Turnabout is Fair Play

by Neiths Arrow

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).

Email: Neiths-Arrow@sbcglobal.net

Season: Mid Season 7

Spoilers: Everything up to Season 8

Pairing: Hint of J/S

Category: Action-Adventure / AU / Humor

Rating: PG13

Archive: Fanfic.net

Summary: The SGC has an interesting visitor and must thwart the efforts of an old foe.

Disclaimer: The following characters are fictitious. They, in no way, make a statement about any real persons - especially since I have made up the names, histories, interests, personalities, and experiences (fictional `facts) to suit my needs (as authors tend to do). Any similarity to real persons is just that - a similarity. The personalities are based on characteristics of people in Stargateland. Excerpts from Evolution Part 2 - teleplay written by Peter DeLuise. I don't own those characters by the way. I am not profiting from this story in any financial way. Please do not post this story without my consent.

Author's Note: I want to thank Diane for her work as a beta - not only did she correct my grammatical errors, but she gave me the confidence and encouragement to complete this story, which started in May 2005. Any negative feedback is strictly mine to bear, but I'll gladly share any positive feedback (hint). I also want to thank my friends at the Yahoo group One-Oneill for their encouragement.

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Scene 1 - The cyclist

After cresting the hill, the cyclist pulled over to the roadside for a short break in the shade of pine trees. He pulled his road bicycle off the shoulder, sat on a felled log, and released a reverent sigh. The stillness of the forest sank into his being. Various bird sounds and the rustle of brush interrupted the whisper-quiet sound of wind through overhead branches as unseen forest critters went about their business. He needed this break before continuing to train for the upcoming endurance trial. He had already trained for three months and the event was in a couple of days. If only his knee would hold out. He stared at the surgery scars and fingered them absently. Despite various injuries, he was determined to remain active. This extended vacation was about to end and he was due to return to work two days after the event. He had no current injuries that would affect his performance; he was healthy and ready for this endurance trial. With determination, the tall man got up, returned to the road, and began pedaling to his destination.

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Scene 2 - Thor's visit

The gateroom at the SGC was bustling with activity. Ten minutes before SG-1 was due to depart on another mission, two SG teams busied the gate with their unscheduled arrival. Severe planetary weather changes had caused their return. Medical personnel assembled at the gate to assess the returning teams. The teams' hastily gathered survey equipment also cluttered the gateroom. Sergeant Siler was in the middle of organizing a crew to remove the clutter while the medical team escorted both the injured and their teammates to the infirmary. After the last piece of equipment went out the door, Colonel Jack O'Neill, team leader of SG-1, led his team from the observation deck to the gateroom below. Just as he was about to give the command to dial the coordinates for their destination, a column of glowing light appeared at the top of the ramp. A small, greyish figure appeared.

"Thor, buddy! To what do we owe this honor?" O'Neill smirked as he called out to the little grey alien.

The Asgard Supreme Commander walked awkwardly down the ramp to look up at his friend. "O'Neill. The Asgard again need your assistance."

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Major Carter broke the stunned silence around the conference table. "You mean Loki escaped from your custody and is planning to steal Colonel O'Neill's DNA again?"

"Yes, Major Carter. I believe that is what I just said." Thor's enormous eyes blinked at the intense faces around the table.

Daniel pursed his lips thoughtfully, "But I thought you had modified Jack's DNA so it couldn't be duplicated?"

"Yeah! What he said." O'Neill rubbed the top of his head vigorously in aggravation. "There isn't going to be another kid running around saying he's me . . . is there?"

Thor took the question seriously. "No. Loki knows it would not be beneficial to abduct O'Neill from this reality. He is planning to harvest DNA from O'Neill in an alternate reality."

Hammond piped in, "Couldn't you just alter that DNA as well?"

After a quick glance at Thor, Carter hesitantly supplied, "Sir, . . . there are an infinite number of realities. The Asgard couldn't possibly change all the . . . O'Neills out there."

"That is correct Major Carter. However, we are not concerned with the infinite number of realities. We already know which reality will be used. We have placed a permanent tracking device on Loki and were alerted to his destination through a . . . reality interface detector."

Carter's eyes rose in excitement, "You mean you have the ability to pass the barrier between realities in order to . . ."

"I hate to interrupt your information extravaganza Carter, . . ." O'Neill looked pointedly at her, "but we do have a deadline as Thor mentioned earlier." He punctuated his reminder with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, O'Neill. Apparently, the alternate O'Neill, or O'Neill A, is to be kidnapped during a specific five of your Earth days. Because we do not want to risk his capture, *you* O'Neill will need to take his place and be abducted by Loki instead. At that time, we will be alerted and will return Loki to captivity. We have a short time to convince the alternate O'Neill to help us."

"Why would he not do so of his free will?" Teal'c boomed in puzzlement.

Thor suddenly cocked his head to listen to some silent communication. He raised his eye ridges and got to his feet. "We must get to the gateroom quickly. He will be here soon."

