. Dismissed.’

Jack scowled at his CO. ‘You realise you’ve probably jinxed us, don’t you, sir?’

Hammond pointed at his face. ‘This is me not caring. It’s all your problem now, Jack, although I’m sure if you talk nicely to Dr Jackson, he’ll keep you company. Now, go!’

*****

Daniel trailed behind Jack as his friend made his way to his small office on Level 24.

‘Remind me again why you moved your office to this level,’ Daniel asked as they entered the cramped room. Your other office was much larger.’

Pointing his finger at his friend, Jack nodded. ‘And that’s exactly why I moved. And why I don’t have a chair for visitors. It only encourages lingering and unimportant chit-chat. This way, if someone comes here, I know it’s important, see?’

‘Well, yeah, but isn’t it a bit anti-social?’

‘I’m a colonel in the Air Force, in a top, top secret programme. I don’t give a damn if I’m anti-social.’ Jack seated himself in his desk chair and raised his eyebrows. ‘Was there something specific you wanted, Danny?’

‘I wanted to talk about Sam.’

‘Really?’ Jack pulled a face. ‘Haven’t we just done enough of that?’

Daniel rounded the desk and perched himself on the corner, facing Jack. ‘I’m worried about her, and about her career in particular, and…Well. Just hear me out. You heard what General Hammond said; he’s going to keep a close eye on her.’

‘And? So? Therefore?’

‘It’s just…If you hadn’t come back in time and started digging around, and if you hadn’t brought in McKay and the others from Area 51, she wouldn’t be in trouble. Is it fair that she—’

‘Whoa there, Daniel.’ Jack pushed himself away from his desk and linked his hands behind his head. ‘Carter’s problems are of her own making. Granted, I wasn’t aware of it in the past, but she still did it, and—’

‘That’s my point!’ Daniel stood up and moved around the room, restless in both body and mind. ‘Did she really do the same things? You said yourself you suspect you’ve come to an alternate universe—’

‘Different dimension, not different universe.’

‘Same difference! What—’

‘They’re not the same at all.’ Jack spoke over him, making Daniel stop and look at his friend carefully. ‘And whether or not she did the same things last time, she’s guilty now and, honestly, is lucky she’s not in more serious trouble.’

Daniel frowned at Jack. ‘Why isn’t she in more serious trouble? You said yourself that if it was Captain Meyers who’d hacked your computer, you’d court-martial him. If what she’s done is so bad, why isn’t she in trouble about it?’

Jack sighed and ran his hands through his hair. ‘This is strictly confidential, right? In fact, all of what we’ve spoken about today is strictly confidential.’ He waited until Daniel nodded. ‘Under normal circumstances she’d be facing an Article 15 at the very least, and—’

‘What’s an Article 15?’

‘It’s the same thing as Non-Judicial Punishment.’

‘I don’t know what that is either.’

‘It’s an inquiry held by a senior officer, General Hammond, in this case, which has the right to impose a fairly minor punishment on a service member.’

‘That doesn’t sound too bad.’

‘It’s not as bad as a court martial, for example, but it’s recorded in your service record and can affect future promotions, et cetera. It’s what John Sheppard had in his record in the future, and what we’re trying to avoid this time. The trouble is…’ He paused for a moment, and after a few seconds, Daniel prompted him.

‘The trouble is…what?’

Jack sighed. ‘The trouble is, someone so disaffected by the SGC is at risk of recruitment by the NID – or any other bad guys for that matter – who have too great an interest in our programme already. The last thing we want is for Carter to resign and fall into the clutches of someone who’ll work against us.’

‘Would she really do that?’ Daniel asked, his head tilted to one side.

‘It’s a possibility we want to avoid at all costs. If the worst comes to the worst, we’ll have to send her to an off-world site and keep her there.’

‘So it would affect her career.’ It wasn’t a question.

‘Danny, all sorts of things could happen which could affect the career of any of us. I may have made general in the other timeline, but that’s no guarantee I will this time.’

Daniel considered this, gazing unseeingly at the wall opposite and running the information he had through his head. At length, he focussed on his friend. ‘You didn’t want this at all, did you, Jack?’

Jack leaned back in his chair. ‘I certainly didn’t ask for it, if that’s what you mean. And I’m still trying to work out exactly why I got a second chance, when you, for example, didn’t.’

‘Because you’re better placed to make the necessary changes. I couldn’t have persuaded you to bring McKay and his buddies here, and I certainly couldn’t have persuaded General Hammond to do it.’ He glanced around the room again. ‘You do need to get at least one other chair in here, Jack. We can’t hold a conversation like this!’

‘Which is why, as I said, I don’t have another chair.’ Daniel scowled at him, making him laugh and hold out his hands. ‘Okay, okay. I’ll look for another chair, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be a comfortable one. Now, let’s continue this conversation later in the officer’s mess. Quietly.’

‘Why not at your house?’

‘Because I’m the duty commander and have to stay here this weekend, remember? Dinner at 18:00, okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘Now, buzz off as I do have actual work to do.’

Raising a hand as he left, Daniel headed for his own lab, then paused for a moment, and changed direction. I think I need to talk to Rodney McKay, but I need more information first.

*****

According to Jack, Daniel, and Rodney McKay developed a mutual respect for each other if not precisely friendship – albeit somewhat grudgingly on McKay’s side – so Daniel decided he needed to make the first moves towards a better relationship between them, especially since he’d already begun to get to know Zelenka and Miko Kusanagi better. ‘Know your enemy’ – or ally, in this case – was a sensible maxim and since research was one of his super-powers – also according to Jack – Daniel decided to research the hell out of the scientist known as Rodney McKay. Which turned out not to be the man’s name, or at least not his whole name.

‘Meredith McKay,’ Daniel muttered to himself as he read the relevant personnel file – Sam wasn’t the only one who could hack a computer, although that was something Daniel kept very much to himself. It’s no wonder the man has a whole mountain of rock on his shoulder if he went through school with the name Meredith. Who on earth does that to their son? Discovering Meredith left home for college at 12 – where he immediately dropped his first name – made a lot of sense to Daniel, although he wondered A. Why his parents were willing to let him go alone at such a young age, and B. Why he was willing to leave his family? – It certainly suggests the lack of an emotional link between both parent and son and would certainly explain a lot.

Either way, as far as he could tell, Rodney McKay had little to no contact with his parents after he left for Northwestern University – where he was post grad by 14 – and now his parents were dead, he appeared to have little to no contact with his only sibling – a married sister with no children.

Because of his own dysfunctional childhood, Daniel had no problem identifying similar traits in someone else, and he also knew how much the friendships and the sense of belonging at the SGC had helped him settle and grow into his position there and he wanted to give Rodney the same opportunity and encouragement. He was also very aware he couldn’t simply march into Rodney’s lab and announce their friendship, so he began a subtle campaign of which he was really quite proud.

First of all, he made sure to nod and/or smile at McKay when he ran across him in the mess or in a corridor, making no attempt to force a conversation on him, just simply being courteous. Then, after a surreptitious visit to McKay’s lab late one night, his second move was to order two inexpensive coffee making machines, aware that the new and improved machines would soon be available commercially. He set one up in his own lab, then took the second machine down to Rodney’s lab on Level 19.

‘You’re a coffee drinker, aren’t you, Dr McKay?’ Daniel asked as he entered the work space, smiling inwardly at McKay’s instant alertness at the mention of coffee.

‘Of course I am. Don’t all scientists operate better on high levels of caffeine in their blood, although, as a soft—’

‘I’ve been sent two new coffee-makers instead of the one I ordered,’ Daniel interrupted before McKay could insult his chosen profession. ‘I didn’t know if you already had one, or if—’

‘No, I don’t and yes, I’ll take it.’ McKay made grabby-hands towards Daniel, only adding as an after-thought, ‘Thank you.’

‘I can recommend The Coffee Lab in town for buying fresh beans and ready ground coffee. I have a delivery from them at the start of each month and I’m sure they’d happily supply you as well, if you wanted…’

An hour and a half later, Daniel left Rodney’s lab wearing an expression on his face closely resembling the look of a cat whose mistress had unfortunately forgotten to close the door to the dairy. Somewhat to his surprise, given what he’d heard from Jack, Daniel found Rodney McKay to be an interesting and articulate man, and becoming his friend wasn’t going to be anywhere near the challenge he’d anticipated. They already had several mutual interests and while their professional fields were very different, they had sufficient overlap in terms of the Programme to make working together both possible and productive. Stage one of my mission accomplished!

*****

Since his return to 2001, Jack had been aware of the date Teal’c was originally trapped in the Stargate buffers, and as the date drew closer, he became more and more nervous. Daniel had posited that some events were fixed in time and couldn’t be altered, and Jack hoped he was either wrong, or this wasn’t one of those fixed points.

When the actual date arrived Jack was on tenterhooks all day, waiting for the shit to hit the Stargate, and when he spotted McKay and Kusanagi chatting with Teal’c over coffee in the mess that afternoon, he frowned, although he couldn’t say why exactly. After the two scientists returned to their labs, both clutching plates of cake, Jack slipped into the seat opposite Teal’c, which McKay had just vacated.

‘Everything okay, T-man?’

Teal’c simply inclined his head.

‘The geeks weren’t…bothering you?’

‘No.’

‘Whatcha talk about with them?’ Jack shifted uncomfortably under the Jaffa’s intense – and silent – gaze. ‘Teal’c?’ he prompted.

‘We discussed the merits of Star Wars technology over that of Star Trek, The Original Series.’

‘Riiight. Good. No problems. None at all.’ Feeling as though he’d been pummelled somewhat, Jack left the mess in favour of Daniel’s lab.

‘T was chatting in the mess with McKay and Kusanagi,’ he announced to Daniel the moment he walked through the doorway.

‘And that’s bad because…?’ Daniel carefully set down his pen before he twisted around and focussed on his friend.

‘It’s not bad per se, it’s just…unexpected. They certainly weren’t friends before.’ Jack gave his friend a significant look. ‘You know. Fifteenth March.’

Now Daniel removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. ‘The Ides of March. So? I don’t understand the signifi—’

‘It’s when Teal’c got—’ Jack made a complicated hand gesture which only confused Daniel even more.

‘I don’t–‘

‘Daniel! When McKay and Carter…You know!’

‘No, Jack, I really don’t. And are you talking about Rodney McKay and Sam, or Rodney and Miko? And what’s it got to do…Oh. Right.’ Daniel now nodded and Jack grinned happily. ‘I still don’t see the significance of Rodney, Miko, and Teal’c talking in the mess. What were they talking about?’

‘Star Trek and Star Wars apparently, and they were never friends before.’ Jack threw up his arms. Why can’t Danny see how important this is?

‘So they can’t be friendly now? And why can’t they talk about Star—’

Jack gripped his hair, then, after glancing around, moved to Daniel’s side. ‘Don’t you see?’ he said in a low voice, barely moving his lips. ‘It’s something else different from last time. I think I am in a different dimension.’

‘Or McKay and Miko are just fond of Star Trek and Star Wars and talked to Teal’c who’s also a fan of both and makes no secret of it, when they were all in the mess at the same time.’

‘Oh.’ Jack frowned. ‘I didn’t think about that. Still…’

Daniel shifted on his stool until he faced his friend and gripped his arms, giving him a slight shake. ‘Jack. What can you do about it if you are in another dimension?’

‘I…Well…I…’

‘Exactly. You can’t do anything. If you want to change the fate of this planet, or this galaxy, you need to stop obsessing over minutia and work the problem in front of you. You told me that just a few days ago. Now take your own advice.’

He released Jack’s arms and Jack took a step back. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Danny speak such sense. Huh. Shows he does listen to me sometimes. He gave his friend a wry grin. ‘Thank you, Dr Jackson. How much for that consultation?’

‘You couldn’t afford me even if you wanted to,’ Daniel retorted, turning back to his notes.

‘Whatcha doin’?’ Jack peered over his shoulder at the notebook he was writing in. ‘Still making your notes in Ancient?’

‘It’s a method of learning, as well as making the notes indecipherable to anyone else.’

‘Except me. “Warlord who” comedat. Devoured? Is this about the Wraith? You’ve found some reference to the Wraith?’

‘No. I’m making notes about Anubis.’

‘Anubis?’

‘Remember? Jacob Carter and Ren Au have asked me to go undercover to a summit of the System Lords in order to poison those present, and you said we’ll find out that Anubis is back in the game. I was seeing what I could find out about Anubis and if it might give us any clues about getting rid of him as it looks as though he’ll be our new ‘Big Bad’.’

‘General Hammond refused to allow you to go, didn’t he?’ Jack clarified. ‘There’s no point, so it’s an unnecessary risk. We can’t kill the other System Lords as it’ll just leave the way open for Anubis to take over the entire galaxy, and besides, Zippy found a Tok’ra spy who gave him the entire plan.’

‘Zippy?’

‘You know. Zip-something-or-other. Zippy.’

‘You mean Zipacna?’ Daniel gave him a questioning look.

‘Yeah, him.’

‘But if we might learn something—’

‘No, Danny. There’s too much risk for what amounts to a zero-sum game.’

‘But—’

‘No, Danny! We’re not going to this summit, or taking SG-17 to Revanna for orientation. I told you what will happen, and too many lives were lost for no gain whatsoever, for us or the Tok’ra.’

‘But—’

‘Ah!’

‘Jacob Carter!’ Daniel exclaimed, making Jack frown.

‘What about him?’

‘You said he’s the one who’s done the research for the mission to the space station. How are you going to tell him I’m not going without telling him why?’

‘I…huh.’ I hadn’t thought about Jacob, and I can’t tell him anything without risking Carter finding out. Classic Catch-22 situation right there!

‘What…if…’ Daniel began screwing up his eyes. ‘What if we ‘receive’,’ he made quotation marks with his fingers, ‘a report from Master Bra’tac saying he’s heard a Tok’ra spy has been captured by Zipacna and that Revanna has been compromised? He could also ‘tell’ us he’s heard rumours about Anubis too. Would that be enough to prevent me from having to go to the space station?’

‘Now that’s some smart thinking, Space Monkey. Well done!’

His praise elicited a grin on Daniel’s face, which quite took him aback. Hmm. I need to praise him a bit more often if that’s the result.

Chapter Seven

The next stage in Jack’s plan saw him taking McKay on a mission with SG-1. He deliberately chose a time when Carter was spending a few days of leave away with Janet and Cassandra Frasier, not willing to deal with any nonsense she might cause. It might make me pussy-assed, but I don’t care, Jack told himself.

He chose to take McKay to Edora, the planet on which he’d been stranded after the gate was hit by an asteroid. It would be a straight-forward mission with no expected difficulties, although Jack was aware such thoughts were dangerous. Have I jinxed us before we even begin?

Following his rescue from Edora in May 2000, the SGC had formed a treaty with them giving the SGC Naquadah mining rights in exchange for medical and educational help, and which also designated Edora a ‘safe’ world. The dialling address was added to a private evacuation list restricted to himself and General Hammond. There’s no way I’m inflicting any fucking politicians on Edora!

Despite Jack’s concern McKay would refuse to go off-world and, moreover, list all the ways in which he was far too valuable to the planet to risk himself, McKay responded well to the suggestion he join SG-1 on a mission and was, in fact, positively eager for the opportunity.

‘Should we be looking for a pod?’ Jack murmured to Daniel as they each refilled their coffee cups before the briefing about the mission.

‘I told you he wasn’t anywhere near as bad as you made out,’ Daniel retorted. ‘I’m getting to know him pretty well and I enjoy his company. And have you ever heard him lay into one of his minions?’ When Jack shook his head, Daniel grinned at him. ‘You should. It’s hysterical – as long as you’re not on the receiving end, I guess.’

‘I’ll put it in my diary,’ Jack told him, retaking his seat at the table. ‘So, Dr McKay, think you’re up for a mission to Edora?’

‘That’s P5C-768, isn’t it?’ McKay asked, tapping into his laptop.

‘How did you know that?’ Hammond asked, raising an eyebrow, and causing McKay to glance up at him.

‘I read it in the mission report.’ McKay’s forehead furrowed. ‘Have I got the address wrong?’

‘Not at all,’ Hammond replied, glancing down at his notes. ‘I was just surprised you immediately knew the dialling address.’

‘I have an eidetic memory, remember?’ McKay pulled a face.

‘And that’s bad…how?’ asked Jack.

McKay turned towards him and sighed. ‘Imagine your worst experience, and then imagine never being able to forget the smallest detail about it.’

‘Yes, but it also means remembering all the good things that have happened in your life,’ Daniel argued, casting a quick glance at Jack. ‘As well as everything you’ve read. I wish I could do that.’

McKay shook his head. ‘You wouldn’t, not if it meant filling your head with junk you wish you could forget. I read Peter Kavanagh’s doctoral thesis when the Pentagon suggested we promote him to a more senior position.’ He shook his head. ‘Now I can never rid myself of 80,000 words worth of utter shite.’

Jack burst into laughter, then laughed even harder at McKay’s expression of disgust.

