2007

Cautiously, I followed her into the forest, it was quiet and gloomy, I hadn't bothered to come in here after my initial recognizance. I could smell the fresh pine needles that had fallen to the ground. The scent intensifying as my feet bruised the thin spines.

She had stopped and was standing in a small clearing. The hairs that stood up on the back of my neck came as a belated warning. I could hear the hydraulics of small joints as giant metal bugs slowly crept out from between the trees. My attention was taken away from Sam as Fifth walked into the clearing and stood not far from her. Anger coursed through me as I realized that Sam had been compromised by this giant metal bug. Lifting my P-90 and aiming it straight at Fifth, I squeezed the trigger.

As the bullets spewed out the end, I couldn't contain my horror. If I could have caught every one of those bullets and shoved them back down the barrel, I would have, but it was too late.

I watched mesmerized as Sam launched herself in front of Fifth, stopping every single one of those bullets that I had fired. I heard her cry as she crashed to the ground. The P-90 fell from my lifeless fingers and thudded to the ground at my feet. I had killed my Sam; I had found her and killed her. Something began to tear inside my body as if I was being rendered in two.

Fifth bent down and took Sam by her hand and slowly helped her to her feet. I watched in dismay as she repaired herself and became whole again. The clothing that she wore leaving gaping holes that I could see pink skin through.

Revulsion traveling through me, I fell to my knees and threw up. She was and always had been dead. A deep despair replaced my initial relief of seeing her alive.

When my body had finished its purging, I slowly reached out my hand to grab my weapon. If I was going to die, I was going to take as many of those metal bugs with me, but Fifth got there first. He held my P-90 in his hands and smirked, knowing that this was most probably the end, I slowly stood up.  'What a way to go, killed by your own weapon, Jack.'  I stood still.

"What ya waiting for?" I cocked my head on one side. All emotions locked inside my deadpan face.

He smirked again and held the P-90 in both hands. I watched amazed as it melded together into a large solid lump of metal and he dropped it on the ground. My eyes swiveled over to the other replicator. She was watching what was happening, cautious and wary. Then I saw her shoulders relax slightly and Fifth turned away from me and walked back towards her.

When he reached her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, turned and faced me.

"It was a good plan, but we didn't know." He stood quietly.

"Didn't know what?" I asked, knowing that whatever his reply was to be, it wouldn't be good.

"That Major Carter, no wait, I hear it is or was Colonel Carter, is dead."

I shrugged one shoulder and waited to see what would happen next.

"We had heard that she had been captured, but not dead. My plan was good, Samantha here." He gestured towards the other replicator, "Fooled you. She would have fooled the SGC and would have got me and our brethren behind your line of defense."

I bristled at his reference to her name. "Her name is not Samantha," I said as vehemently as I could, satisfied to see her wince at my words.

"But her name is Samantha. I made her to be like your Samantha in every way. My revenge is sweet. You thought you had found Colonel Carter, but you hadn't, she is mine, not yours. Never yours, Colonel O'Neill. You will have to live with this knowledge for the rest of your life."

Involuntary, my eyes traveled over to look at the female replicator; I couldn't call her anything else. She looked like Carter, if she was anything like my Carter, I would think that this exchange would sadden her.

All my emotions bubbled to the surface at this moment, anger being the main driving force. I launched myself at Fifth not caring if I lived or died. I barely reached him as he pulled back his arm and pushed me. I found myself flying through the air. Landing against a large pine tree, I slid down the trunk crashing into branches along the way and stopped at the bottom onto a bed of fine pine needles. Both Fifth and the other replicator walked up to me and stood over me as I lay there stunned.

"Remember this, O'Neill, I will let you go this time, but if we meet again, you will not live, nor will any humans from your planet."

He turned and started to walk away. The other replicator stood looking down at me for a short while, she looked sad. For the first time since I had met her, I saw a lone tear spill out over and roll down her cheek. With all the sobbing she had done, there had been no tears.  'How could have I've been so stupid and blind?'

"I'm sorry, Jack," she whispered, and then brushed the tear away with one hand. Turning around, she walked back to where Fifth was waiting and took hold of his hand. He smiled at me triumphantly and walked towards the clearing. At that stage all the replicator bugs started to run across the ground towards them. They didn't seem to care where they walked, even if it was over my legs as I lay there in a daze. I didn't even move when one scrambled over my head towards Fifth.

I watched as they collected up around the two human replicators and turned into a ship then fired up and flew off into the atmosphere.

