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Every one but Sam and Jack and the other Sam and Jack left the briefing room. A pregnant pause filled the room as no one dared give voice to the question looming heavy over everyone’s heads.

“Soo…” the other Jack began. “They have hockey where you come from?”

“Oh yeah,” Jack replied. Then it got quiet again. “Must be the elephant in the room,” Jack muttered under his breath.

He was just loud enough for Sam, right at his side, to hear. “There’s a bigger elephant in the room than you think,” Sam said.

“What do you mean?” The words just seemed to fall out of his mouth before he could stop himself.

“That thing that no one wants to talk about.” Sam’s crystal blue gaze seemed to pierce right through Jack.

Across the briefing room table, the other Jack leaned forward. “You mean… that thing?” He glanced sideways at the other Sam.

“I’m pretty sure she does,” the other Sam said with a knowing look about her face.

“WHAT thing?” Jack asked very loudly.

Sam glanced at him, sympathy for his confusion filling her features. She swallowed hard once before speaking. “In every other AU we’ve encountered, there has been a significant relationship between us… One we can’t have given our military ranks, our positions. So the big question hanging over everyone’s head is what the nature of the relationship between you two is?” She finished her statement staring eye to eye with her alternate self.

The other Sam blinked twice before answering. “We’re married. Aren’t you?”

Sam turned to face Jack, gauging his reaction. “Actually, no. We haven’t gotten there yet.” Jack was still visibly processing the information overload. Sam smiled, a small one just for him.

The other Sam relaxed a bit at the silent exchange between them. “Don’t wait too long,” she advised. “There’s a way to make it work—we found one pretty easily. I transferred off SG1 for a stint at Research and Development. While I was no longer under his command, we dated, got married, and got back to work. It wasn’t long before the world needed me back on SG1 and since we were already married, the regs weren’t at issue any more.”

Sam had been looking at Jack the whole time her other self spoke, a certain hope sparkling in her eyes. She didn’t dare give it voice.

“That was two years ago. We’ve been working side by side since, to this very day,” the other Jack added.

Jack looked at Sam very carefully. “Two years,” he repeated.

“It could work,” Sam said very softly.

“It’s worth it, believe me,” the other Sam said.

“Believe us,” her Jack added firmly. His gaze was fixed on his counterpart, dark and unyielding.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Jack replied. Sam’s smile broadened slightly. “What do you say to a few months off at R&D?”

Sam grinned, one of those priceless million-watt beams she seemed to save for him. “Sounds great. But first we have to figure out a way to get back home to our universe.”

“I have complete faith that the two of you Carters will cook up something to get us back home in no time,” Jack stated.

“As do I,” the other Jack chimed in.

“And once we get home, sir?” Sam inquired.

He looked at her with a mischievous little smile. “We’ll burn that bridge when we cross it.” He paused for a moment of dramatic effect. “And we’ll burn it together,” he finished.

******

Fini~




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