‘I mean it. Not only was most of it plagiarised, it was clear he didn’t even understand what he’d stolen! FYI, I’ve fired him, had him black-listed with all government agencies and the Department of Education, and reported him to West Virginia University, who issued his degree.’

At least I don’t have to worry about that pain in the ass! Jack told himself. How the hell did he get picked for Atlantis last time? Even as he asked himself that question, he realised the answer. Weir appointed him, and at one point even wanted him for CSO of the Atlantis mission. He was now grateful for the IOA’s insistence that a non-American be appointed, since the two other senior leadership roles were held by US nationals. But not grateful enough to allow its formation.

For now, however, he concentrated on preparing McKay for the up-coming mission, which included him satisfying Jack regarding his ability to shoot straight. Jack had planned a future series of workshops to prepare any of the scientists interested in going off-world, but for the moment he took McKay to the gun-range to check his accuracy for himself.

McKay passed with flying colours with both a P90 and a Beretta M9 sidearm and, indeed, looked to have been using them all his life. I guess I was wrong, Jack told himself as completed the paperwork authorising McKay to keep an M9 in his quarters – in a locked box – and to sign out a P90 for off-world missions.

‘Do you know how to look after a gun?’ the Sergeant in charge of the Armoury asked McKay, who initially scowled at him, then hastily adjusted his features.

‘Yes, thank you. I have a cleaning kit which was issued to me in Nevada. Do I need to purchase a new one when it runs out, or will—’

‘Just bring the old one back here and we’ll replace it for you,’ Sergeant Adams told McKay. ‘It’s nice to come across a civilian who knows how to care for his weapon.’

‘Who taught you to shoot?’ Jack asked casually as they made their way to the elevator on Level 28.

McKay gave him a sharp look. ‘I…I did some shooting in the past, and when you transferred me here, I decided I should take the Marksmanship test. One of the Marines at Area 51, Sergeant Markham, helped me brush up, then he ran me through the test.’

Jack gave him a curious glance as he called for the elevator, and opened his mouth to ask another question, but at that moment, Walter Harriman appeared around the corner.

‘Sir? General Hammond is looking for you. He’s in his office.’ Harriman nodded at him, then disappeared back towards the operations room.

Jack sighed. Now what’s happened? He touched two fingers to his forehead and nodded to McKay. ‘See you in the embarkation room tomorrow at 08:00, McKay. Make sure you get your pack checked by the duty sergeant in the ready room.’ McKay nodded and Jack left him waiting for the elevator as he made his way to the General’s office.

*****

‘Ah, Jack, I’m glad Walter found you,’ Hammond said as Jack entered his office.

‘Problems, sir?’ Jack ensconced himself in the visitor’s chair. Wish I’d thought to collect a coffee on the way.

At that moment, the door opened to admit Walter Harriman balancing a tray of coffee and cookies in one hand, and a pile of folders under his arm, and Jack jumped to his feet to help before the whole lot spilled onto the floor. The general nodded his thanks and flicked through the folders as Walter closed the door behind himself.

‘I’ve just had a rather worrying report from Major Davis,’ Hammond told Jack. ‘You remember I had him go to check on security at Area 51 after you mentioned the theft of the mimetic imaging devices in the other timeline?’

Jack nodded. The devices had been used to frame him for the – ultimately failed – assassination of Senator Kinsey, and without them, Jack couldn’t be certain they’d be able to neutralise the group of businessmen who controlled the rogue elements of the NID and who were known as the Committee. He had a back-up plan up his sleeve to deal with the prob—

‘Colonel! Are you listening to me?’

Crap. Back to Colonel again! ‘Yessir. Mimetic imaging devices.’

Hammond frowned at him, clearly not convinced Jack had been listening, and he adopted what he hoped was the correct facial expression to reassure his CO.

‘Well, the devices themselves are safe,’ Hammond continued, ‘and Major Davis confirmed they are the original devices and not replicas – although he was concerned at the amount of technology scattered around the laboratories which hadn’t been properly signed out. Since Dr McKay left Area 51, the scientists there have gone a little crazy with technology previously off-limits to them, and there have been several injuries because of that. Dr Edwards, the new CSO, doesn’t appear to have the same…authority and respect Dr McKay had, and the scientists are apparently trampling all over him. Davis has recommended the Pentagon either give Dr Edwards the visible support he needs to deal with them, or they appoint a new CSO with a more forceful character.’

‘What did Landry have to say to that?’ Jack asked curiously.

The corner of the general’s mouth quirked. ‘He wasn’t at all happy since Davis’ report reflects particularly badly on him. I understand the Chiefs of Staff will now pay meticulous attention to all reports coming out of Area 51, and Hank Landry has been recalled to DC for a chat with the Chiefs.’ Hammond pursed his lips, then sighed. ‘One particular report from Paul Davis – made to me alone – has me very concerned, though, and its implications are…’

‘Go on, sir,’ Jack prompted after the general paused. ‘It can’t be that bad, can it?’ He turned a concerned face to his CO.

Hammond took a deep breath. ‘Major Davis has uncovered a pattern of systemic bullying at Area 51, and while he can’t prove where it originated, he is concerned about its widespread nature.’

‘Systemic bullying?’ Jack repeated, sitting forward and frowning. ‘I…How? Who’s responsible?’ He couldn’t help thinking back to his first conversation with McKay in Landry’s office and Kusanagi’s evident contempt for Sam Carter, but rather than race ahead and assume the worst, he waited to hear what George Hammond had to say.

‘That’s always the million-dollar question in circumstances like these,’ Hammond said with a sigh. ‘Davis asked several of the scientists exactly who had been bullied and by whom, but no one was willing to go on the record with specific examples.’

‘If no one was willing to talk, how did he conclude the bullying actually happened?’

‘He overheard two scientists talking about the increased harassment since McKay left Area 51 to come here.’

‘Harassment.’

‘Harassment, bullying, intimidation. They’re all similar behaviours with very similar results, and I don’t want any of them in the Stargate Programme, or in any branch of the uniformed services!’ Hammond drew in a breath and exhaled slowly.

‘Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to imply they’re acceptable behaviours in any situation, but I can’t help remembering something Dr Kusanagi said when Danny and I visited Nevada.’ Jack screwed up his face. I don’t want to accuse Carter with no actual evidence. It might have nothing to do with her. ‘What else did Major Davis say?’

Hammond regarded him thoughtfully. ‘Jack? Do you know something about this?’

‘I…I might do, but I have no evidence, just a comment Dr Kusanagi made,’ he hedged.

The general watched him for a moment, then nodded. ‘Paul Davis listed several scientists he interviewed who exhibited signs of fear, including the two he overheard, but they all refused to speak about anything other than their work. He also interviewed several enlisted servicemen who spoke of the scientific staff in very negative terms, mostly their belief that Area 51 would be a fine place to work if it weren’t for all the civilians, and missing the point entirely.’

‘That’s pretty much what I remember about the facility from the other timeline,’ Jack admitted. ‘I’m afraid I lumped civilian complaints under resentment or jealousy. All the more prestigious projects are done here and not in Nevada, mostly because of security. Area 51’s more a tourist trap than a research base, and I never considered there might be something more serious behind the complaints. In hindsight, I certainly should have done.’

‘But we have the opportunity now to do something about it.’ General Hammond gazed at the wall behind Jack for a moment or two. ‘Can we get Dr Kusanagi up here, and maybe Dr Zelenka as well? We’ll also need Dr McKay. He was CSO of Area 51, so they’re his people. It would be unfair to exclude him, and if there’s going to be an official investigation, we need his input.’ He gave Jack a grim smile. ‘It’s likely to be a hot mess, you know.’

*****

It was a hot mess and had the potential to get even hotter. After speaking to the three scientists, General Hammond spoke to the SecAir and postponed the mission to Edora, and he, Jack, and McKay travelled to Nevada, where they were joined by Major Davis. They interviewed several civilians – including the scientific support staff – about specific instances of bullying and intimidation.

Much to his surprise, Jack discovered McKay was respected by both the support and scientific staff – something which didn’t quite gel with what he’d heard in the other timeline. One of the support staff, however, an aspiring astrophysicist gaining experience and earning the means to pay for her doctoral study, was quite candid about McKay.

‘He bullies and insults everyone who doesn’t meet his personal standards,’ Kay Spencer informed Jack and General Hammond, while McKay simply scowled at her. ‘He doesn’t prejudice against sex or age, or anything else. He’s equally scathing about anyone who doesn’t work to the best of their ability. I learned more in the few months I worked for him than in all the years of study I’ve done at MIT.’ She grinned at McKay as he narrowed his eyes. ‘It was my tutor at MIT who suggested I spend a year here getting experience before I tackled my PhD. He said Dr McKay was a bastard, but he was an equal opportunities bastard who was brilliant. As long as I was willing to listen to him, I’d learn more from him than I would from anyone else, including himself.’

‘I suppose you’re not a complete idiot, Spencer,’ McKay said grudgingly. ‘I might even arrange for you to come to Colorado if you finish your work on gravitational waves to my satisfaction.’

‘Awesome!’ Spencer declared, making McKay scowl even harder.

‘So you wouldn’t say you felt intimidated by Dr McKay?’ General Hammond asked her.

She squinted at him. ‘Has someone said he’s intimidated them? Because they’re lying if they have,’ she continued without allowing Hammond the chance to speak. ‘I’ve seen proper bullying and intimidation, both here and in Boston, and Dr Mckay just tries to push someone to do and be the best they can.’

‘What would you call ‘proper bullying’?’ Jack asked her, disquiet stirring in his gut.

Spencer thought for a moment. ‘There’s the sort the SF’s do, like barging into you in a corridor when there’s plenty of room for both of you, or when they ‘accidentally’ make you spill your coffee, or your dinner,’ she added, warming to her subject. ‘I’ve also heard some rumours about sexual harassment, but as far as I know, it’s nothing more than rumour.’ She gave McKay a sideways glance. ‘It was better when you and Dr Kusanagi were here, Dr McKay. We could always rely on both of you to deal with anyone who harassed us, and none of the SFs dared do it in front of you, not after you had that one guy sent to Alaska.’

Jack wasn’t sure what he wanted to know first. The name of the SF in question; details of the harassment McKay and Miko Kusanagi dealt with themselves; or more about Dr Kusanagi, who was so slight, she looked as though a breeze might blow her away. ‘Dr Kusanagi…’

‘She’s trained in both Kendo and Jikishinkage-ryū,’ McKay told him, then sighed as Jack gave him a puzzled look. ‘Japanese sword fighting. She’s the equivalent of a black belt in each. Believe me, no one who actually knows her would mess with Miko!’

Kay Spencer nodded. ‘She was teaching me some of the basics of Kendo when she was here. I know a few of the Air Force people have some martial arts training, but none of them are willing to hold classes like Dr Kusanagi did.’

‘Is that something you’d like to continue with?’ Jack asked her, the germ of a plan forming in his mind. If the civilians knew how to defend themselves, they’re less likely to get bullied. Of course, it’d be better if there wasn’t any bullying or intimidation of any kind, but I know that’s probably an unrealistic hope. ‘If I could arrange for someone to offer lessons to the civilians here…?’

‘I’d certainly sign up,’ Spencer said immediately. ‘And so would a lot of the others I know. There’s not an awful lot to do here in the evenings, and Dr Edwards keeps a close eye on working hours. He says we can’t work with unknown technology if we’re too tired.’

‘He’s absolutely right,’ McKay agreed. ‘I couldn’t enforce that, though, as I tended to work long hours myself. I may be a lot of things, but I hope I’m not a hypocrite.’ He gave Spencer a measuring look. ‘Would it also help if we supplied some more recreational equipment?’

‘Such as?’ Spencer asked suspiciously. ‘Not all of us want to play basketball, you know.’

‘I mean things like TVs and gaming consoles,’ McKay told her. ‘Most geeks I know like computer games, but I also know few folks are willing to share what electronics they have in case they get damaged or broken.’

‘Is there nothing like that here?’ Jack asked with a frown. ‘I’m pretty sure I’ve seen requisition notices for PlayStations.’ He had seen them – in the other timeline after his promotion to general.

‘I saw one or two in rec rooms for the servicemen on my visit,’ Paul Davis said. ‘But nothing on the civilian side.’

‘It’s certainly something we can set up,’ Hammond agreed. ‘I’m aware the majority of the civilians remain on base during the week and only return home at the weekend.’

‘And some of us only go home when we run out of clean clothes!’ Spencer grinned at McKay.

Jack frowned at her comment. ‘Don’t the civilians have laundry rooms on base?’

McKay shook his head. ‘Only the military, and while senior members of the civilian staff have permission to use the officer’s laundry, very few of us actually did, and there were no facilities for the support staff at all.’ He paused for a moment, then sighed. ‘I should have made more of an issue about it, I suppose, but after one or two of the scientists complained that their washing had been dumped on the floor, or somehow turned pink, I just advised my people not to bother.’

‘The more I hear about this—’ Hammond muttered, then shook his head. ‘One last question, Miss Spencer.’ She nodded, and waited for him to ask it, but he appeared to be having trouble forming the words.

‘If I may?’ Jack said to him in a quiet voice. ‘I think I know what you want to ask.’ At Hammond’s nod, he continued in a louder tone. ‘Do you have any idea if there’s a reason behind the bullying from the military, Miss Spencer? Other than ‘because they want to’?’

She sat quietly for a moment, her former bounce and humour gone, and made no attempt to look at McKay for…whatever he might have been able to supply. Guidance? Assurance? After a moment or two, she gave a firm nod of her head, as though she’d made a decision. ‘Things were always worse after Major Carter visited, especially if she was on her own.’

‘On her own?’ Jack frowned. ‘What do you mean?’

Spencer gave him a puzzled look. ‘Not with anyone else? She’s been a couple of times with you and the rest of SG-1, but she also comes over fairly frequently with Dr Craven—’

‘Who?’ Jack demanded, not recognising the name.

‘Howard Craven, Systems Analyst, right?’ McKay looked to Spencer for confirmation. ‘Or at least, he pretends he is. Miko hates him and now has him on her list to fire. I’d forgotten about him as he always kept out of our way.’

‘And Major Carter comes here with him?’ Hammond asked in puzzlement. ‘When, and why? I’ve certainly authorised no one named Craven to come here, with Major Carter or anyone else.’

‘I’m not sure how to respond to that, sir,’ Spencer confessed, shifting in her seat and playing with her watch strap. ‘The Colonel asked about Major Carter and I…’

‘You gave exactly the answer you should have done, Spencer,’ Rodney said.

‘Indeed,’ Hammond said, but his smile was clearly forced. ‘Thank you for your time, Miss Spencer. You’ve been most helpful, but I’d prefer it if you kept the details of our meeting to yourself until we’ve completed our investigation.’

‘Right oh.’ As she left the room with a wave of her fingers, Jack got to his feet to check the flask of coffee on a side table. It was empty.

‘I miss Walter at times like this,’ he muttered. ‘We should bring him with us next time.’

‘I hope to God there won’t be a next time!’ General Hammond said as he stood and stretched his back. ‘What a clusterfuck!’

McKay gave him a wide-eyed stare, and as Jack caught sight of him, he shook his head minutely and mouthed ‘later’ to him.

Hammond turned to Paul Davis. ‘Will you make a report I can pass on to the Chiefs, Major? It’s clear there’re more than a few underlying issues here which need to be cleared up.’

As Davis nodded, McKay spoke up, making Jack glance sharply at him. ‘I’m afraid I’m to blame for some of the problems here, or I’m at least complicit. If I’d acted before—’

‘The problems here are far deeper than any of us realised,’ Hammond told him. ‘Far deeper. If anything, your presence here helped the civilian staff, just as Miss Spencer reported. You have nothing to apologise for, Dr McKay.’

‘Then, if I might make a suggestion, General,’ McKay said, somewhat hesitantly, much to Jack’s surprise, since he didn’t know McKay – even this new McKay – was ever hesitant about anything. ‘When I first became CSO, I asked why Area 51 came under the governance of the USAF and not the SGC, given that almost all the work now done here is linked to the Stargate Programme. I was told it was because you, personally, didn’t want to run Area 51 as well as the S—’ He paused at the look of fury which crossed Hammond’s face. ‘That wasn’t the case, was it, sir?’

Hammond’s lips were almost white, so tight were they pressed together, and spots of red stood out on his cheeks. Jack had never seen his CO look so angry.

‘I think this is a discussion which should wait until we’re back in Colorado, Dr McKay,’ Hammond bit out through his clenched teeth, ‘ but thank you for bringing it to my attention.’

Uh oh, someone’s gonna get their ass ripped a new one, and I’m glad this time it’s not me.

*****

Since McKay’s first mission with SG-1 had been put on hold because of their visit to Nevada, and since Carter was due back from leave after the weekend, Jack decided to go to Edora on Thursday 21^st March as he and Daniel were intending to visit Patrick Sheppard in Virginia on Sunday 24^th, and he wanted a couple of days off to get some washing done if nothing else.

