As her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, Rose realized the outfit on the tile bench was a nurse’s uniform, musty and a few sizes too big. Jack had moved to the doorway of the locker room, staring out into the dark.

“Hurry up—“ he called over his shoulder, his tone gruff. Rose pulled the cold cotton shift on and fumbled for her boots. Jack half turned and let out a long sigh.

“We’re in the lower levels of what’s still structurally sound—Daniel and Siler are standing guard. We’ll go up for dinner and after that—“

Rose watched, seeing the slow heat cross Jack’s face; involuntarily she grinned.

“Seductive technique a little rusty, colonel?” she chided, tying up her bootlaces. He snorted.

“Nah, just remembering the first time—which happened right about—“ He pointed to a low wooden bench off in the shadows.

Rose tried not to react, but did anyway, her shoulders squaring. She glared at Jack, willing her voice not to quaver.

“Maybe yours, but not mine. Much as I feel for you and everyone left here on THIS Earth, I have no intention of co-operating with any grand schemes you might have for repopulating the planet. You better than anyone know the rules of capture, Jack O’Neill. My job from this moment on is to escape and evade.”

“You done?” Jack asked politely, checking his watch. Rose bit back the urge to pound him on the chest; apparently ALL Jack O’Neills could be infuriatingly sarcastic shits.

As if sensing her thoughts, he gave a low chuckle and shook his head.

“This is not a simulation, babe. Nobody’s going to come out and grade you on your textbook responses here. Escape and evade to where, Rose?”

Rose opened her mouth and closed it again, not willing to concede a damn thing. Jack motioned to the door.

“Let’s go—“

This trip through the halls was marked by a long climb up one of the service ladders; Rose resented the warm press of Jack’s body against hers as he climbed right behind her instead of under her.

“Safer—and you won’t get any ideas about dashing off in the dark,” he explained, nuzzling her ear and making her bite back a whimper. While her mind was very clear on the issues at hand, her body was simply NOT with the program, and Rose resented that too.

They climbed two floors and stepped out into normal lighting. Rose blinked.

“Naquadah generator—Siler got it hooked up to the main grid, so we have light and power for what’s still functional, which isn’t much,” came Jack’s careless explanation. “We have working lights on about four floors and some computers—“

“What about—?”  but she didn’t get to finish her question. Coming around the corner, Daniel and a pair of young airmen headed for them. The two raggedly dressed soldiers eyed her with a curious blend of longing and fascination. Jack cleared his throat warningly.

“Daniel?”

“Ah Jack. We have word that the review’s been bumped up by three days. They’ve tightened security around the factory and two patrols have been set up along the riverside. Hi Rose—“

“What’s our status for Box Two?” Jack demanded, glaring at the young airmen. One of them offered a clipboard.

“We need two more pounds of naquadah sir, and then the chief can begin running rabbit tests again.”

“What’s the asking price?” Jack scribbled something on the page.

“Same as usual—liquor and candy,” the airman managed a brief grin. Jack shoved the clipboard back and sighed.

“Tell Petersen I authorized the trade and see if we still have enough to call in a few markers on the coast.”

The airmen left; Daniel crossed his arms and looked over his sunglasses at Jack.

“They’ll talk.”

“Let them—we’re headed to Observation One anyway.”

“Jack—everyone knows it could HAPPEN this time and you’re going to have a constant audience. You KNOW that.” Daniel’s gaze turned to Rose and she caught his look of pity. Indignantly she lifted her chin.

“I guess I get the starring role in the Cheyenne Mountain Peep show?”

“Rose—“ Daniel spoke gently, his voice as emphatic as ever. “—We’ve lost our wives and girlfriends and sisters and mothers. The rest of our lives will be joyless and empty because of that loss. Some of these kids—“ he waved a hand vaguely across the air, “--Are doomed to the next sixty years without ever having a chance at the life they SHOULD have had. Can you really begrudge them the opportunity to see you?”

“Yes,” She grumbled but softly. Daniel smiled then, the look so familiar that she nearly smiled back.

“Let’s go have dinner.”

***   ***   ***

Observation One had all the amenities of a good hotel suite, from the double bed to the furniture and tables, mini fridge and entertainment unit. Rose noted that the upper windows had been darkened, but didn’t doubt that there were watchers behind that tinted glass. She looked over the table at Jack who was cutting into his steak with relish.

“Eat—“ came his chide. Rose looked down at her food.

“Why bother?”

“Because you’re hungry, and it makes sense to take advantage of the fuel while you can get it, Miss Escape and Evade—“

She flushed, again aware of how intimately even this copy of Jack knew her. Daniel tactfully changed the subject.

“So what’s your version of Earth like? What happened in YOUR timeline?”

Rose sighed, fiddling with the mashed potatoes on her plate.

“You and Catherine Langford opened the gate, the whole Ra thing happened, you stayed on Abydos with Shau’re until Jack—“

 “—Who’s Shau’re?”

She looked up, astonished, as Daniel met her gaze guilelessly.