I lay still, not moving at all. I listened to the stream bubbling away in the distance as it flowed down through the rich fields. I was numb both inside and out, all feelings had been squashed down inside, the previous rage that I had felt gone like it had never been there.

I still hadn't moved from the spot where I had landed. After a short while, I could feel a large hollow lump just below my throat. I wondered if maybe I had been hurt there. No that can't be it as I could now feel the sharp pain in my back from where I had made contact with the tree. The lump began to get bigger and bigger making it hard for me to breath. I tried to gulp in air to relieve the pressure, only to feel further pressure behind my eyes. As the full force of realization hit me of what had happened, the dam burst.

~*~

2026

~*~

2007

I didn't cry when Daniel died. I didn't even shed a tear when Janet had died. When Sam died, I just bottled everything up inside. Today as I lay injured at the base of a pine tree on a planet thousands of light years away from Earth, with no one to witness my despair I let it out. The torment and the desolation everything that I had lost came forth into my heart and mind and I sobbed into the pine needles with the pain in my back forgotten in my anguish.

~*~

When I woke up, my head felt thick and heavy, let alone my eyes that felt like two boiled onions. Blinking them open, the first sight that met my eyes was a row of light brown ants walking away from me. They were each carrying part of another insect. When a rather large black claw wavered past my nose, I quickly jumped up and promptly regretted the movement.

"Argh!"

Sitting back down heavily, I leaned against the tree, and pain shot through my back. The forest began to dip and sway and then whizzed sidewise a few times before everything came back into focus. Looking down to where I had been lying, I was gratified to see that when I had landed I had squashed a rather large black beetle. It must have been at least six inches long without the claws. Smiling to myself I left the ants to their dinner and slowly stood up, clutching at the tree trunk as I went. Thankfully, the world didn't start to spin again as I bent down to retrieve my P-90 that had been turned into a large blob.

I had to walk carefully so as to not to further injure my back. Sharp shooting pain delved right into my innards with each step, I hoped that I hadn't done serious damage. My mind kept wandering back to Fifth and his new friend; I felt constrictive pain around my heart each time my thoughts went there. To take my mind off the subject I thought of the ants, they worked as a team carrying little pieces of a very large bug - working together…

With that thought in the back of my mind, I gathered my things together, careful not to jar my back any more than I had to. Just as I picked up my pack I remembered that the replicator had put the flowers in my pack for safe keeping. Not wanting them, I pulled open the bag to throw them out. I couldn't find them anywhere.

I was filled with a sudden urgency; I must get back to the SGC. Fifth is going to be one unhappy camper when he finds out. That is 'if' he ever found out. He had made replicator Sam too much like the real person; she had feelings for me too. The signs were all there. Her kissing me back, her stopping, which must have been Fifth stopping her, as they were telekinetically connected. I remembered her apologizing as she left me, a single tear rolling down one cheek. Oh yes, Fifth was going to be one extremely annoyed bug. Part of me was saddened for replicator Sam, but the rest of me was grinning all the way to the Stargate.

As I staggered to the Stargate, I felt as though a large weight had lifted from me, more free and clear minded than I had been for a very long time. I clutched my overstuffed pack in my arms. All my supplies and anything that could be replaced was stashed in the cave, I didn't need any of it where I was going.

~*~

I was thankful that once again the Stargate was kind to me by depositing me only lightly on my butt on Kelowna. They were getting used to my unusual arrivals, and I was received with a "Good morning, Jack O'Neill. Jonas Quinn will be only five minutes." The speaker was replacing the telephone in its cradle while he was talking. I stayed right where I was; there was no way my back was going to let me stand up unassisted. A helpful Kelownan came forward and offered his arm to help me upright. Still not wanting to move, I waved him away, just to see Jonas striding in through the doorway.

"Jack!" He shot over to me, "You all right?"

I shook my head. "I need to get to the SGC and you are coming with me."

"I am?" Then a slow smile spread across his face, "Won't be a minute." He practically ran back out of the room, leaving me still sitting on the floor.

By the time Jonas had come back, the guards had risked their lives and helped me up. However hard I had waved them away, they insisted that I move. Apparently I made the room look untidy.

At the speed with which Jonas was at my side ready to leave, I would have thought he'd had advance notice. Getting permission from the authorities and letting his wife know where he was going was normally a long arduous process. I found out later that Jonas was due to visit Earth in two days anyway. So they just pushed it forward.

I was standing, well, if you could call, hanging onto Jonas' shoulder bent over, standing, in front of the blue puddle, wondering if I was going to step out the other end or fall. Feeling every year of my age I hobbled through the Stargate, and fortunately hobbled out the other side the same way I had entered it.