Despite his initial trepidation at seeing Laira for the first time in, essentially, fifteen years, Jack now found himself excited at the prospect and he stepped forward eagerly into the event horizon, forgetting it was McKay’s first trip through the gate. Once on the other side he paused to wait for McKay to emerge, anticipating the usual complaints of first-time gate-travellers about disorientation, nausea, and sometimes about the cold or frost of the wormhole, although that was much better now than at first after Carter made adjustments for Doppler Shift. Instead, he could almost imagine McKay had been through the gate hundreds of times, in fact—

‘Jack!’

He looked up as a once-familiar voice called his name and he saw a figure running towards him. ‘Laira!’ Jack stepped forward and caught hold of the woman with whom he once thought he’d spend the rest of his life.

‘Oh, Jack, Jack! I thought you would never return.’ After hugging Jack tightly, Laira gave both Daniel and Teal’c a teary-smile, nodded to McKay, then looked around. ‘Where is Major Carter? Is she no longer a member of your team?’

‘No…that is, yes, she is, but she’s not here…not right now. I’ve brought Dr McKay to introduce to you.’

At the mention of his name, McKay stopped gazing around and moved to Jack’s side.

‘A fair day to you, Dr McK—’

‘McKay,’ Jack repeated. ‘He’s the head scientist of our programme.’

Laira immediately held out her hand, which McKay shook after a moment’s hesitation. ‘It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Jack’s,’ Laira told him, causing both McKay and Jack to splutter denials, and Daniel to laugh, while Teal’c raised a single eyebrow.

‘Have I said the wrong thing?’ Laira asked, her voice full of concern.

‘No, not at all,’ Jack told her, smiling down at her. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t come back, Laira. I meant to, then…’

‘You are here now, and that is what matters.’ Her own smile included the rest of SG-1. ‘Come, I am sure you are thirsty.’

Laira led them towards a familiar thatched wooden house, and Jack gave a sigh of pleasure, as he hadn’t realised how much he’d missed the simpler way of life here. As they reached the doorway, he paused, and turned to look at the village spread before him, with several people chopping wood, and others busy with the water pump, which, he recalled, always needed maintenance. A sudden exclamation from Daniel inside the house made him turn and get a firmer grip on his P90.

‘Jack, oh Jack! She’s adorable!’

Frowning slightly, Jack entered the wooden structure and came to a halt at the sight of his friend holding a small child who couldn’t be more than a year old. His eyes flicked to Laira, who gave him a gentle smile.

‘This is Lairissa.’ The pride in Laira’s voice was unmistakable, and when Jack looked back at the child – Lairissa – he felt his heart melt. My daughter.

*****

The visit passed without incident. Jack reacquainted himself with the people he’d come to know well, and all four members of SG-1 helped the villagers with their various chores, even McKay helping without complaint, although he quickly abandoned chopping wood in favour of examining the water pump. Jack recalled the hours he’d spent repairing the wind-powered water tower after it was crushed by the meteor shower and he wandered over to McKay to see what he was planning to do.

‘This is a really inefficient way to pump water,’ he heard McKay mutter to himself.

‘It’s worked perfectly well for the Edorans for decades,’ Jack pointed out, making McKay spin round to look at him.

‘I’m sure it has, but it doesn’t mean we can’t suggest improvements.’

‘Careful, McKay,’ Jack warned him. ‘I don’t want you insulting the locals and don’t forget our policy of non-interference. We can’t just march into a society and start making unnatural advancements.’

‘Non-interference?’ McKay curled his lip. ‘That sounds more like the policy of the ascended Ancient asshats and is nothing more than them abjuring their responsibilities! If I can offer an improvement to the water tower which would make it more efficient and less likely to break down, don’t I have a duty to help them? How is that any different from the Orbanians sharing their design for the naquadah generators with us?’

Paynan, a man with whom Jack had eventually become friendly during his time living on Edora, was standing close by and overheard McKay’s comments. ‘Can this man help us with pumping water?’ he asked Jack. ‘Why would you stop him from doing that?’

‘No, I’m not stopping him, I—’

‘It sounds like that is exactly what you are doing.’ Paynan turned to McKay. ‘This wind tower breaks down so easily, and if there is little wind, we cannot pump water. Can you help us with that?’

McKay glanced at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders. ‘Knock yourself out.’

‘Do you have some paper and a pen?’ McKay asked him, patting the pockets in his tac vest. ‘I forgot to bring any with me.’ He followed Paynan to his house, gathering a few other men as they went.

‘What’s happened, Jack?’ Daniel asked, appearing at Jack’s side. ‘Problem?’

‘McKay seems to think he can improve the wind pump?’

‘And that’s a problem because…’

‘Danny! You know we have to be careful about advancing a society too quickly. We—’

‘Jack!’ Daniel spoke quietly but firmly. ‘I’ve never heard you push that point of view. Sam, yes, but remember how pissed you were at the Tollans for saying that exact same thing to us? What’s changed now?’

Jack let out his breath, then scowled. ‘Nothing’s changed, but…’

‘But you put down pretty deep roots here, even if you haven’t been back since,’ Daniel said shrewdly. ‘Bar passing through when you ‘retired’ and joined the NID.’ He made quotation marks with his fingers.

‘And? So? Therefore?’

‘And therefore, you probably don’t want some newby coming here and changing things.’

‘I…I don’t?’

‘How would you feel if I came round to your house and started moving the furniture around?’

‘Danny, you’ve lost me. Why are you talking about my furniture?’

‘Because none of us like strangers coming in and upturning our homes.’ Daniel sighed as Jack stared at him in confusion. ‘Look, you’d made peace with the fact Edora was going to be your new home, right?’

‘Yeeees.’

‘So you’re out of sorts because McKay’s suggesting making changes? Changes to improve the way of life here.’

‘Huh?’

‘You told me you’d accepted that your life here would be much simpler. Now Rodney McKay is attempting to make improvements to that simple life and you’re…jealous, maybe? Or perhaps guilty might be a better word.’

‘Guilty? Why should I feel guilty?’ but even as he said it, he knew Daniel had gone straight to the heart of the matter.

‘I know I would be.’ Daniel gazed at him, making him shift uncomfortably.

‘Hookay. Nice chat, but I can see Teal’c…’ Jack waved a hand at his friend and headed over to where the Jaffa was still busy chopping logs. I do feel guilty, and maybe I’m a little jealous as well. I was here for three months and never once did I think to suggest ways to improve the living conditions.

Just before he reached the Jaffa, Laira called out to him and he changed direction to meet her.

‘I wanted to talk with you alone, Jack,’ she told him, falling into step with him. ‘I…I was unsure if you would ever return, but now you have…’

‘I didn’t know you’d had a child, Laira. If I had known, I’d have come back sooner.’

‘Would you?’

Jack stared at her for a moment, then took a shaky breath. I need to tell her. ‘There’s something I didn’t share with you…before.’ Laira looked at him and raised her eyebrows in inquiry. ‘I…I had…’ He swallowed convulsively. ‘I had a son, a son who…There was an accident. He got hold of my gun and…’

Laira gripped his arm. ‘Jack! He…he died?’

He nodded, unable to voice the words. ‘He’d be…he’d have been…almost fifteen now,’ he managed to say. ‘Laira, believe me, if I’d known you’d had…you’d given birth to…to my daughter, I would have come straight back. I…I couldn’t lose another child.’ His voice broke on the last word and he realised his cheeks were damp.

‘Oh, Jack.’ She shifted round until they were facing each other, never losing her grip on his arm, then with her other hand, she pulled his head down until they were brow to brow. ‘When you did not return, I asked Dr Frasier not to tell you about the birth of Lairissa. I knew…I knew you had great responsibilities on your own planet. Dr Frasier and Major Carter would give me news, would tell me how you were, what you were doing, and she took the greatest care with our child. Dr Frasier, though, thought you should know, and wanted to tell you, but Major Carter and I told her to say nothing to you and in the end she promised.’

‘Carter came back here? I didn’t know that.’ Jack frowned in puzzlement. How did Carter keep it a secret? Why did Carter keep it a secret? Janet’s visits I understand: I knew we supplied Edora with medical assistance, but why did Carter…

‘Will you come back to visit now you know about Lairissa?’ Laira asked him, and he could hear the hope in her voice.

‘I will,’ he promised. ‘As often as I can.’ It was a promise he intended to keep. He’d lived one lifetime not knowing he had a daughter; he wasn’t going to live another without her. My daughter.

Chapter Eight

After much debate – okay, arguments – Jack and Daniel flew from Peterson Air Force Base to Norfolk Naval Station, then hired a car to drive to Lancaster, Virginia, where John Sheppard’s father lived. All in all, the journey time was over six hours, with three and a half of those hours spent on a USAF transport plane, and Jack thought longingly of the Gulfstream V he would use in the future.

‘It flew when and where I wanted it to,’ he told Daniel mournfully as he negotiated the car out of the Norfolk base, ‘and I had the final say in who flew in it.’

‘What about the beaming technology you said the Asgard fitted into Prometheus?’ Daniel asked absently, trying to find their destination on the paper map in his hands. ‘Didn’t you make use of that?’

‘Whenever possible, but there are some places we go where I—we need a paper trail. If it was just between the Pentagon and the SGC, beaming was fine – if there was a ship in orbit – but anything which involved a civilian not read into the programme meant legitimate transport. Ha—the President who promoted me to General used to moan about the number of lengthy journeys he had to make even if a ship was in orbit. He couldn’t just appear somewhere without Airforce or Marine One, or the bullet-proof cars he had. Plus, the Secret Service got their panties in a knot if he just disappeared.’ He grinned at Daniel. ‘Good times.’

‘I’m sure,’ Daniel commented dryly. ‘Now, tell me, how are you going to explain you accompanying me to visit ‘an old college buddy?’. Have you thought of anything yet?’

‘…No?’ Jack wriggled in his seat and tried to concentrate on the road. He wasn’t used to driving above a few miles between his house and the SGC since he hadn’t yet had much time to spend at his cabin – and won’t I be glad when I can beam from the SGC to the cabin! – so the seventy odd mile journey was taking its toll. ‘I guess I’ll play it by ear.’

‘Why aren’t I surprised,’ Daniel muttered, not quite under his breath, and Jack glanced at him and grinned.

‘Let’s treat it like a first contact mission.’

‘We usually end up imprisoned on a first contact mission.’

It was so true that Jack didn’t have a response to make, so he concentrated on the road. It wasn’t until they were driving down a long, narrow road, with glimpses of an expanse of blue water between the trees, that Jack realised exactly how privileged a family John Sheppard came from. He knew the basics, of course – billionaire utilities mogul estranged from his youngest son – but he hadn’t appreciated what the home of a billionaire utilities mogul might look like. There’s privilege and there’s Sheppard Industries privilege, yet Sheppard never gave an indication of the sort of upbringing he must have had.

Beside him he heard Daniel mutter ‘wow!’ as a white, two-storey antebellum house came into view. It wasn’t as though the house was overly large, even, though the two possibly newer wings stretched out to the back on either side of the main building suggested more rooms had been added after the initial building phase – where ‘newer’ meant before the Civil War of 1861-65.

‘D’you think they’ll let us in?’ Daniel asked him, his eyes fixed on the beautiful property as Jack drove into the horseshoe driveway and came to a halt by a circular bed of roses. ‘I feel as though I should be wearing pantaloons and a cravat.’

Jack gave a snort of laughter. ‘You were the one who spoke to Mr Sheppard on the phone.’

‘Dr Sheppard,’ Daniel corrected absently, still staring at the house.

‘Huh?’

‘Dr Sheppard,’ Daniel repeated, glancing at Jack. ‘He has an engineering doctorate. Or Admiral Sheppard, if you prefer. He’s also former Navy.’

I didn’t know any of this, and I’d have come out here totally unprepared if I hadn’t persuaded Danny to make the call. Thank Thor for Danny! Aloud he said, ‘Come on,’ and nodded towards the front door which was opening. ‘We’re up.’

A man slightly shorter and some years older than himself stood on the doorstep smiling at them as they got out of the car, prompting Jack to look behind him, uncertain if the smile was for himself and Daniel, or someone else. Nope. Just us. Daniel grabbed his backpack from the rear seat and jogged to his side as he made his way to the front steps.

‘You must be Dr Jackson,’ the man said, smiling at Daniel. ‘I’m Patrick Sheppard. Welcome to Morrow House.’

‘Nice to meet you, sir.’ Daniel smiled and shook his outstretched hand.

This is not what I expected. I thought Sheppard and his father were estranged?

‘Jack O’Neill.’ Jack held out his hand to Sheppard Senior. ‘I’m…Erm…’

‘Mr O’Neill. It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Sheppard senior said, and the smile on his face said it was a pleasure. ‘Come in, come in. John’s just back from his ride and is showering. He’ll be down soon.’ Patrick led them through an entrance hall bigger than Jack’s cabin, and through into a kitchen fitted out with the latest of culinary gadgets. ‘Coffee?’

‘I…Yes. Yes, please,’ Daniel nodded.

Well, that’s normal at least. He never refuses coffee!

‘Have a seat,’ Patrick told them while he fiddled with a coffee machine much more modern than the ones Daniel had ordered for himself and McKay.

The two men each pulled out chairs from the large pine table. You could fit a family of ten around this! Jack thought as he glanced around.

‘How do you know John, again?’ Patrick asked, leaning back against the worktop and crossing one ankle over another, and Jack froze.

That’s too casual a tone of voice to actually be casual. What does he know – or think he knows?

‘I, um, I was at, um, college. With him, that is. At college with him,’ Daniel stuttered, making Jack want to facepalm himself.

We should have practiced this.

‘At Stanford.’

‘Um, yes?’

‘Interesting.’ Patrick gave a smile which didn’t quite meet his eyes. ‘I wasn’t aware there was much overlap between math and archeology, especially as John was ROTC. Were you ROTC?’

Daniel gave Jack a panicked look, but Patrick hadn’t finished.

‘And how do you know my son, Mr O’Neill?’

Was that a slight emphasis on Mr? What does he know? How can he know?

He was saved from any sort of answer by the kitchen door opening to admit a tall man, his dark, unruly hair still damp from a shower, who stumbled slightly as he took in Jack and Daniel sitting at the kitchen table, followed by…

‘McKay?’ Jack demanded. ‘What are you doing here?’

*****

Jack had intended for Daniel to request a tour of the house from Sheppard Senior, leaving him alone with Junior, but McKay’s presence altered everything.

‘Why are you here, McKay?’ Jack frowned at him, his mind working overtime in an effort to rationalise everything.

‘Is there any law which says I can’t be?’ If McKay’s chin juts out any further, we can hang coats on it, Jack decided.

‘Well, yes, actually,’ he began, only to stop when Sheppard Junior rested his hand on McKay’s shoulder, silencing him.

‘Si’down, Rodney, and let’s discuss this,’ Junior told him quietly, and Jack was surprised to see how much that single touch calmed down the irascible scientist.

‘How do you know Major Sheppard, Dr McKay?’ Daniel asked, making Jack frown to himself.

Did I ever explain the relationship between John Sheppard and McKay to him?

McKay didn’t answer immediately, but his eyes shifted between Jack and Daniel. Probably trying to work out what we each know, or suspect. Unless…Jack took a breath and narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on Sheppard Junior. ‘I’m happy to meet you, Major Sheppard,’ he said carefully, trying to see if there was any recognition in the Major’s face. ‘I’m not sure if you know, but we have one or two things in common.’

‘Sir?’ Sheppard asked, neutrally.

‘I come from an Ancient family…’ He let the comment hang for a moment, then watched as Sheppard’s shoulders visibly relaxed and he exhaled.

‘An ATA related family, perhaps?’ Ju—John asked, his relief clear.

‘Indeed.’

‘As a mutual friend might say,’ John commented, his eyes now bright with humour. ‘General O’Neill?’

‘Colonel O’Neill,’ Jack replied, and grinned back at him, filled to the brim with relief.

He became aware of Daniel frowning at their almost unintelligible conversation, his eyes moving between the two of them.

‘Thank fuck for that!’ McKay exclaimed, throwing himself back in his chair. ‘Do you know how difficult it is to examine every word before you say it, in case it lets some massive rabbits out of equally massive hats?’

‘Yes,’ Jack and John said in unison.

The furrows between Daniel’s eyes deepened. ‘Huh?’

‘It appears I wasn’t the only one to come back in time, Danny,’ Jack explained, then stilled as he remembered Sheppard Senior was still in the room. ‘I…’ His eyes searched Patrick Sheppard’s face for…what exactly? Shock? Recognition?

‘It’s okay, sir,’ John assured him. ‘Dad knows about Rodney and I being time travellers.’

‘Although John didn’t come back until April this year,’ McKay added.

‘April?’ Jack repeated, his brows furrowed. ‘April 2001?’

‘Yeees.’ John frowned at Jack. ‘Why?’

Without answering him, Jack turned to McKay. ‘And you came back in April as well?’

‘In April, yes, but April 2000,’ Rodney answered, making Jack’s jaw drop.

‘You’ve been here for almost two years? How? Why?’

‘Believe me, both are questions we’ve been asking ourselves over and over,’ John admitted, leaning back in his chair, his forehead wrinkled. ‘Why? How long have you been here?

‘Since last October, so five months. What’s the last thing you remember, either of you?’