“Um—she was your wife, Daniel.”

Jack shot an amused look at the other man, waving his fork at him.

“Going for the record, Daniel? First Sara then Janet, now some off-planet babe—“

“I believe in commitment—“ he mumbled, blushing. Rose lifted an eyebrow.

“Apophis was hunting for a host for his mate, and that got us involved when he raided through the gate in the Mountain—“ Rose admitted reluctantly. “We won the battle for the moment, and Teal’c joined the team before I did.”

“Who’s Teal’c?”

“Wait a minute, I remember him—he was that big baldie who died when Apophis sent him to Mount Weather with those platoons of Snakes—“ Jack broke in. Rose swallowed hard and nodded.

“Yes. Teal’c was Apophis’s First Prime. In my universe he joined us and has been instrumental in getting the Jaffa rebellion to grow.”

“Turncoat snakehead—yeah, we have a few here too,” Jack mused, spearing a green bean off of Rose’s plate. She glared at him, annoyed at the familiarity.

“General Hammond runs the SGC and I’m an alternate member of SG1 with Major Carter, Teal’c, and the alternates of the two of you.”

Jack shook his head, chuckling.

“A wife and an ex on the same team—Jesus, that would be some seriously messed up espirit de corps—I’d feel damned sorry for any patrols we’d run into on Rag days—“

Daniel TRIED not to smirk, and Rose growled. She moved quickly, jabbing the fork down towards Jack’s hand, missing it by an inch, the tines denting the table. He smirked broadly.

“I’ll take THAT one, the sultry bitch with the fire in her eyes—“ he quoted softly. Rose flushed. She and Jack had watched Elliot Gould proclaim that line in M*A*S*H ages ago, laughing about it then in a warm intimacy of a night together, back where the world was sane. To her horror, she felt her chin tremble.

“All right, that was unfair, I know, but ya looked so damn cute—“ Jack mumbled, discomfited by her stricken look. Daniel cleared his throat, and both of them glanced his way.

“So the key turning point HERE is that I never got married on Abydos then—instead, we had Apophis raid and Jack brought me back to figure out where he’d come from—not Jack of course, but Apophis—and I ended up bringing most of the Cartouche room with me.”

“And moving right into Janet’s honeyed affections at warp speed as I recall—“ Jack drawled, making Daniel go pink around the ears. Rose heard a familiar note of warmth in the tease and relaxed a little. Daniel blinked rapidly.

“Considering the amount of time I was spending in her infirmary flat on my back it appeared inevitable. Don’t go calling the kettle black, here—I seem to recall you trotting around after Mrs. Hammond like a besotted puppy for the better part of a year—“

“Trotting around? I’ve never trotted in my DAMN life, Jackson!”

“Mooning then. Goo-goo eyed. Completely infatuated—“

Rose looked up to the observation windows in an effort to avoid grinning and her eyes flew wide at the heart lurching sight of Colonel Harry Maybourne leering down at her. Her gasp made Jack look up and he swiftly flashed a middle finger at the former NID operative, who appeared not at all offended. Rose shuddered.

“I didn’t even think about who ELSE would be here—“ she murmured as much to herself as to either man with her. Daniel gave a quick grimace.

“Yeah well, it’s mixed bag you understand,” he sighed. “The theory that women were the civilizing factor in society isn’t a theory any longer, and for men like Harry, normality is a distant memory.”

“How distant?”

“Well he’s harboring a few more personalities these days,” Jack muttered carelessly.

“Oh God—“

“—And that’s one of them.”

***   ***   ***

It wasn’t actually a member of SG1 who finally spotted the necklace, but T’Jan Maddoc. He kept the beam of the flashlight on it as O’Neill radioed the others in a low voice.

“There are signs of a struggle with a single opponent, Tau’rii O’Neill,” Maddoc noted. “And only a single set of tracks lead away.”

“Yeah—“ O’Neill noted sourly. When Carter and Teal’c arrived, they already had flashlights and gear.

“CQB—“ Carter muttered, her light illuminating the room beyond the mirror. The metal shelving and cramped impression confirmed it. O’Neill nodded.

“Looks like one of the DeCons—alright, Daniel, you stay here and monitor the dial up—you’ve had the most practice with it. Teal’c, Carter, you’re with me—“

“We stand ready to assist you, Tau’rii O’Neill—Maddoc offered quietly. O’Neill met the other man’s gaze and nodded after a moment.

“Might have some medical help standing by—“ he suggested. Maddoc nodded. Carter shouldered her weapon and moved to the other side of Teal’c, who grasped his staff weapon and stood poised before the mirror. Daniel cupped the mirror dialer gently in his two hands.

“All right—“ O’Neill, Carter and Teal’c reached for the surface of the mirror and touched it lightly; with a faint tingle they reappeared on the other side. O’Neill bent for the necklace while the other two shone their beams around the room cautiously. They looked at Daniel. Carter tapped her watch and waved three fingers, then gave a thumbs up. Daniel nodded, watching them move through the darkness and away from the mirror.