The man that stood at the bottom of the ramp was someone I had never seen before.

"Where's Hammond?"

"And you are?"

"I was going to say the same."

Jonas was grinning, always a bad sign. He gestured towards this other man. "General Matthews… Jack O'Neill. Jack… General Matthews."

My eyes never left his as he stared straight back at me. To my surprise and respect, he didn't flinch. In fact, we never found out who would have looked away first because a swarm of medical staff surrounded me, blocking my vision.

"Hey!" I yelped as they started to prod and poke me.

Where had they come from? Then I remembered, vaguely, a message sent over the loudspeaker,  'Med team to the 'gate room.'  Pushing my way through the med team,  'not an easy task I might add,'  I made my way to Matthews again.

"Where's General Hammond?"

"Right here, son," came the reassuring Texan drawl.

I looked up to see him standing in the control room next to Walter. I nodded in acknowledgement and let myself be swept away by medics to the infirmary. Through all the exchanges I noticed that the grin had never left Jonas' face. I'd need to talk to him later about warning people about such things as new personnel, especially people like General Matthews. Never have liked surprises.

After the usual X-rays, MRI, blood letting and leeches, I was sitting on one of the infirmary beds opposite Jonas who also had gone through the same process. Though there was a marked absence of bandages, sticky strips and tight uncomfortable strapping around ribs on his personage. His grin had faded, but I suppose sitting opposite a scowling retired general is enough to remove any grin, even Jonas'.

"Hello, Jack."

"Sir." I found myself standing at attention, totally involuntary, old habits die hard.

"Sit down, Jack." George Hammond tried hard to restrain a small smirk at my gaffe. "Jonas, good to see you," he acknowledged the alien, whom I noticed had retrieved his grin again.

"What's going on, General, who is Matthews?" I asked.

"Jack, I was just a temporary replacement for you, and it's hard to run all the things I'm responsible for down here. Matthews is my replacement, just settling him in before I go back to Washington."

"I've never seen him before," I accused.

"You've been away a long time, Jack," he let out a soft sigh, "And a lot has happened while you've been gone."

"Yeah?" My curiosity was piqued.

"At your debriefing, Jack, all will be explained."

I watched Hammond walk away. Something was up, I just didn't know what… yet.

Just as I stood to leave, I heard the unmistakable clipping of shoes on the concrete floor.

"Doc?"

"Hello, Jack," Janet said with a large smile.

"So…" I leaned back onto the side of the bed. "They let you treat the poor unsuspecting patients then?" I couldn't help grinning.

"Yes, not as CMO though, but I don't mind, just glad to be here and alive."

"So," as I started to walk towards the corridor, totally ignoring Jonas, who said earlier that he had something to do anyway, "how are you fitting in?"

"Oh." She shrugged her shoulders, "weird at first, some treated me like a long lost sister, others a bit warily. But, I do understand," she looked up at me and smiled softly. "Some of the people here are different from what they were in my world." A secret smile slowly spread across her face, then she continued, "it took ages for Cassie to accept me," she then looked sad, "she still calls me Janet and not Mom, but again, I do understand. This Cassie seems very grown up, but then she has been through more than mine had." I realized that she had hit the nail on the head with that sentence, 'this' and 'mine'. She stopped in her tracks and looked at me. "See?" She shrugged her shoulders again and we continued towards the commissary. The secret smile appeared on her face again. "I am glad I came though, this is better than I could have ever had hoped."

"I'm glad, Janet." I smiled back at her. I was surprised at the amount she had talked. Most people, particularly Janet, never exposed their inner feelings, especially to me.

"What brought you back early?" she asked.

I shrugged and then winced at the pain is caused. "The replicators are causing trouble again, and I needed to warn the SGC. Fifth has made a copy of Colonel Carter." I stopped walking as I realized that Janet was no longer beside me. I turned around. Her face was ashen as though all the blood had drained from her. "Janet?" I started to walk back towards her. She looked up at me with stricken eyes.

"Did she do this to you?" Her hand waved over my bandages.

I shook my head, "No. Fifth did."   '… she did something far worse.'  "But she could infiltrate the base very easily."

"Jack." Janet placed her hand gently on my forearm.

"It's all right, Janet. I'm fine, really." She nodded taking my warning to leave it alone. "So, tell me more about Cassie. What's she doing?" I watched as colour slowly began to filter back into her face, but even so, the pallor of her skin didn't quite come back to normal.

~*~