Sheppard stilled, his face suddenly devoid of expression, and his eyes gazed fixedly at something over Jack’s shoulder. ‘We were in Boston. McKay was lecturing at MIT. We saw Wraith hives blanket bomb cities around the world on TV. Watched culling rays scoop up people who had no idea what was happening. Then the TV stations suddenly went off air and…that’s the last I remember.’ He exhaled and his gaze switched back to Jack. ‘You?’

‘My cabin. I’d switched on the radio to hear the news and heard about the worldwide attacks, then…I woke up in my old house in Colorado Springs on 1^st October 2001.’

‘I woke up in my grotty quarters at Area 51,’ Rodney said, ‘and it was a good job it was Saturday as I think I shook for most of the day!’

‘I woke up in Bethesda hospital in Maryland. I was taken there after being rescued from Iraq.’ John’s face returned to his blank stare.

‘You were a POW, weren’t you?’ Jack asked. ‘I remember reading about it at the time, but I didn’t know it was you until McMurdo.’

Sheppard nodded. ‘They held me for four weeks. I was rescued on 26^th March and when I woke up in Bethesda on the morning of 1^st April, I had a lifetime of memories of the future which I didn’t have the night before. At least it didn’t happen while I was still a prisoner, I suppose.’

‘So we were all sent back to specific times, for some reason,’ Jack said thoughtfully. ‘I couldn’t work out why October 2001 at first, but I finally decided it was to keep McKay from insulting Carter and being sent to Siberia.’ He glanced over at McKay. ‘It wasn’t fair to you, and it also impacted your future relationship with the SGC. I’m sorry.’

The surprised expression on McKay’s face at his apology spoke volumes to Jack.

‘I…T-thank you,’ Rodney stammered, then looked away. ‘I’m aware I’m an arrogant man, and my attitude didn’t do me any favours in the past – future, whatever.’ He shook his head. ‘I have tried to remedy that, though I know I’m not always successful.’

‘You certainly haven’t shown any particular arrogance to me,’ Daniel butted in. ‘Although, as I didn’t know you before, I have nothing to compare you to.’

‘It was your change in character in particular which made me suspect for a moment that I was in a different dimension as well as back in time,’ Jack admitted. ‘If you recall, I’d only met you briefly before Antarctica, and all I’d heard about you coloured my vision, so to speak.’

‘From Major Carter, I assume.’ It wasn’t a question, and Jack, seated next to Daniel, was aware of McKay stiffening.

‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘This time, though, I’ve been able to make my own observations, and while you made one or two slip-ups which made me wonder, overall I could see you were nothing like her description of you, and it puzzled me.’

He glanced up as Patrick Sheppard slid a mug of coffee before him and gestured at the sugar and cream, and nodded his thanks. ‘I apologise for ignoring you, Mr—Dr Sheppard.’ he began, but Sheppard Senior shook his head.

‘No apologies necessary, and please call me Patrick. Doctor makes me sound so old!’ He grinned as both Rodney and Daniel glared at him, then sobered and glanced down, before looking up again and meeting Jack’s eyes. ‘You three aren’t the only ones given a second chance.’ He sat down heavily opposite to Jack and Daniel, and his mouth twisted. ‘I lost my youngest son through my own anger and arrogance, and I held on to that arrogance for years. I apparently died without telling my youngest son how much I loved him, but I was given another chance, and I’ve seized it with both hands.’

John, sitting next to him, covered his father’s hand with his own and gave a small smile. ‘That’s all behind us now, Dad.’

‘Yes, yes, it is.’ He gripped John’s hand between both of his, smiled at him, then got to his feet. ‘I’ll leave you boys to it. I know you all have a lot to talk about and you’ll do it better without me here, although I hope you’ll take me into your confidence before you leave, Colonel O’Neill,’ he added. ‘I’ll be in my study if you want me.’

*****

The four men relaxed a little after Patrick Sheppard left them, and John noted O’Neill’s reaction at Patrick’s comment of ‘boy’, and couldn’t help grinning, making Jack scowl back at him.

‘Fuck you, Major.’

‘No thank you, sir. Rodney wouldn’t like it.’

As Daniel choked on his coffee, John realised that O’Neill obviously hadn’t mentioned his relationship with Rodney and he stilled. Crap! DADT—

‘You do remember DADT is still a thing, don’t you?’ O’Neill asked, clearly reading his thoughts.

‘Yeah, but I was told the SGC didn’t enforce it, and surely we can get rid of it after Beckett ‘discovers’ the…’ he glanced at Jackson, ‘the gene stuff.’

‘Huh?’ O’Neill asked inelegantly.

John frowned at him. ‘You don’t know about the link between sexuality and the gene?’

‘There’s a link?’ O’Neill tapped a finger on the tabletop. ‘How do you know about it? What do you know about it?’

‘I remember Beckett telling Elizabeth and I about it, so it was before he died in 2007.’

‘I never received a report about it.’ O’Neill tilted his head. ‘I wonder if it went to Hank Landry.’

At the mention of Landry’s name, John scowled, and O’Neill gave him an amused smile. ‘Already taken care of. There’ve been more than a few issues with Nevada and if Landry hasn’t been replaced yet, he soon will be, I’m certain. We’ll just have to hope his replacement isn’t worse than him.’

‘Agreed!’ John couldn’t help adding, in a not-quite-undertone, ‘The man’s a—’

O’Neill held up his hand. ‘Stop. Let’s take all that as a given, and we’ll talk about the gene stuff later. Now, why aren’t you in Iraq or Afghanistan where I expected you to be, and where I searched for you? I tried to be careful not to draw attention to you so couldn’t ask too many questions, but I was puzzled when I couldn’t find you. You did go back overseas last time, didn’t you?’

John nodded. ‘Yes, but when I tried to think why I’d been sent back to April 1^st, the only thing I could come up with was being offered a place at the ACSC. I originally turned it down because I wanted to keep flying, not sit in a classroom, and in any case, I already have a Master’s Degree from my time at Stanford. Accepting the place at the Staff College was the only change which made sense to me personally. I couldn’t do anything about 9/11, for instance. I don’t have anywhere near enough influence for something like that.’

He took a sip of his coffee. ‘I had a couple of weeks to decide about ACSC – I always thought it was recompense or reparation after being a POW, but when I gave it careful thought I realised my CO was trying to help me, give me time to recover properly before being redeployed.’ John paused for a moment and dropped his eyes, then rubbed the back of his neck. ‘To be frank, sir, I knew I needed to be a better officer than I was last time. I was angry about what happened in Iraq for years, and it…’ He made an effort to meet O’Neill’s gaze. ‘It affected my work on Atlantis, I’m ashamed to say. I knew I was a better officer than that, but I was just so angry. I’m pretty certain now I had PTSD after being held by the Iraqis, and I just ignored it.’

‘And ended up with a black mark and being sent to Antarctica to wait out your commission,’ O’Neill added. ‘I think you’re right, for what it’s worth. I wanted to prevent you from making a mess of your career, but you seem to have done that all by yourself. Well done, but you do probably need some therapy to get it properly sorted. Ignoring it didn’t do you any favours last time.’

John shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but accepted the compliment as it was intended. ‘Dad, Dave and I have been seeing a therapist to help us work out some of our family issues, which mostly started after Mom passed away in 1987.’ He fidgeted with his watch strap and turned his head to look out of the window. ‘Dad also persuaded me to talk to him about my time in an Iraqi cave.’

‘Good for you,’ O’Neill told him. ‘It will help. Now. ACSC follows an academic calendar pretty closely, doesn’t it?’ John looked back at him and nodded. ‘When do you graduate?’

‘May 31^st.’

‘Then we’ll try to get you assigned to the SGC from the start of June. I’ll have a word with General Hammond. He knows I’ve come back in time, but he’ll be surprised to find out about you and McKay! I can’t remember, did you serve under him last time?’

John shook his head. ‘He’d moved to Homeworld by the time I was sorted to the Mountain, although I did meet him on a mist planet in Pegasus.’ He grinned as O’Neill raised his eyebrows. ‘Long story and probably not worth going into. I think you’d already moved to DC when we sent our first databurst with our mission reports.’

O’Neill nodded agreement. ‘Right. Now, back to last year. What did you do between waking up and starting at ACSC in July?’

‘I did TDY at the Pentagon for three months or so before going to Alabama. Dad helped me get a position with the Director of the DOD Special Access Programme.’ He paused for a moment, and felt McKay gently touch his shoulder, offering silent support. John gave him a grateful glance for the comfort, then continued. ‘For once, I accepted his help in finding a post, and telling him about the time travel felt right. If I wanted a proper relationship with him this time, I needed to be completely honest.

‘I stayed angry at him last time, and it didn’t do me any good. I think he could probably have helped me with the Black Mark if I’d let him, and it seemed like this second chance was an opportunity to fix things with him as well as to make sure Atlantis goes back to Pegasus.’ He gave O’Neill a sudden frown. ‘That is why we’re here, isn’t it? To keep Atlantis in Pegasus and stop the Wraith from reaching Earth?’

‘I think so,’ O’Neill agreed, nodding. ‘I have to think it was the Ancients who sent us back. It certainly wasn’t a gadget of any kind since we were sent back from different places, and to different times, but I have no idea how it was done. I don’t think that’s important, though. My—our job is to make sure the right things happen and the wrong things don’t.’

*****

They took a quick break while Sheppard retrieved several bottles of water from the large refrigerator and set them in the centre of the table, pushing one towards McKay, who glared at him and looked deliberately towards the coffee pot, as did Daniel. Sheppard ignored him and simply gestured to the bottle until McKay sighed and grabbed it, while Jack pushed a bottle closer to Daniel and nodded towards it. Daniel held out for a moment, then huffed and took the bottle, twisting off the cap with a little more violence than needed, making Jack grin.

‘Now,’ he began, ‘what exactly have you told your father, Sheppard?’

‘That I worked in a highly classified programme which dealt with technology he couldn’t even imagine. He was sceptical at first, unsurprisingly, but quickly realised I was very different from the son he last spoke to in 1994, and that I also had knowledge he couldn’t explain.’

‘Such as?’

‘Such as telling him to get a health check asap because he had heart disease. It turns out he’d recently had a medical and his doctor told him if he didn’t start taking care of himself, he might only have a few years to live – something our housekeeper, Lizzie, seized upon and launched a campaign of healthy eating, with no more pies and cakes, or at least only in moderation. Dad’s also cut out the bottle of whisky he got through weekly, and has begun to use the pool regularly again.’ Sheppard took a long drink of water and replaced the cap, passing the bottle from one hand to the other.

‘The SGC could do with someone like Dad and Sheppard Industries on their side,’ Sheppard continued, ‘and I…I needed—need—my family.’ He bit his lip, and looked away, then firmed his chin and met Jack’s eyes. ‘And I’m glad I reached out. Having Dad and Davey behind me has helped me…heal, I guess. That, and Rodney’s regular visits.’ He gave McKay a soft smile, and McKay’s entire face relaxed and he reached out to touch Sheppard’s arm, but Jack remained silent.

I think he needs to get this out, like a confessional, maybe.

‘It was a little overwhelming at first, you know. Realising that I was on my own, and not really knowing what I should do.’ He took a steadying breath. ‘I didn’t tell him about the Stargate Programme per se, but I advised him to accept any contracts SI might be offered in Nevada or Colorado Springs, especially after buying an Aeronautical Company – in the hopes I’d leave the Air Force and work for him—’

‘Wait!’ Jack held up a hand. ‘Your father bought you an aircraft manufacturer to persuade you to go back home?’

John froze, only his eyes moving from side to side as though looking for a means of escape. ‘Umm. Yeah? Why?’

Jack stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. ‘Oh, no reason. Carry on.’

‘Okaay,’ John waited for a moment, but when nothing more was forthcoming, he continued. ‘I’m hoping Dad can be read into the programme, and, quite honestly, I trust my father’s company not to cut corners on any of his projects. I can’t say the same about other outfits. We got our fair share of guns which locked and body armour which was of less use than cardboard on Atlantis. I’m hoping we can avoid that this time.’

‘Amen,’ Jack muttered, making Sheppard smile ruefully

‘I know.’ He took a breath and his shoulders visibly relaxed. ‘And while the ACSC has kept me busy mentally, and I’ve had Rodney and my family at the end of a phone, I’m immensely grateful to know I’m not alone in this now. You’ll know, sir, how difficult it is to see how some things will play out with the knowledge we have, and how our relationships with other people might be affected, and it’s a pretty daunting prospect. What if I don’t remember something critical and people die because I’d forgotten what happened?’ He rubbed the back of his neck again, a tell Jack remembered from the other timeline.

‘I know exactly how you feel,’ Jack agreed, nodding. He wasn’t the same man he’d been in 2002 in the original timeline. He had an extra fourteen years of experience, for one thing. Is this how my clone felt when we realised he’d been de-aged? If—when that happens, I’ll try to be a little more understanding.

With a segue into a different subject, Sheppard continued. ‘Dad and Sheppard Industries have all kinds of classified projects, so I haven’t had to worry about him keeping the secret, although we didn’t tell my brother everything.’ He glanced up at Jack. ‘Did I do the right thing? I can’t be in violation of my NDA since I haven’t signed one for the SGC yet.’

Jack gave him a reassuring smile. ‘It’s fine, and I’ll have your father sign an NDA before we leave. Having him on side will help some of the plans I have, too. For one thing, I want to make the whole programme financially independent.’

‘To make the IOA unnecessary.’ Sheppard nodded his head in agreement. ‘Rodney and I had the same idea, especially now he’s at the SGC rather than Area 51. We don’t want those asshats interfering again.’

‘Agreed,’ McKay muttered, scowling at the table, then jumped with the others as Daniel rapped the table top.

‘Now you’ve all confessed to each other, can someone please tell me what on earth you’re talking about?’ he demanded. ‘Jack’s been very careful with the information he’s given to me, so I want an explanation about Atlantis, Pegasus, and why the hell you all seem to hate this IOA!’

‘Then, will you go collect your father, Sheppard, and we’ll include him in the explanations rather than have to repeat ourselves,’ Jack said, grabbing his briefcase and pulling out the NDA he’d brought with him.

‘You fetch him, Rodney, while I set out lunch,’ John ordered, then paused as Rodney stood up to go, muttering under his breath. ‘Unless you’d rather get lunch sorted?’

‘I’m going, I’m going. Geez, give me chance…’

Rodney’s mutters continued as he left the kitchen and Jackson grinned at the byplay, while Jack wandered over to the French doors which opened onto a veranda running the width of the house, leading to manicured lawns running down to the creek which fed into Chesapeake Bay. If this is where Sheppard grew up, no wonder he loved Atlantis and hated being at the SGC, although that probably also had a lot to do with Landry. I wonder what the fishing’s like here?

‘Lunch, Jack,’ Daniel called over to him, and he rejoined the group at the table, looking appreciatively at the plates of ham and beef, and bowls of salads. Beats meatloaf in the mess.

By mutual agreement, the five men kept the conversation general throughout lunch, and Jack grinned as John Sheppard added salad to both his own plate and McKay’s, who scowled at him. ‘Come on, McKay. Greens are good for you.’

‘It’s rabbit food.’

‘It’s one of Lizzie’s best salads, and you know better than to upset her.’

‘Is she fierce?’ Daniel asked, then looked down at his plate where Jack had served him to green salad. ‘This is delicious, and I don’t normally like salad either.’

‘Lizzie’s the opposite of fierce,’ Shep—John replied, his lips twitching, ‘but she has a way of making you feel wretched if you don’t eat up your vegetables. She’s guilted us all into healthy eating. I might try to recruit her for A—the expedition.’

‘Hell, I might try to recruit her for the SGC!’ Jack retorted through a mouthful of bean salad. ‘This is the best thing I’ve tasted in years!’

It took the whole of lunch to answer Daniel’s questions, and Patrick Sheppard remained silent as Jack took the lead in explaining the Stargate Programme with an outline of the IOA, while John and McKay helped with the explanation of Pegasus, Atlantis, and the Wraith.

‘And now I need you to sign the world’s largest NDA,’ Jack said to Patrick, sliding the inches thick document across the table.’

‘I wondered why you insisted on bringing your briefcase,’ Daniel commented.

‘I brought it expecting to have Major Sheppard sign it, not Dr Sheppard,’ Jack retorted, grinning at Patrick’s exaggerated sigh at the mention of his title. ‘After you’ve signed that, there’re a few things I want to speak to you about, sir.’

Patrick looked askance at the honorific, but Jack considered it pay-back for ‘you boys’ and merely offered a smirk.

*****

As the remains of lunch were cleared away, O’Neill pulled out a well-thumbed notebook and Rodney, passing behind him on his way to the dishwasher, saw that the notes were written in Ancient.

He stabbed a finger towards O’Neill. ‘We need to think of a way to introduce the ATA gene. Carson Beckett discovered it in the first timeline, but since his ethics were extremely dubious—’

‘And that’s putting it mildly,’ John muttered with a scowl.