"Who will be here soon?" Hammond demanded to Thor's retreating back. Hammond shook his head in resignation at his loss of control. "Dismissed." The room quickly emptied after the alien as he ambled down to the gateroom. The General followed the group at a slower pace.

After they assembled in the gateroom, Thor calmly asked the observers to keep the entire ramp area clear. "There is a brief window of opportunity to bring him into this reality. Unfortunately, he is currently traveling at a high speed." This announcement was met with puzzlement.

Once again, a column of light appeared in the gateroom, but it was centered at the base of the ramp near the observation window. Suddenly, a bicyclist clad in peridot and black appeared captured by the light. He suddenly accelerated as his tires made contact with the floor. The observers stood back while he sped up the ramp. They could see the cyclist frantically apply his brakes. But, due to his speed, he flew through the circle of the gate and disappeared to the floor on the other side with a loud crash. The onlookers heard shouts of surprise and pain as they raced up the ramp. "Damn it, damn it! Oh Gawd!" The cyclist was rocking on the floor clutching his gashed knee between both hands; his feet were still solidly clipped into the bicycle pedals. "So much for no injuries. My doc is *so* gonna kill me."

Teal'c was the first one on the scene. "O'Neill. Are you injured."

The cyclist removed his sunglasses to look up incredulously at the brown face. The tone of his voice was sarcastic. "Do I *look* injured?" He frowned before shifting his brown-eyed gaze from the observers to the surrounding room, then to the backside of the gate. "What am I doing here? I was just on the road." His face went white as he looked up searchingly. "Did I hit my head? Maybe I don't remember. Are we in the middle of shooting. . . ?"

Teal'c abruptly reassured the new arrival, "We are not shooting anyone, O'Neill. We do not have weapons."

After glaring at Teal'c, the newcomer cautiously unclipped his feet from the pedals, gingerly extracted himself from the crash scene, and removed his helmet. "Very funny." After looking down at his bicycle, he groaned. "My bike! I was planning to use this one for the event!" The front, carbon-fiber fork was hopelessly broken and part of the front rim was bent perpendicular to the rest of the tire.

Thor pushed his way through the tall legs at the top of the ramp. "Do not worry O'Neill A. I will repair your vehicle as well as your knee." He jumped down to the stunned man and raised his palm, which was imbedded with a clear crystal. A white light emanated from the crystal and engulfed the bicycle; the warped fork and rim straightened while the flattened tire magically re-inflated. As the glow moved over the man, his leg wound closed and he looked up in wonder.

"The pain's gone! What? How?" O'Neill A moved over to the little alien. He ran his hand magically and symbolically over Thor's head without touching him. He walked behind Thor while methodically dragging his feet, and then he stared at Daniel Jackson intently. "Thor, where are we?"

Thor responded from behind, "We are at Stargate Command on your home planet."

While continuing to stare at Daniel, O'Neill A exclaimed, "How'd you throw your voice like that?"

Daniel looked at the empty space to his immediate left and right. Then he placed the palm of his hand against his chest. "Are you talking to me . . . uh, Jack?"

"Oh! For crying out loud. Will ya tell the man what's going on?" O'Neill stepped to the front of the crowd and sat in front of the cyclist while dangling his feet off the back edge of the Stargate platform.

The cyclist stood and stared at the man who possessed identical facial features. After a stunned pause, he smirked, "Oh, you're good. Where'd they find you?" His face broke into a big, uncharacteristic grin. "OK. You guys got me. Ya got me good. The joke's over now. How did you do . . ." he gestured around the room ". . . this? How did you get me here?"

O'Neill grabbed his counterpart by the shoulders and looked at him intently. "I know this is hard to believe, but you are now in an alternate reality. We aren't the people you know. This isn't your . . ." He pointed to the gate over their heads ". . . Stargate."

"I'll say." O'Neill A looked at his counterpart's face closely. "Uhm! Did you have plastic surgery? Or is it makeup?"

O'Neill kept his hands on the newcomer's shoulders, but turned his head to the side and growled, "Thor, can ya help us out here?"

Thor again raised his hand to the cyclist and enveloped his head in a glowing light. By the time the light stopped, O'Neill A had his eyebrows raised. He backed away from the Colonel, and his mouth dropped open in astonishment. "Oh my God! I need to sit down." He looked behind him and chose to lean against the wall instead. "Oh my God!"

"You said that already." Jack mumbled.

The cyclist grinned widely at the comment. "Colonel O'Neill, of course. Thor, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter." He saw O'Neill flinch. With a devilish look he said, "Don't worry. We're not interested in each other in my reality . . . not like when you met the Samantha with long hair."

Major Carter looked puzzled. "How can you know about that? . . . sir. Thor, did you transfer information about . . .? But . . . ." She trailed off - her eyes widened in thought. She pondered whether *this* O'Neill had visitors from the same alternate reality. But how could that Samantha have visited more than one reality? And if so, what were the odds that she would have visited the same reality as this new O'Neill? The possibilities were so mind boggling that she snapped her mouth closed and remained silent. Attention focused back on the visitor when it became apparent she had no further commentary.