‘Since his motives were dubious,’ Rodney continued in a louder voice, ‘I’d rather not have him be part of the Atlantis expedition this time, especially as he was a researcher first and foremost, and not the best choice for CMO in the first place.’

‘He was Weir’s pick, not mine,’ O’Neill pointed out. ‘And since the IOA were willing to give her whatever she wanted, I couldn’t fight it. I was able to push Alicia Biro’s jacket forward though, even if she was more ME than GP.’

‘Alicia Biro?’ Daniel echoed. ‘Why have I heard that name?’

Jack glanced towards him. ‘She’s a Medical Examiner who happened across a member of SG-4 after he’d been cleared by a relatively new nurse in the infirmary, and later died in ‘mysterious circumstances’,’ he said, fingers forming air quotes. ‘The local LEOs called her in before we were notified of his death, and we had to read Biro in, but it proved worthwhile since she’s given Janet a hand with autopsies a couple of times since. Ducky Mallard had good things to say about her when Janet asked for his advice,’ he added as an afterthought.

‘Ducky Mallard?’ Patrick smiled. ‘I know him. I’ve met him a few times at DC dinners and ceremonies.’

‘Everyone knows Ducky Mallard,’ Jack said with a grin, ‘but let’s get back to Beckett. Janet Fraiser had a lot to say about him before—’ He glanced at Daniel, then looked away.

‘Before?’ Daniel repeated, frowning at Jack’s suddenly serious expression. ‘Before what, Jack?’

After a swift glance at Rodney, who nodded once, Jack sighed. ‘Janet was killed off-world while treating an Airman on P3X-666—’

‘Killed?’ Daniel’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. ‘Janet was killed? Please tell me you can stop that happening again.’

‘I can stop that happening again,’ Jack said quietly, holding up his hand. ‘In fact, I’ve already stopped it by locking that planet out of the dialling computer, along with a couple of others we don’t want to go back to.’

‘What others, and what happened?’ Now reassured his friend was safe, Daniel’s curiosity was getting the better of him.

‘Not relevant at this point,’ Jack told him, and turned back to Rodney. ‘Beckett won’t be coming into the programme, but it means we need another geneticist to ‘discover’ the ATA gene.’ As Daniel opened his mouth to ask another question, Jack held up his hand again. ‘Not right now, Danny. Write all your questions down and I’ll do a Q and A later, okay?’

It was clear Daniel didn’t like his answer, but he sighed and turned to the back of his notebook and began to scribble.

O’Neill’s going to be answering a lot of questions later, Rodney thought to himself with a smirk, and shook his head slightly when John nudged him. ‘Later,’ he muttered in an undertone

Jack shook his head in resignation and turned his attention back to Rodney ‘Is there a geneticist you know of who’s a fit for the Programme? You seem to know, or at least know of most of the best scientists in the country.’

Tapping his finger on his lips, Rodney was silent for a moment, running names through his head, then he snapped his fingers a couple of times. ‘There’s a British geneticist who isn’t entirely stupid, Dr Anne Stewart. I remember Peter Grodin mentioning her, but I’ve no idea where she’ll be at present.’

‘Make a note of that, Danny, it’s worth looking into her,’ Jack instructed, then glanced at John. ‘Want to tell me about that link between DADT and the ATA gene? Ancient Activation Gene,’ he said as Daniel opened his mouth. ‘It’s how some of us can make Ancient technology work. Sheppard and I have it in spades—’

‘As do I,’ Rodney added, making Jack frown.

‘But you didn’t have it last time. I remember your joy when Sheppard here sat in the chair at…you know.’

‘That wasn’t joy, it was fury.’ Rodney scowled at the memory. ‘I’d been trying for weeks to get information out of the…thing, then this fluffy headed flyboy takes a seat and the damn chair almost sang with elation.’

‘Hey!’ John poked him in the arm. ‘Less of the fluffy-headed. I’m well within regulations now.’

‘And that should have clued me in straight away,’ Jack commented. ‘I don’t think I ever saw you with regulation hair before.’

‘There wasn’t a barber at McMurdo, and after that it was mostly to mess with Landry whenever there was a video-conference, or when I came to Earth.’ John grinned at his CO-to-be. ‘I do generally try to keep it shorter.’

‘Hmmm.’

‘About the ATA gene.’ Rodney decided to move the conversation on. ‘I had to have mine activated with Carson’s therapy last time, but I’ve come back with it, for some reason. It made me wonder if I was in another dimension or something at first, but that’s the only difference I’ve seen , so I’m thinking whoever/whatever sent us back needed me to have the gene.’

Daniel laughed. ‘Jack was convinced he was in another dimension for a long while, you should have heard him! It’s turned out to be you making changes, though, Rodney, and I guess you’ve made other changes we haven’t yet seen.’

Rodney felt his cheeks heat. ‘I couldn’t work out what I’d been sent back for, and I know I must have been sent back, rather than a solar flare send me back like it did SG-1, or sent John 48,000 years into the future, because I was nowhere near technology which might be affected by a solar flare, or any other technology, really! I decided what the hell! I’d just change the fuck out of everything that needed it, and hoped if I changed the wrong things, I’d find out pretty damn quick.’

He felt, rather than saw, Jack’s narrowed eyes upon him, and raised his eyebrows in enquiry.

‘What?’

‘Have you made any changes which affect Sam Carter? Directly or indirectly?’

Rodney returned his gaze evenly. ‘No. She’s acting exactly as she did before except this time, you’ve picked up on some of the crap she pulls.’ He gave a heavy sigh. ‘Look, I know I was a jerk to her the first time I came to the SGC, but—’

‘But you were right in what you told her about both the dialling computer and patterns stored in the buffers,’ John interrupted.

Rodney tilted his head back and forth. ‘I was right, but at the same time, Carter wasn’t wrong!’

‘Explain.’ Jack’s demand was succinct.

‘Patterns stored in the gate buffers will deteriorate in time, but my estimation of how long that time was, was wrong. Likewise, when I said that engaging the gate without the master control crystal would be dangerous, I was right, as putting a current through a conductive object with no means of control is extremely dangerous.’ Rodney paused as he saw Patrick Sheppard nodding.

‘That’s basic engineering,’ Patrick agreed. ‘If someone suggested doing such a thing in one of our installations, I’d fire them so hard their grandchildren would feel it! And given what you’ve explained about the energy stored in a Stargate, if it blew up, it would take out half of Colorado with it, at the very least.’

‘Exactly.’ Rodney pointed a finger at Patrick. ‘Sam Carter has the devil’s own luck, however, and when she activated the gate, the damage was limited to the embarkation room and the few people in it, which no-one seemed particularly bothered about.’

‘Me included,’ Jack said in a low voice. ‘When Siler said he wasn’t there by choice, I ignored him.’ He scrubbed his hands over his face. ‘I don’t think many of us covered ourselves in glory that day, did we?’

‘Doesn’t sound like it,’ Daniel said with a sigh. ‘It’s almost as though Sam weaved a spell over everyone to make them ignore her thoughtless and arrogant behaviour.’

‘Thoughtless, arrogant, and dangerous, it sounds to me,’ Patrick added. ‘The more I hear about the Stargate Programme, the more I wonder if it should ever have been opened.’

‘I’ve heard that argument from several people outside the SGC over the years,’ Jack told Patrick, ‘but whether or not we opened the gate, we still faced our off-world enemies. The Goa’uld knew where Earth was, and always intended to return, with or without a Stargate here. As it was, Apophis abducted Airman Carol Weterings, and killed five other security personnel: we never recovered Weterings’ body, or heard of her again. Likewise, the Wraith in Pegasus knew the Ancients had escaped back to their former galaxy, they just couldn’t find it, but we couldn’t guarantee that would always be the case.’

‘No, we couldn’t.’ John focussed on his father. ‘The Wraith are, to all intents and purposes, immortal. The oldest of them we came across remembered their fight against the Lanteans 10,000 years before. There’s every chance they’ll hit upon this galaxy at some point, and unless we have a base in Pegasus from which to reconnoitre and fight them, we won’t know when they’re headed here until they start bombing and culling a planet. Once they begin to feed in the Milky Way, they’ll glut themselves and feed for thousands of years.’

Chapter Nine

It took little persuasion to convince Jack O’Neill to allow John to fly them both back to Colorado Springs, along with McKay in his new Cessna Citation.

‘It was a ‘get well soon’ present from Dad,’ John explained, grinning widely and bouncing on the balls of his feet. ‘One I didn’t mind accepting since it gave me a way to keep up my flying hours while I’m in school.’

‘That’s a pretty magnificent ‘get well soon’ present,’ Jack said drily as he walked around the gleaming aircraft.

‘Want to fly it with me?’ John asked, his grin morphing into a smirk. ‘It has two pilot controls.’

‘Hell yes!’

Behind him, Daniel and Rodney each rolled their eyes.

‘Boys and their toys,’ Rodney commented in a low voice, but not low enough for the two Air Force men not to hear them.

‘So?’ demanded John. ‘And you have no room whatsoever to comment on toys. You almost snatched Dad’s hand off when he offered to let you build a new laptop computer for yourself.’

‘That benefitted both of us,’ Rodney retorted. ‘It gave him the chance to market the design way, way ahead of the likes of Apple and IBM, and before you say anything,’ he held up his hand, ‘the design is entirely mine using only components available at this point in time.’

‘When is it likely to be on the market?’ Jack asked, thinking of how much he’d taken the computers of the future for granted. Something else I didn’t miss until I didn’t have it.

‘Hopefully in time for Christmas, 2002,’ Rodney replied. ‘And don’t worry, I’ve already put in an order for the SGC. We’ll have the first 500 to be built, and there should be a tablet ready in early 2003 which is influenced by the tablets we had in…that place.’ He looked around in case any mechanics or ground crew were within hearing distance, but they were alone in the hanger owned by Sheppard Industries.

Newport News Airport was just over an hour’s drive from Morrow House, and home to Patrick’s own company jet, as well as the plane he bought for John. ‘You’re going to need a way to get to and from Alabama,’ he’d told John, ‘as well as keep up your flying hours.’ After Rodney had made contact with John in May 2001 it also gave John a method of transporting Rodney to and from the Sheppard house at the weekends he stayed there, rather than Rodney having to fly into either DC or Norfolk Naval Station, and leave clear clues as to his destination should anyone bother to check. By using the smaller and lesser utilised Meadow Lake Airport in Colorado Springs, John and Rodney were further able to keep Rodney’s visits, and thus their relationship, private. It wouldn’t do for John to be discovered as gay before he managed to get to the SGC, where ignoring DADT was pretty much SOP.

Before the group headed for Colorado Springs left the Sheppard homestead, however, they laid out a number of plans.

‘General Hammond wants to meet you before you transfer to the SGC,’ Jack told John, ‘and this is an ideal opportunity, as you’re not due back at ACSC until next week.’

‘You want me to go into the SGC?’ John frowned at Jack. ‘Is that a good idea?’

‘Don’t worry. We’ll come up with a cover story if we need one, but it’s easier for you to go to the SGC than it is for the general to come here to Virginia. Especially as you won’t appear on any airline passenger lists. It’s unlikely anyone would think of searching for a private plane’s manifest.’

‘Is that likely?’ Daniel asked with a frown. ‘Who’d be looking for Major Sheppard?’

‘Likely, no,’ Jack replied, ‘but I’ve been in this game too long to take unnecessary risks. We’ve only just found out Sheppard and McKay have come back in time. What if anyone we don’t know about has too? It’s stupid not to take all the precautions we can.’

Daniel’s distress was almost tangible, and he bit his lip as Jack surveyed him, but, surprisingly – to Jack at least – it was McKay who touched Daniel’s arm.

‘It’s difficult to come to terms with constant suspicion,’ he told the archeologist, ‘but if Pegasus taught me anything, it taught me to suspect everyone until they’ve proved their intentions are honourable. I can’t tell you the number of times those we thought of as trusted allies turned round and bit us on our asses.’

‘Way to go with the metaphor, Rodney.’ John grinned at him, then patted him on the shoulder. ‘Still, you’re right. What was it Teddy Roosevelt said?’

‘”Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far”?’ Daniel quoted.

‘That’s the one!’ John pointed a finger at Daniel. ‘Though I’d rather carry a P90.’

*****

They left Morrow House after an early supper, and Jack followed John’s sports car to Newport News Airport.

‘So, how d’you think that went?’ Daniel asked as they negotiated the narrow lane leading back to the main road.

‘Better than I ever imagined.’ Jack’s answer was prompt and certain. ‘McKay was a surprise, though.’

‘You’re telling me!’ Daniel gave his friend a warm smile, but Jack was too busy keeping up with Sheppard to notice it. ‘Still, it did explain all the differences you’d been worried about. I am concerned that you think there might be other time travellers as well as you three. And I’m also wondering why I wasn’t sent back.’

Jack tilted his head slightly, clearly considering this.

‘Where was I when the Wraith attacked?’ Daniel continued, and Jack frowned.

‘I…think you were off-world with one of the gate teams.’

‘Not SG-1?’

‘No. After Carter was put in charge of the SGC, SG-1 was pretty much retired as a gate team. Mitchell – a pilot who joined the SGC in 2005, I think, took over one of the ships from Carter, and Teal’c was rarely on Earth after the Jaffa pretty much won their battle for freedom from the few remaining System Lords. Most of the big players had been wiped out: Ba’al hung on the longest.

‘We declassified the programme in 2013 and you could finally prove your theories to the bone-heads who’d driven you out of academia, and wasn’t that a great day! You stayed with the programme, but did a lot of lecturing so rarely went off-world unless there was something which particularly interested you.’

Daniel considered this. Jack hadn’t given him much information on what happened in the other timeline in the future. I wonder why he’s suddenly decided it’s okay to tell me…stuff.

Almost as though he could read Daniel’s mind, Jack spoke. ‘I didn’t go into detail before because I was worried about influencing the timeline, or rather, your future actions. What if you did something because I said you’d done it last time?’

‘And now?’

‘And now there are two other people to make sure the stuff that needs to happen, happens.’

‘And to prevent the wrong stuff from happening?’

‘Exactly!’

‘But what if it’s the wrong thing?’

Jack took his eyes off the road long enough to make Daniel grab for the steering wheel.

‘Jack! Keep your eyes on the damn road!’

‘Steady! I know what I’m doing,’ Jack retorted. ‘And not just about driving!’ He sighed and gave Daniel a – very – quick glance. ‘I have to trust that whoever brought the three of us back knows what they’re doing. In that vein, I want to go back to Kheb and look for Oma Desala.’

‘I thought said you’d locked that address out of the dialling computer?’

Grimacing, Jack nodded. ‘I did, but we’re going to need Oma’s help, if we can persuade her.’

‘To do what?’

But the car ahead was just pulling into a road which bordered the small airport, and, as he followed it, Jack didn’t answer.

*****

John spent the night at O’Neill’s house in Colorado Springs. Since Jack handed it over to Landry when he took up the post in DC, John had never visited it, and he looked around appreciatively as O’Neill and Dr Jackson led him in.

‘If you’re intending to stay tonight as well, Danny,’ O’Neill told him, ‘you’re going to have to make a bed up for yourself in the attic, unless you don’t mind bunking in with me.’

John felt an unexpected pang of yearning rush through him. SGC gate teams were no different to Atlantis ones in the way they fostered intimacy between the members, and he missed Teyla and Ronon like a part of himself was lost. I’ll find them again, he promised himself. I’ll look for Ronon as soon as we get to Pegasus, and any other runners we can find. But even while he made his promises, he knew his relationship with Teyla and Ronon would be different this time, because the circumstances behind their meeting would be different. I got lucky with Rodney being sent back as well; we won’t have to rebuild our relationship with each other, not like we will with Teyla and Ronon, unless…

‘Sheppard!’

John gave a start and turned to look at O’Neill, who was regarding him with an amused smile. ‘Sorry, sir. I was miles away.’

‘I could tell. I asked if you wanted anything to eat with your beer.’

‘Yes, please. I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol these days. We didn’t have much on Atlantis besides Zelenka’s smurf-piss, and I fly or drive so much at present that I tend to avoid it.’

‘Smurf-piss?’ Jackson enquired.

‘Produced from a home-made still, and usually blue for some reason I’ve never fathomed. Of course, officially, I knew nothing about it, but Rodney claimed a bottle now and then, which he shared.’ John gave a shiver at the memory. ‘Radek grew up in Soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia, where the only alcohol available was what you produced for yourself. Apparently, his grandmother was an expert and even sold to the occupying forces. He learned his craft at her knee, so to speak.’ John frowned at his CO-to-be. ‘And we’ve never had this conversation, sir.’

O’Neill waved a lazy hand from the kitchen. ‘Relax. I know nothing about any smurf-piss.’ He nodded at Jackson. ‘Danny, show Major Sheppard where he’ll be sleeping and give him some clean sheets while I make some sandwiches.’

‘I’d be perfectly fine in the attic, Dr Jackson,’ John told him as Jackson led the way to a wing at right angles to the main part of the house.

‘It’s Daniel, and I’ve no problem sharing with Jack: we’ve done it often enough off-world, with Teal’c in with us as well, although he doesn’t so much sleep as kel’no’reem.’

‘Kel’no’reem?’

‘It’s a Jaffa meditative state they use instead of sleep, allowing the Jaffa, Teal’c in this case, to commune with his symbiote which will heal any ailments he might have. Interestingly—’

‘Fercryinoutloud, Danny. Give the man a break.’ O’Neill appeared at the door of the kitchen, a knife in one hand and a jar of pickle in the other. ‘Just show Sheppard to his room, and don’t give him a lecture he didn’t ask for.’

‘He asked about Kel—’ Jackson-Daniel began.

‘To be polite. He doesn’t give a shit what it is. Just show him his room, and the bathroom, and come help me butter some bread.’ O’Neill turned his head to look at John. ‘Turkey, right?’

John grinned, both at the offer of a sandwich filling and the recognition he didn’t care about Jaffa customs. Though I guess I should know this stuff if I’m to join SG-1 as O’Neill wants.

*****

They headed into the SGC for an 07.30 meeting with General Hammond, and as soon as he entered the facility, John felt the familiar pressure of the mountain almost physically bear down on him. I don’t know how all these people can work so far underground, day in and day out. It’d—It will drive me demented.

O’Neill shot him a look of concern, obviously realising he was struggling. ‘You okay there, Major?’

‘I will be,’ John answered, hoping to goodness he grew accustomed to it again. I did it before, I just need to get used to it again.

In the other timeline, when O’Neill was unable to get the city back to Pegasus in Spring 2009, John had been assigned to the SGC after Atlantis was dismantled by the IOA and left out in the Pacific in international waters and basically left to rot. Landry refused to accept his resignation, citing his importance to the Stargate Programme, and put him on SG-19 with different team members each week, never allowing John to forge a relationship with regular team mates. John offered his resignation to Landry every Monday morning, and every Monday morning Landry refused to accept it.

This exercise in futility was repeated until October 2010, when Landry reached mandatory retirement age, and General Samantha Carter took his place as head of the SGC, and John’s resignation was finally accepted. At this point, John took advantage of his trust fund and inheritances, and dropped off the grid, remaining so until a certain astrophysicist finally barrelled his way into a house by a beach in Kauai.

‘It won’t happen again,’ O’Neill murmured into his ear, almost as if he could read John’s mind. ‘I won’t let it, and I’ll also make sure you get plenty of sky time, one way or another.’

John nodded gratefully, and tried not to flinch when the elevator doors closed and he felt the movement of sinking further and further underground.

The general was waiting for them as they exited the elevator and John realised the Marines on the initial check-point must have alerted General Hammond to their arrival.

‘Major Sheppard.’ Hammond held out his hand to shake John’s, leaving him wondering if he should have saluted, despite being out of uniform.

‘Um. Yessir.’

Hammond led the way into his office. ‘Take a seat, son. We have a lot to talk about.’ He took his own seat behind his desk and waved a hand towards the empty chair alongside O’Neill’s.

‘Yessir. Thank you, sir.’

The general stared at O’Neill and raised his eyebrows.

‘Uhh. Oh, right.’ O’Neill pulled out a little gizmo, but instead of activating it, he passed it to John.

‘It’s…It’s a blocking device, right?’ John asked as the gizmo lit up in his hand.

‘I just call it a bug zapper. Nice to see your gene is as strong as it was before. We just need to find an opportunity to ‘discover’ it now.’

John passed the device back to O’Neill and concentrated on General Hammond.

‘I didn’t get to meet you last time, I understand,’ Hammond commented.

‘No, sir. You were already in DC when I was sorted to the Mountain, although I met you on a mist planet in Pegasus.’ John grinned at the bemused expressions on the general’s face. ‘It’s complicated, sir. It doesn’t matter.’

Hammond blinked at him, then shook his head. ‘Right. Moving on. When are you due to graduate from ACSC?’

‘Commencement is on Friday May 31^st, sir.’

‘And where are you due to report after you finish?’

‘Back to Hurlburt Field, Florida. I’ll get my next posting then, although I am hoping I can be transferred to the SGC instead.’

‘And you will be,’ Hammond assured him. ‘We just need to get…What’s your expression, Jack?’

‘Get all our ducks in a row, sir?’

‘That’s the one. Don’t worry, son. We’ll get you here. Now. I wanted to talk to you about your father.’

‘He signed the NDA Gen—Colonel O’Neill had with him, sir, although I probably need to sign a new one, too.’

‘That’ll be part of your intake briefing. I’m hoping we can keep this visit under wraps, but if anyone asks any questions, you’re being considered as a pilot for the X-302 fighter-interceptor for the X-303 spaceship currently under construction. Your flight record speaks for itself, and if we’d known about you, we would have recruited you for it, but Colonel O’Neill says that your path is going to be very different.’ Hammond waved a hand as if to dismiss the X-303 and her X-302 pilots. ‘I’d like to arrange to meet your father. I understand there are some issues with the ship and the fighter-interceptor he might be able to help us with, and we’re also going to need his help with Colonel O’Neill’s plans for financial independence. Is it possible for him to come to Colorado, or should I make a trip to Virginia to speak to him? Or would it be better to take the whole thing to Nevada?

‘I think he’d be happy to come here, sir,’ John told him. ‘He’s fascinated by the Stargate, and how it’s powered. His was one of the first PhDs in Environmental and Energy Engineering awarded in 1998, as that was Sheppard Industries’ focus for many years, although its remit has widened since Dad took over from Grandpa in 1987.’

‘Then I’ll issue an invitation to him,’ Hammond said with a satisfied smile.

‘Sir?’ O’Neill held up a finger. ‘Might it be best to let Major Davis invite him? He’s usually the one to liaise between contractors and the Programme. It also keeps Major Sheppard at a distance from it.’

The general tilted his head. ‘Good point, Jack. I’ll get on the phone to Davis after this meeting. Now, was there anything you wished to ask me?’

‘I…’ John took a deep breath and glanced at O’Neill. ‘That is…’

‘DADT.’ O’Neill spoke the words John was unable to say. ‘I mentioned it a few months ago, sir, and you asked—’

‘Why it was important,’ Hammond finished for him. ‘Yes, I remember. But you said it could wait.’

‘Well, it can’t anymore.’ O’Neill met the general’s gaze square on.

‘We’ve never applied it here, Jack. Isn’t that sufficient?’

‘No, sir.’ John found his tongue at last. ‘Has the G—Colonel explained about the ATA gene?’

‘Not yet.’ O’Neill shook his head. ‘It won’t be discovered until after SG-1 find the outpost.’

‘The outpost?’ Hammond enquired.

‘It’s a special gene which allows certain of us to activate Ancient technology,’ John began, and saw the puzzlement in Hammond’s eyes. ‘That’s…’ He broke off, trying to think of a way to explain the words in that sentence.

‘It’s one of things that’ll become apparent later on, sir.’ O’Neill took over the explanation, much to John’s relief. ‘McKay is searching for a geneticist to help us ‘discover’ it, but it will become of paramount importance in the future. From what I’ve been told, there’s a very strong link between having the ATA gene and being gay, or at the very least, bisexual. If we want to recruit more gene carriers – and we will – we have to accept many of them, most of them will not be heterosexual.’

Hammond sat back in his chair, rested his hands together in front of him, and nodded slowly. ‘And why do you need a different geneticist from before?’

He’s good, John thought to himself, but then he’s been dealing with this for a few months, I suppose.

‘The original one was…flaky.’ O’Neill kept his face poker-straight.

Hammond’s lips twitched. ‘Flaky.’

‘It’s a perfectly accurate description, sir. He was a good geneticist, but a crap practitioner. Quite aside from the fact he hadn’t worked with live patients for how long, Sheppard?’

‘Several years, at least, sir.’

‘He made several extremely iffy decisions, one or two approaching criminal – had they been on earth. A diplomat, Dr Elizabeth Weir, brought him onboard, but I have no idea how she knew about him. She won’t be joining the programme, by the way.’

‘Thank fuck for that,’ John muttered. ‘I don’t think I could go through her interest—Sorry, sir. Go on.’

O’Neill gave him a grin. ‘She come onto you too?’

‘Too? Did she…with you?’

‘Oh, yeah. After I got thawed out. I couldn’t understand it at first, but I realised it was just my gene she was after. Probably why she went after you as well.’

General Hammond was trying his best to hide a smile. ‘I don’t think I need to hear anymore, gentlemen, but are you sure she won’t join the programme? How was she recruited last time?’

‘She was appointed to look into the programme by the new president,’ O’Neill replied. ‘But I’ve never been sure if he appointed her, or if it had something to do with Kinsey.’

John made a rude noise, then looked between Hammond and O’Neill. ‘Did I do that out loud? Sorry.’

‘You know Kinsey?’ O’Neill asked him.

‘Not personally, but Rodney’s pretty scornful about him, and Dad calls him a worthless piece of shit.’

‘I think ‘worthless piece of shit’ is a pretty good description.’ O’Neill waved a hand and grinned. ‘I might add candy-assed to it.’

Hammond cleared his throat. ‘Gentlemen?’ He waited until John and O’Neill nodded. ‘Thank you. Jack, what did you mean when you said she wouldn’t be joining the programme?’

O’Neill’s lips twitched, and he raised his eyes to the ceiling.

‘Jack?’ Hammond added several syllables to his name. ‘What have you done?’

‘I, umm. I may have, umm, asked Kusanagi to, umm, add her name to a terrorist watch list?’

Hammond shook his head in resignation while John grinned.

‘Can’t we do the same to Kinsey?’ he asked. ‘Rodney’s always good with ideas.’

‘Don’t need any ideas,’ O’Neill told him. ‘We’ve got a disk full of information about all his nefarious activities. Dates, times, all his links with the NID and to the Russians.’

‘Then why haven’t you done anything with it?’

O’Neill screwed up his face. ‘I kinda said I wouldn’t use it if Kinsey got General Hammond reinstated after he was replaced by General Bauer.’

‘Huh.’ John was silent for a moment. ‘What if…you handed the disk to my f—no, no! What if my father received it anonymously through the post?’

‘Kinsey will know it could only come from us.’ O’Neill sounded almost disappointed.

‘But what could he actually do about it? Unless the information is inaccurate…’

‘Oh, it’s all kosher, and not just from Kinsey’s own computer, he might have deleted. There’s a lot from online sources Harry Maybourne was able to save, and even it’s been deleted—’

‘There’s no way anything is ever entirely deleted,’ John finished for him. ‘Not if you have someone of Miko Kusanagi’s calibre on your side. And we do.’

O’Neill turned to look at Hammond. ‘You good with us giving it to Patrick Sheppard to deal with, sir?’

Hammond sighed. ‘I’ve been guided by you thus far, Jack. Just make sure it can’t be traced back here. We have enough suits in DC to deal with already.’

*****

‘Dr Sheppard, it’s a pleasure to meet you.’ A week after meeting John Sheppard, Hammond shook his father’s hand, and noted the fleeting grimace cross his guest’s face. ‘Do you prefer Admiral Sheppard?’ It was now a full-blown grimace.

‘I prefer Mr Sheppard, or better still, Patrick. I have a feeling we’re going to get to know each other pretty well.’

‘Then please call me George. Come, take a seat.’ Hammond led the way into his office and nodded to the Marine SF escorting their guest. ‘I’ll take it from here, son.’

As he settled in behind his desk, Hammond noticed the puzzlement on Patrick’s face, and smiled a little ruefully. ‘I’m afraid we must look like a pretty lax service to an admiral, and I’ll admit we rarely stand on ceremony here. When you’re dealing with alien technology and even aliens themselves, we’ve discovered a relaxed atmosphere works best.’ His lips twitched a little. ‘It also means reprimands are rare and have far more effect.’

Patrick relaxed in his chair. ‘Having met Colonel O’Neill, I quite understand. Now—’ He broke off as the door opened to admit a Senior Master Sergeant carrying a tray loaded with coffee and pastries, with a sheaf of files under one arm.

‘Ah, Walter, I need—’

‘All here, sir.’

‘What about—’

‘That’s here too, sir.’

He nodded politely to Patrick and left, leaving Patrick watching after him with a slack jaw.

‘Does he…What…’

George Hammond’s grin was pure mischief. ‘The Stargate Programme is unique in both its mission and its personnel.’

‘You’re telling me,’ Patrick muttered just loud enough for George to hear.’

The exchange regarding Walter Harriman had done away with any tension between the two men, and while Patrick sipped his – rather good – coffee, George explained how he hoped Sheppard Industries might help the SGC.

‘Of course, it’s all been made easier by your son’s friendship with Dr McKay.’

When Patrick frowned at the term used, George met his eyes. ‘While we pretty much disregard DADT, it is still the official policy stated in the UCMJ, and we can’t afford for their relationship to appear in any written reports which might be seen by anyone outside of the programme.’

Patrick’s swift glance around the office prompted George to glance at the small silver ball perched on his desk next to a photo of his two granddaughters. Patrick followed his gaze and frowned, then reached out to touch it. Jack’s gizmo immediately lit up, then faded. Patrick picked it up, and it brightened again, making Patrick set it quickly down.

‘What…’

‘Jack O’Neill calls it his bug zapper, and it…does exactly that. No one can electronically overhear what is said in its vicinity. It’s apparently technology from the Ancients, an alien species who built highly advanced technology, according to Jack. We haven’t come across them, as yet, but much of their tech is locked by a specific gene—’

‘The ATA gene,’ Patrick interrupted. ‘John and Col—Jack were talking about it, but they didn’t mention that it would work for me.’

‘There’s a lot we need to ‘discover’ about it, but your son apparently has one of the strongest expressions of the gene. It stands to reason at least one of his parents also had it.’ The general tilted his head. ‘It also makes you even more valuable to the programme.’

‘Thanks?’

Laughing now, George tried to bring the conversation back to DADT. ‘Your son explained there’s a link between the ATA gene and sexuality. Gene holders apparently have a tendency to be gay or bisexual.’ He held up his hand. ‘Don’t ask me how, because I don’t know. Jack simply said we need to abolish DADT if we have any hope of attracting gene holders to the programme, but we can’t do anything until we have ‘proof’ of the gene.’

Patrick nodded slowly. ‘I didn’t want John to join the Air Force because I knew he was gay – or at least bisexual since he was married to a woman for a short while. It’s ironic it’s his sexuality, in a roundabout way, which is now attractive to you.’

‘It’s way more than that for me, Patrick, and you know that. Having seen just a part of his service jacket, I’d want him for this command. Hell, I’d want him for any command. His gene aside, he’s exactly the sort of man for our programme.’

‘We just need to get DADT thrown out.’

‘Exactly.’

*****

It was late afternoon before Jack was called to the General’s office. And that must be a good sign. I thought they’d get on well together, Jack thought to himself as he made his way down to Level 27, McKay joining him in the elevator at Level 19.

‘Colonel.’ McKay’s tone was slightly warmer than before he learned Jack had also come back in time.

We may never be buddies, not like I think Sheppard and I could be, but mutual non-aggression would work for me.

They left the elevator together and were beckoned into the briefing room rather than the General’s office, and McKay pounced on the pastries like a starving man.

‘Did you forget to eat again, Rodney?’ Patrick asked, frowning at – huh, son-in-law, or to-be at least, I guess.

‘Don’t you start nagging me as well. John’s a big enough mother hen.’

‘We both just care about you, and hyperglycaemia isn’t a joke, so don’t treat it as such.’

The sharp reprimand brought a flush of colour to McKay’s cheeks, but the fleeting smile he gave Patrick Sheppard spoke of his affection for the man. ‘Yes, Dad. I was just—’

‘Busy and didn’t notice the time, yes, I know, but you know how much John worries, as do I.’

That point struck home, and McKay dropped his head.

Carter said his hyperglycaemia was pure attention seeking, but Patrick Sheppard isn’t the kind of man to be taken in by such. Jack frowned at the younger man. ‘Does Janet Fraiser know about your condition?’

‘Of course she does.’ McKay scowled at the question. ‘That woman misses nothing, and nor did Dr Clarke at Area 51, who probably split on me. Doc Fraiser also does a blood sugar test every Friday morning, and if it’s too low, she forces me to stay in the infirmary over the weekend.’

‘But that’s only happened once or twice, hasn’t it?’ Sheppard asked, still frowning.

‘Twice,’ McKay admitted, unable to meet Sheppard’s eyes. ‘And both times were at Area 51, before John came back. He…gives me an incentive, I suppose.’

‘Is there any way this command can assist you in dealing with this…problem?’ General Hammond asked, and Jack could tell he was sincere in his offer.

‘Thank you, sir, but I should be able to deal with it myself,’ McKay told him. ‘I’ve dealt with it all my life. I promise I’ll set an alarm to remind me to eat, Dad. And maybe ask Miko as well.’ He gave a full body shudder as he said her name. ‘If it’s a choice between eating or getting reamed out by her, I’ll choose food every time!’

‘Then let’s move on.’ Hammond picked up a pen and glanced at his notes. ‘Dr Sheppard has offered us his company’s full support in our move to be self-financing. He’s already in discussions with Dr Kusanagi to help market one or two of the programmes she’s designed since coming to the SGC, and both Sheppard Industries and Dr Kusanagi have agreed for a percentage of the profits to be paid to the programme. All that remains is for Dr Sheppard to come to an agreement with the DOD, and to that end, he and I will pay a visit to DC together.

‘What I want today, Dr McKay, is a list of technologies you think we could market, and, if possible, an idea of how much we might raise. I’d like to present the DOD with a full proposal for our financial independence.’

‘That…might not go as smoothly as you expect, sir,’ Jack commented. ‘I suspect there are more than a few vested interests in the ideas which derive from the programme.’

‘We’re both aware of that, Colonel.’ Sheppard was the one to answer Jack. ‘Which is why we’ll be going together. I have a few friends in government, and—’

‘And you play golf every week with the current SecNav,’ Rodney interrupted. ‘And cards with several of the Cabinet on a monthly basis.’

‘And I’m willing to use as much influence as needed,’ Patrick finished, ignoring McKay’s interruption.

‘How does your other son feel about the direction your company will take?’ Jack asked, aware that Dave Sheppard wasn’t read-in to the Stargate Programme.’

‘He’s aware there’s much he doesn’t know about John’s work and is happy to have John back in his life . As long as what we’re doing is legal and ethical – he’s a corporate lawyer by training – he’s said he’s content to let me run with it, although I would like to have him read into the programme if possible. It’d be helpful from a company point of view, and he’ll be useful if we run into any problems.’

‘I agree.’ Hammond nodded and scribbled a note on his legal pad. ‘I’ll get Paul Davis onto it as soon as possible.’

‘I’ve already made a list of technologies I believe will market well.’ Rodney offered a sheet of paper to each of the other three men. ‘And before you ask, Colonel.’ He turned his head to regard Jack. ‘It’s on paper because paper can’t be hacked.’

Jack frowned at him. ‘I thought your laptop was super-duper top-of-the-range?’

‘Mine is, but neither yours nor General Hammond’s is, and you‘ve already been hacked more than once.’

Jack grimaced. Don’t remind me.

‘Jack? Is there anything you forgot to tell me?’ Hammond asked, his tone making Jack squirm.

‘Later, sir? Please?’ He relaxed as Hammond gave a single nod. He’s going to be all over this now. Thanks very much, McKay! But even as the thought crossed his mind, he realised he was being unfair to the scientist. Danny told me this might come back and bite me in the ass, and I didn’t listen.

‘The next thing I wanted to discuss was the NID.’ Hammond changed the subject, but Jack knew he’d return to it once Sheppard had gone. ‘Patrick, did Colonel O’Neill brief you and John about them, and about the Committee?’

Oops. Back in the doghouse!

‘About the NID, yes, but he didn’t mention the Committee. What committee?’

‘It’s the name a group of shady businessmen gave themselves,’ Jack answered. ‘They’re behind most of the nefarious activities of the NID for no better reason than to make money.’ He almost spat the last words, making Sheppard raise his eyebrows.

‘And making money is bad because…?’

‘It’s bad when other people’s lives are sacrificed in the pursuit of money.’

‘I don’t disagree.’ Sheppard folded his hands loosely on the table. ‘But don’t make the mistake of tarring every businessman with the same brush, Colonel. Many—most of us have principles that govern our lives.’

As a reprimand, it was benign enough, and Jack slumped in his seat and rubbed his hands over his face. ‘I apologise, sir. In the past—future it was such egotism which brought the Wraith down upon us. I meant no offence.’

‘And none was taken.’ Sheppard regarded him for a moment, the general apparently happy for this to play out with no interference from him. ‘But the only way this can work is if you can trust me. If it helps, call me Admiral Sheppard instead of Patrick, to remind yourself that I was an officer before I was a businessman. My only desire here is to help my son, my family,’ his smile included McKay, ‘and to save everyone I possibly can from an enemy which, frankly, scares the crap out of me. Can we work together?’

‘It’ll be my pleasure, sir.’

Chapter Ten

‘May I have a minute of your time, Colonel O’Neill?’

Turning to look back at McKay, Jack raised his eyebrows. ‘Problem?’

‘There will be shortly, and I’d like to get ahead of it, if possible.’

Jack gave a swift glance around, then nodded. ‘Join me in my office? We’ll be private there.’ Without checking to see if the scientist was following, Jack headed for the elevator and pressed the button.

‘You didn’t have an office last time,’ McKay said as he followed Jack into the elevator.

Jack snorted. ‘Apparently I did. I just didn’t know where it was.’

Rodney grinned. ‘John was just the same. He worked either in the Mess or on one of the balconies, at least until Lorne joined us. After that, he shared Lorne’s office, although he still had a couple of hideaways dotted around the city. Mostly where the sensors and radios didn’t work, so no one could find him.’

Jack studied him. ‘You still miss Atlantis.’ It wasn’t a question. ‘Even though it’s been, what, eight years now?’

‘Thereabouts, and yes, we both do. We can’t wait to get back.’

‘Despite the Wraith?’

‘Despite the Wraith. It was the first time either of us felt truly at home. Everything I’m—we‘re doing is directed towards getting back there.’ He dropped his gaze, making Jack frown. ‘John still feels such a responsibility for waking the Wraith last time,’ he said, his voice so low Jack had to lean forward a little to hear.

‘But…’ Jack paused, frowning while trying to think what he’d been told about the waking of the Wraith. ‘I thought it was proved he wasn’t responsible.’

‘It was, but John couldn’t believe he didn’t have anything to do with it.’

Not like Daniel and the Ori. Landry should never have allowed that to happen. McKay wasn’t wrong when he said we never considered the consequences of our actions. Look at those wristbands we used based on the flimsiest of evidence from the Tok’ra.

‘—iell? O’Neill!’

Pulled abruptly from his thoughts, Jack blinked at McKay, who pointed to the open elevator door.

‘Level 24? I don’t know where your hidden man cave is?’

Jack gave his head a shake and led the way to his office, pulling a key from his pocket. After Daniel’s complaints, he’d added a wooden chair to the room, making sure its firmness ensured no one would linger. He sank into his own – comfy – armchair and pointed the scientist to the other one. ‘What did you want to talk about?’

‘Naquadah-enhanced asteroids.’

‘Crap! Is it that time already?’

‘Since I only read about it in AARs, I’m uncertain of the exact time, but I’m pretty sure it’s imminent, and last time you used a tel’tak you salvaged from Revanna. Since the Tok’ra managed to escape Revanna and Tanith this time, we need a different plan, although do remember he’s still out there. Teal’c didn’t kill him this time.’

I’ll add it to the to do list,’ Jack said sardonically

McKay gave a wry smile. ‘Yeah, yours is probably as long as mine. Back to the asteroid, though. If we follow Carter’s previous solution, we’re going to need a ship capable of entering hyperspace, plus you need her to think of that solution.’

‘Or you simply come on the mission instead of her?’

‘Is that wise? When I went to Edora with you, Carter was on leave. She isn’t now, and you don’t want to alienate her.’ McKay’s brow creased. ‘Or is that your intention, because if it is, it’s a stupid intention.’

‘Geez, McKay, don’t hold back, will you?’

‘Pah! You’ll only drive her directly into the arms of the Trust, or, even worse, the Russians – which reminds me. Don’t you have to send someone to teach them how to make naquadah generators?

‘Nope.’ Jack popped the P. ‘We only agreed to giving help to get their DHD. That didn’t happen this time so, no naquadah generators.’

‘Not even as a goodwill gesture?’ McKay tilted his head to one side. ‘No, it’s an ace in the sleeve, isn’t it?’

‘Youbetcha. As for Carter, she’ll shortly be taking the lead of a science team. I want you – and Sheppard, when he gets here – on SG-1 to get some experience under your belts. It’ll help you more in Pegasus when you get there. Plus, I want Sheppard to be a Lieutenant Colonel by then at the very least, so he can head the military from the start.’

The look McKay gave him was full of warmth. ‘I guess you’re not such a jack-ass as I thought.’

‘And you’re not an arrogant blowhard.’

McKay scowled at him. ‘You’ll ruin my reputation if you go about saying things like that! How can I intimidate the minions if they think I’m soft?’

Jack burst out laughing. ‘Your reputation is safe, Rodney. Now go away. I need to think about where to get a tel’tak from.

*****

In the end, Jack combined a couple of objectives when Master Bra’tac accompanied Teal’c back to the SGC to report on a new company of Jaffa led by K’tano, who wished for their own hodgepodge group to join his alliance.

‘Yeah, he’s a fake,’ Jack told the two Jaffa.

‘He will lead us in our battle for freedom!’ Bra’tac clasped his fist to his chest.

‘Not so much He’s a Goa’uld called Immiho—Immostep—’

‘Imhotep,’ Daniel corrected with a sigh. ‘Why do you always have to mangle—’

‘Him!’ Jack pointed to Daniel, ignoring his complaint. ‘The whole thing’s a setup to build Immi his own army to fight the other System Lords, getting the Free Jaffa a bad name while doing so. They’re only waiting until Immi’s got enough Jaffa to take out the whole lot in one attack. It’s just politics. Dirty, filthy politics.’

‘Then we must reveal him as a traitor!’

Huh. Did Bra’tac always speak in exclamation marks?

‘He’ll slip up on his own,’ Jack told Teal’c and Bra’tac. ‘You just need to have an escape route for the Jaffa who’re following him. He’ll either get them killed by sending them on suicide missions, or when the other snakeheads attack.’

‘But if he is the cause of the death of Free Jaffa, we must fight him,’ Teal’c argued.

‘Suit yourself, T man, but I have to tell ya, Immi almost killed you last time, although Yu had already had a go at you that day, I suppose.’

‘Colonel O’Neill.’ The general spoke for the first time since the meeting began. ‘Perhaps you can make out a list of future events to give to Master Bra’tac and Teal’c, and allow them to make their plans accordingly. I know, for example, that Teal’c is shortly going to require tretonin for Drey’auc, and it would be a good idea to have a supply of it in the Jaffa camp in which they presently live.’ When Jack nodded, he continued. ‘And wasn’t there a task you wished Master Bra’tac to help with?’

‘Yessir. To both.’ Jack turned to the two Jaffa. ‘We need to get hold of a ship with a hyper-drive to sort out an attack on Earth by Anubis. Can you help us, Master Bra’tac?’ He held up a finger as Bra’tac opened his mouth to speak. ‘And we’d also like your help in locating a weapon Anubis plans to use to destroy our Stargate.’

‘Is there such a weapon?’

‘Yeah, and if Anubis gets to it before we do, he can attack any planet he wants without the bother of going there.’

‘I seem to hear this name wherever I go,’ Bra’tac complained, frowning. ‘He is rising in power.’

‘It’s because he’s the new kid on the block, so to speak,’ Jack told him, then grinned at Bra’tac’s puzzlement at the expression. ‘He was one of the oldest, most powerful Goa’uld, banished by Ra and the other snakeheads, who’s been rebuilding his power base for hundreds of years, but isn’t quite there yet. We intend to off him before he gets too powerful, but we’ll need your help to do it.’

‘Then tell me what I must do.’

‘Anubis hasn’t yet managed to gain control of many worlds, and the Stargate Destroyer is on one of those. Last time you found it by dialling all the gates he controls and finding the one which was always busy, then went there to destroy it, but I never knew which planet it was. I was too busy flying our Stargate away from Earth, then ejecting before the F-302 took me to a galaxy far, far away.’ Jack gave a theatrical shudder at the memory.

‘And how did we destroy this new weapon of Anubis?’ Bra’tac asked.

‘Actually, it was Rya’c who destroyed it after you and Teal’c were captured,’ Jack said, noting the sudden flash of pride across Teal’c’s usually stoic face. ‘He stole a glider and strafed the weapon. Bang!’ Jack used his hands to indicate an explosion. ‘Your old chum Shaq’rel had heard about the weapon and brought a tel’tak to Chulak for you to use. I was thinking it might be worth looking him up to see if he either has, or can get hold of the ship now, so we can use it to divert the asteroid Anubis is about to send our way.’

‘…An asteroid?’ Bra’tac repeated. ‘What weapon is this?’

‘A bloody big one!’ Jack muttered.

*****

Much to their surprise, Jacob Carter contacted the SGC a day or two following the meeting with Bra’tac, to advise them Anubis was planning to launch a naquadah-enhanced asteroid towards Earth.

‘This didn’t happen last time,’ Jack muttered to Daniel as they made their way to the briefing room. ‘What’s changed to make it happen now?’

‘The Tok’ra base on Revanna not being attacked?’ Daniel suggested. ‘It solves the problem of us getting a ship, though. Are you still intending to bring Rodney on the mission?’

‘I’m not sure. There’ll certainly be a row if I do, but having McKay there will ensure we survive if Carter doesn’t think of expanding the hyperspace field.’

‘Is there a chance she won’t?’

They entered the briefing room at that moment, so Jack wasn’t able to answer, and, unsurprisingly, McKay was already seated at the briefing table with Drs Zelenka and Kusanagi alongside him.

‘Why are they here?’ Carter asked the moment she walked through the door and spotted the three scientists.

General Hammond frowned at both her words and her sharp tone. ‘I wasn’t aware I needed your permission to invite the Chief Scientific Officer and his team to a briefing, Major.’

Carter flushed, her face not enhanced by either her scowl or her colour, and took a seat as far away from McKay as she could, meaning she was far from Jack and Daniel too, and when Teal’c arrived, he hesitated a little and glanced at Carter, before sitting down next to Daniel

How did I not notice how objectionable she was when she didn’t get her own way? Another thought answered, because she always got her own way. Next to him, he was aware of Daniel frowning at her, and he gave him a nudge and a slight shake of his head. Ignore her, Danny.

‘As most of you know,’ Hammond began, ‘I was recently contacted by General Carter concerning an attack on Earth by the Goa’uld Anubis.’ He ignored Carter’s gasp of surprise and turned to Daniel. ‘Dr Jackson, what can you tell us all about this new System Lord?’

Good move, George. Don’t let on we already know all about him.

‘He grew to power by killing Apep, who in turn had killed his father, Atok,’ Daniel began, ‘and devoured the symbiote before the other System Lords before declaring himself Emperor of the Goa’uld. It took a further three centuries, but eventually Ra gained sufficient support from his brothers and sisters – as called by Apep – to defeat and exile Anubis and create a High Council of System Lords with himself as Supreme System Lord.

‘Anubis, meanwhile, tricked Oma Desala into helping him ascend, but was then forced into a state midway between ascended and corporeal. This state enabled him to use both the knowledge and the technology of the Ancients he’d amassed, and he grew in strength for hundreds of years before returning to revenge himself on the System Lords.’ Daniel paused to take a drink of water, and Jack noticed how Carter was frowning at Daniel from the opposite side of the table.

‘From what Jacob and Selmak have discovered,’ Daniel continued, ‘the deaths of the System Lords we’ve been able to kill has created a kind of vacuum Anubis is trying to fill, and has taken several of the lesser System Lords, such as Osiris, Tanith, and Zipacna to his service. Osiris recently petitioned the High Council of the System Lords to restore Anubis back to the Council and told them of his offer to destroy the Tau’ri before being readmitted to their ranks. As he wasn’t, at present, a System Lord, the Protected Planets Treaty didn’t apply to him, and since the System Lords themselves defined exactly what a threat to the Treaty was, they could chose not to enforce it.’

‘How do you know all this?’ Carter demanded as Daniel set down his papers, making the younger man jump.

‘From books, and from information your father passed to us,’ Daniel said, a little blankly. ‘Why?’

‘Because I’ve never heard of this Anubis, and yet it sounds as though he’s been pretty busy. How come you have, and I haven’t? And why didn’t my father ask to see me?’

‘I don’t like your tone, Major Carter,’ Hammond told her, frowning at her again. ‘General Carter hasn’t set foot in the Mountain for several months. Most of his communications come to us by data bursts transmitted from his ship. Unless he adds something for you personally, it has nothing to do with you.’ He gave her a measured look and she looked away, but her scowl didn’t lessen.

He nodded at her once, then transferred his attention to Daniel. ‘Thank you.’ His gaze took in the rest of the people at the table. ‘Dr Jackson mentioned the offer Anubis made to the System Lords: to destroy the Tau’ri. His first move has been to launch a naquadah-enhanced asteroid towards us. Now, since we can’t call on the Asgard to aid us, as Anubis hasn’t violated the terms of the Protected Planets Treaty since he isn’t a System Lord yet, we must deal with this threat ourselves, with the help of Jacob and the Tok’ra if we need them. What I want from you people is a workable plan to prevent this asteroid from colliding with our planet in just under two weeks.’ He stood from the table, nodded to McKay. ‘As CSO, Dr McKay, you’re in charge of this planning session, along with Colonel O’Neill.’

‘Gee, thanks,’ Jack muttered, not quite under his breath, causing Hammond’s lips to twitch as he turned and left the room.

‘Why is he in charge?’ Carter demanded as soon as the door had closed.

Jack sighed. ‘Because, as the general just said, he’s the CSO.’

‘Who has no off-world experience,’ Carter immediately countered. ‘I doubt he can even hold a gun, let alone fire one.’

McKay ignored her and went to pull a white board into place where they could all see it. ‘Thoughts, people?’ he asked, arming himself with a marker pen.

Knowing what was expected of him, Jack held up a hand. ‘Nuke it?’

‘Nuke a naquadah-enhanced asteroid?’ Kusanagi asked. ‘Do you want to blow up the entire Sol system?’

‘Might take more even than this system,’ Radek said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

‘So, we can’t destroy it,’ McKay said, tapping the pen on his other hand almost without realising. ‘Can we move it? It had to have been physically brought into our system.’

This was it. The original solution was the next step in the process, and McKay had laid it out for Carter to redeem herself and have all the credit. I had no idea he could be so generous. This isn’t the action of an arrogant and mean spirited man. I was so very, very wrong about him.

Carter, however, remained silent, still scowling and staring at McKay through narrowed eyes. Her professional jealousy was overriding her own integrity.

‘It’d have needed a mothership to bring it here, wouldn’t it?’ Daniel asked after a slight pause when no one spoke. ‘We have access to a cargo ship at best.’

‘Could we…phase the asteroid?’ Zelenka asked, frowning in concentration. ‘I have read of the phasing technology of the Tollans and also of the…Rootoo?’

‘Reetou,’ Jack corrected automatically, now frowning himself. Could that work? Why didn’t we consider it last time?

‘It couldn’t possibly work,’ Carter said, her tone full of scorn. ‘First of all, the Tollan are gone, and both the Reetou and their technology was for much smaller objects than an entire planet.’

‘But we wouldn’t be phasing an entire planet,’ Jack pointed out, remembering Carter’s use of Arthur’s Mantle to hide Earth from the Ori in a parallel dimension. I know where Arthur’s Mantle is. Under Glastonbury Tor. And with no Vala to screw things up, we could be in and out of there in a couple of days. And I’m definitely destroying that communication device before Danny can use it! ‘We’d only be phasing the asteroid.’

The glare Carter sent him should have caused him instant death. Possible while burning. She knows putting the asteroid into phase would work, but she can’t allow anyone else to be right beyond her. Her priority isn’t Earth or anyone else’s lives, as she professes. It’s Sam Carter. Each and every time. It’s Sam Carter. The realisation was like a hammer blow, and Jack physically shifted to one side, making Daniel catch his arm and frown.

‘Are you okay? You’ve gone awfully pale.’

”M fine.’

Still frowning, Daniel reached out to snag the plate of pastries in the centre of the table, and added one to a plate he slid in front of Jack. ‘Here, eat this.’

It was a plain croissant, for which Jack was extremely grateful, and he pulled off a piece to eat it dry, feeling his stomach settle after the first mouthful. He looked up, realising the room had fallen silent.

‘Are you alright, Colonel?’ McKay asked, concern in his voice.

Jack nodded. ‘Forgot to eat breakfast, that’s all.’ It was a lie, and Daniel knew it was a lie since he’d made omelettes for them both before they left for the mountain. It did the trick, however, and McKay nodded slowly.

‘Okay. If you’re sure.’

‘I am.’

‘Right then.’ McKay took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on Zelenka. ‘That was a pretty good idea. Some of my brilliance must be rubbing off on you!’

The words were undoubtedly egotistical, but the accompanying lopsided grin removed any offence. Carter didn’t see that. She only ever heard the words and took no notice of either context or body language. And then convinced the rest of us that the words were everything. And we lapped it up because she was always right. Our own golden girl.

The croissant felt as if it had turned to stone in his stomach as the metaphorical scales fell from his eyes. She never loved me, she just used me to climb the promotion ladder. Promotions happen fast in the SGC, but not as fast as hers. It took me fifteen years to go from light colonel to Brigadier General. It took her six.

*****

The rest of the meeting washed over Jack entirely. He waited only until McKay announced they had a workable plan, then he took off, and all but ran to the elevator, several uniformed personnel skipping out of his way. He hit the button for Level 21 and was in Janet Fraiser’s office almost before he realised it.

‘I need you to test me for Nish’ta,’ he managed to say before dropping into a chair, panting with a mixture of physical and mental exertion.

‘Nice to see you too, Colonel,’ Fraiser said, putting down her pen and frowning at him. ‘Why do you need me to check for Nish’ta?’

Jack stared at her and frowned. ‘Because I might have been exposed to it.’

‘When, and how?’

‘What?’

‘When do you think you were exposed, and how were you exposed? Was it digested, or inhaled?’

I didn’t know Nish’ta could be digested.

‘Both, either, and over a couple of years, maybe.’

Fraiser frowned at him. ‘What makes you think you’ve been exposed?’

Ah. The million dollar question.

‘I…have some doubts…that is…Can’t you just check me for it, dammit!’

Now Fraiser’s face was immobile. ‘I am simply doing my job, Colonel O’Neill. That means I have to ask certain questions. If you wish me to bring in a different medic to treat you, I can do so.’

Although Jack knew this was a reprimand, he wondered for a moment if a different medic would be a good idea, given Janet Fraiser was Carter’s best friend, but that would just draw attention to his situation. More attention, and he sighed.

‘I apologise, Janet. I’ve just realised I’ve made some…odd decisions which I might have been influenced to make. Isn’t there a hair test or something you can do? Please?’

His apology did the trick, and she led him through to a cubicle in the infirmary where she quickly and proficiently drew a vial of blood, and took a hair sample from his head.

She tilted her head as she regarded him. ‘I’m thinking you want the results asap?’

‘Please.’

Fraiser nodded, and as she pushed back the curtain separating the cubicles, he saw Daniel waiting by the door, wringing his hands.

‘D’you want me to scare him off?’ Fraiser asked in a low voice.

‘Na. Let him come in. He’d only manage to do it behind your back.’

She smiled at him, the first smile she’d given him in the last half hour. ‘You do know you never manage to sneak in here without my knowledge, don’t you?’

‘Yeah. But it makes us feel better if we think we’re doing it behind your back,’ Jack answered, grateful for her return to normality.

‘I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ she told him, then waved Jack’s waiting teammate over. ‘Keep an eye on him for me, Daniel. I won’t be long.’

As Janet disappeared further into the infirmary, Daniel dropped into a seat next to Jack’s.

‘What’s happened? You went as white as a sheet, then disappeared so fast I thought the place might be on fire.’

Jack looked around. They were in the equivalent of a civilian Emergency Room. ‘We can talk about it later,’ Jack began in a low voice, ‘but I suddenly had the thought I might have been drugged at some point with Nish’ta—’

‘Nish’ta!’ Daniel all but shouted.

‘Shh! Keep your voice down! I’m trying to keep this on the QT!’

‘Why d’you think you’ve been drugged?’ Daniel asked in a whisper, looking from side to side to check no one was close by.

‘Later, I said!’

Daniel huffed and folded his arms, but remained – thankfully – silent until Fraiser returned.

She gave Daniel a level stare until he got to his feet, but Jack waved him back again.

‘Carry on, Janet. It just saves me from having to repeat it all later,’ Jack said with a sigh.

‘Very well.’ Fraiser pulled up a stool and down facing Jack. ‘I’ve only done preliminary testing on your hair – the other tests will take longer, but from an initial examination, you have not been exposed to any drug over the last eight months, for certain, possibly as much as a year, but hair deterioration means eight months is as much as we can be certain of. Does that help reassure you?’

Jack heaved a great sigh. ‘It does, Janet, and thank you.’ He hesitated for a moment, and Janet smiled.

‘Your medical information is strictly confidential, Jack – aside from Daniel, here, of course. I know SG-1 shares their medical issues with each other in case there’s a problem off-world, but that is your decision to make and I will never share your information with anyone without explicit permission. Okay?’

‘Very okay, and thank you again. It’s much appreciated.’

Daniel kept his silence until they were back in Jack’s quarters with the bug zapper initiated.

‘Now, will you tell me what’s going on?’

‘I had a sudden thought that Carter may have drugged me. Over a period of years.’

*****

They ended up in the briefing room. We always end up in the briefing room.

‘…So I asked Janet to check, and, bar anything coming up on my blood tests, I’m clear.’ Jack sat back and let his words sink in to his select audience of General Hammond, Teal’c, and Rodney McKay.

‘Why did you suddenly suspect her?’ Daniel asked again, for the benefit of the others who weren’t there when he’d asked it the first time.

‘It suddenly struck me that Samantha Carter is the golden girl here and in DC, and could do no wrong, ever. She was always right, no matter the subject. I realised that she never lo—cared for me. She just used me to climb the promotion ladder. I mean, promotions happen fast in the SGC, but not as fast as hers did. It took me fifteen years to go from light colonel to Brigadier General. It took her six.’ Jack sat back and let the others digest this.

‘Are you saying that Major Carter influenced both us and the Pentagon to give her promotions?’ Hammond asked in a quiet voice.

Jack nodded.

‘And you thought she may have influenced you through the use of drugs?’

Jack nodded again.

‘But that would—would be like—like a rape of the mind,’ Daniel said in horror, not having reached this conclusion earlier in Jack’s quarters.

‘And physical rape too,’ Rodney said quietly. ‘Jack’s admitted having a sexual relationship with Carter in the future. If that was done under duress or compulsion, it was rape.’

‘Are you trying to make me throw up?’ Daniel demanded, looking rather pale.

‘Now you understand how horrified I was when the thought struck me,’ Jack said, shaking his head. ‘I almost threw up on the spot.’

‘I don’t wonder,’ Hammond said in a low voice. ‘But you realise I can’t act on any of this, don’t you, Jack?’

‘Yes, sir, but I thought it was important that you knew my fears.’

‘And I appreciate that, son.’

‘I have a suggestion, if I may, General,’ Rodney said, hold up his hand. ‘It’s about base security. I know Miko’s been working on the security tapes, but have you considered installing a warning system of some sort to detect if noxious substances are released in the facility? Atlantis has automatic sensors, besides which, her systems wouldn’t work here. But just as you have smoke alarms, and carbon monoxide and dioxide monitors, you could also devise a system which would pick up on the release of any other chemical or gas in the mountain. Area 51 has whole labs full of chemists, so now that you oversee both facilities, you can direct them to add such a system to their project list.’

‘Isn’t that your role, Doctor?’

Rodney shook his head. ‘I’m not CSO of Nevada any longer. In fact, I’m not sure who is. Lance Edwards was fired at the same time Landry was removed after the bullying allegations came to light, and I’ve no idea who’s being considered for the post now.’

His words caused the general to frown. ‘But you should have received an offer from the Secretary of the Air Force offering you the post of CSO of the entire programme, or asking for your recommendation should you not wish to take up that position.’

Rodney sat back in his seat and stared at Hammond. ‘I can assure you I’ve received nothing of the sort, and the only way I’d take the job would be if I had oversight of all the work done at Area 51, including the X-303 programme, and even then I’d have to appoint a deputy for Nevada. It’s just too much for one person to do and do properly.’

‘And that was included after I pointed out that you and Dr Zelenka were largely responsible for the project.’

‘Then either the offer has gone astray, or someone has made sure I didn’t get it.’

Given Jack’s upset, and the issue of missing job offers, the general suggested that the mission to Edora be postponed to the following week, and for Jack to spend a weekend at his cabin.

‘I haven’t been up there for months,’ Jack said, considering the idea. How about you, Danny? Fancy a weekend fishing?’

Daniel grinned at him. ‘I’d appreciate a weekend at the cabin as long as you don’t make me fish.’

‘You don’t know what you’re missing.’ Jack shook his head, then turned his attention to McKay. Rodney. ‘How about you, unless you have ‘other plans’?’ He wiggled his eyebrows, making Danny snort with laughter.

‘I don’t, as it happens.’ When Jack raised his eyebrows, McKay continued, succinctly, ‘Exam prep.’

‘Riiight. What about you, T-man? Want a weekend in the wilderness?’

‘Since your cabin has modern amenities, O’Neill, it is not the wilderness, but I will join you, regardless.’

‘A team bonding weekend.’ Jack rubbed his hands together gleefully. ‘I can’t wait!’

*****

The three members plus one newby of SG-1 had an exceedingly pleasant weekend in Minnesota, eating, drinking, talking, fishing, or Jack fishing, at least. They don’t know what they’re missing.

Since all four of them knew about the time travel, and since there was no one for miles around, they could discuss whatever they wanted as much as they wanted, although Jack kept the bug-zapper on, just in case.

Rodney filled Daniel and Teal’c in on the Atlantis expedition, and, inevitably, Daniel was eager to be a part of it as soon as possible.

(‘Not gonna happen, Space Monkey.’

‘But, Jack—’

‘Nope, nada, nee, never.’

‘But—’

‘Ah!’

‘Indeed.’)

Jack, for his part, went through all he could recall of taking down Anubis and the Trust.

(‘By the way, T-man, you’re not gonna live off-base.’

‘Do I desire to live off-base in the future?’

‘Yeah, but it—Let’s just settle with ‘you don’t live off-base’, shall we?’

‘If that is your desire.’)

Since George Hammond was far away in Colorado, they could discuss the means to take down Kinsey in detail.

(‘John said you had a disc of all Kinsey’s crimes that General Hammond wouldn’t let you use.’

‘I promised not to use it if Kinsey got General Hammond reinstated after he was replaced by Bauer. The General simply held me to that promise.’

‘And it needs to get to Patrick Sheppard. He’s the only one who can really use it. Give it to me when we get back and I’ll make sure it gets there with no blowback on the SGC.’

‘Can’t we just shoot the fucker?’

‘Indeed.’)

‘Rodders,’ Jack asked on the Sunday evening – they were due to fly back to Colorado Springs early the following morning – ‘want to give us a rundown on your medical issues, and we’ll do the same?’

The four men were sprawled in front of an open fire, three of them sipping a beer and Teal’c with a glass of water, after a steak dinner, relaxed and refreshed after two days in the fresh, clean air of Minnesota.

‘Why?’ Rodney sat upright and looked at Jack suspiciously.

‘Because we need to know what to do if you have a problem off-world. I know there was a problem in the Mess when you first came to the SGC. That was resolved, wasn’t it?’

Rodney nodded. ‘Yes, and MSgt Grimes both apologised and had the corporal who caused the problem reassigned,’ Rodney explained. ‘He also assured me he has several EpiPens in the kitchen first aid kit as I’m not the only one with a serious allergy, and he makes sure they’re regularly checked.’

‘So we all need EpiPens?’

The expression on McKay’s face was heartbreaking, and Jack had to steel himself not to react.

‘I…Y-yes. Yes, please.’

‘And I’ll arrange a session with Janet to make sure we all know how to use them,’ Daniel added in a low voice. He noticed it, too.

‘Will you explain the pens and why we require them to me, Dr McKay?’ Teal’c asked.

Rodney nodded, but Jack sensed he was close to breaking down.

‘You have an allergy to peanuts, don’t you, Danny?’ he asked. ‘Maybe you can explain it while Rodders and I get more beers.’

Since the bottles they were holding were still half full, it was an obvious excuse, but Jack knew Rodney needed a moment to himself, and, sure enough, he went straight to the bathroom as Daniel explained human allergies to Teal’c.

‘Thank you,’ Rodney said softly when he rejoined Jack.

‘For what?’

‘For caring enough.’

‘Do you have any other medical issues we should know of?’ Daniel asked as they retook their seats, Jack sprawling in his and swinging his beer bottle between his finger and thumb. ‘I have hay fever, and allergies in general, to be honest, and the others all carry antihistamine for me in case I need it.’

‘And as many tissues as we can fit into our packs,’ Jack added, making Rodney smile.

‘Well, I’ll get some of those to carry as well, but there’ll be a onetime-shot released soon which will make all the difference to suffers,’ Rodney explained.

‘One of ours?’ Jack looked hopeful.

‘Unfortunately, no. One of the major drug companies has been working on it for years, but the Labs at Area 51 do come up with a male birth control implant in a year or two.’

‘Did you get it?’ Daniel asked curiously, and the tips of Rodney’s ears flushed pink.

‘I did, but I won’t bother this time as I’m with John now, but it’ll sell like hot cakes, and this time the money should come to us.’

‘Is Patrick Sheppard progressing with his campaign, then?’ Jack sat up a little, interested in the change of subject.

‘He emailed General Hammond yesterday regarding some things he’s working on, and I was copied in.’ Rodney frowned. ‘I think you were included, Jack.’

‘Maybe. I haven’t checked my email for a few days. Sick leave!’ he said at the frowns from the two scientists. ‘I’m not cleared for duty until tomorrow!’

‘Well, Patrick also said we should hear something in the next couple of weeks about DADT too,’ Rodney added.

‘Now that is interesting.’

‘And Siler emailed me to say Sam’s been officially transferred to lead SG-6, which has been newly designated a science team,’ Daniel said, a little reluctantly, if Jack had to say.

‘And you kept this nugget from us….why, exactly?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows at his friend.

‘Because I didn’t want to spoil what’s been a great weekend.’ Daniel sighed. ‘I just thought I’d better tell you all before we go home tomorrow, in case I forget.’

There seemed to be no answer to make to that, so Jack took another drink of his beer and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.

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