"Oh, I know a lot about all of you." O'Neill A responded smugly.

"Indeed?" Teal'c raised his eyebrow and tilted his head questioningly.

"People, let's discuss this in a more private atmosphere. Colonel, would you escort . . . our guest to temporary quarters? Get him more . . . comfortable clothing, and then bring him to the conference room." The observers wondered if Hammond meant more `comfortable' for the guest or for the observers; the tight cycling clothing left nothing to the imagination. Carter quickly wiped the grin off her face when her CO caught her staring at the thin, shimmery layer of cycling clothing on his double's body - it was apparent he was not wearing underwear. Daniel had one eyebrow raised at O'Neill's expense, but looked the other way when confronted by said Colonel.

Teal'c raised his head in stoic indifference.

The cyclist responded, "General Hammond, my name is..." But he was speaking to Hammond's rapidly retreating back, so he shrugged his shoulders without continuing the sentence.

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Scene 3 - Not in the military

After letting the cyclist get more comfortable in some borrowed military clothing, they all assembled in the conference room. The guest O'Neill started walking toward his usual seat, but turned away after a glare from the native O'Neill and sat next to Major Carter instead. He pulled his chair back and looked under the table. "Hmm. Your table is in one solid piece."

Jack responded sarcastically, "Duh!"

Hammond pressed his lips together and glared at the Colonel in disapproval. "Let's get on with this, people."

Daniel looked over to O'Neill A, "What do we call you?"

Hammond at the same time asked, "What is your rank?"

The cyclist responded with a soft, nasal tone. "I'm not in the military, you can just call me..."

Major Carter spontaneously interrupted, "You're not in the military? Sir? Uh!" She looked rapidly from her CO to the newcomer and stopped in puzzlement.

The guest smiled in amusement. "No, I'm not. And please just call me . . . . Hey!" He turned startled, but intelligent eyes toward Carter, "What about entropic cascade failure? Will I have to go through that?"

Thor interrupted, "I have modified your physiology to avoid this experience. You will not be affected for five of your Earth days."

The guest nodded and visibly relaxed.

O'Neill impatiently tapped his fingers on the table in frustration and suspicion. "You say you aren't in the military. Yet you know about alternate realities and tropical ..." He circled his flattened hand toward Major Carter.

"...entropic cascade failure, sir."

"What she said."

Their guest slightly clenched his jaw and with a deeper, gentler voice replied, "In my reality, I'm a scientist."

There were gasps of disbelief around the table. Thor raised an eyebrow, and O'Neill sat back with a horrified look on his face. The only one who didn't react was Daniel. He leveled a calm glare and said, "Jack `A' . . . Hmmm! Somehow appropriate. You um . . . lie just like our Jack. So, what do you really do?" Daniel had become an expert on reading when his friend was being untruthful. Ever since Jack's undercover NID mission to recover stolen, alien technology, Daniel had studied his friend to prevent being fooled - or hurt - again.

O'Neill `A' responded with a sideways smirk and then a good-natured laugh. "Hey, can ya blame me? You really are pretty sharp, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel raised a hand and grinned - already liking the man who looked like his best friend. "Please, just call me Daniel."

"You can call me Roc, as in Roc Flanders - actually, Rocco Flanders."

Samantha raised her eyebrows and asked the question that was on everyone's mind, "Your name isn't O'Neill?"

Flanders shook his head with a smile.

Colonel O'Neill turned to the Asgard Commander, "Thor, why do you call him *O'Neill* `A'?"

The Asgard Supreme Commander looked stunned by the question as if the answer was obvious. "The `A' is an abbreviated form of the term `alternate.' Does not O'Neill use one-letter abbreviations rather than the full word when speaking? For instance, he has been observed shortening the name `Teal'c' to `T.' Did I not use this form of communication correctly, O'Neill?" He had the worried look of a tourist who has committed a faux pas but is not sure of the seriousness of the error.

O'Neill's face softened with a look typically reserved for children. "That was great, Thor. Ya just need to give us a little warning when you go all Earther on us." He paused to let the little alien absorb this information before asking, "But why did you call him O'Neill? His last name is Flanders."

Roc looked toward Thor and gave him a nod to proceed. "Colonel O'Neill, he is known as both Flanders and O'Neill." They all turned puzzled looks toward Roc.

The real O'Neill asked slowly and with the patience of a crouched tiger, "Would you care to explain?"

The guest looked around at the expectant faces. "Okaaayyy, but you aren't going to like this." He paused for effect. "I'm an actor on a television show called ..."

Teal'c interrupted with a deep, disgusted tone, "Wormhole Extreme."

Roc gave a big, toothy grin as he shook his head, "...called Stargate SG-1."

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Scene 4 - Up to Speed

"OK. I know you guys didn't bring me (gestures) here just to compare notes about television shows." He looked toward Sam and Daniel. "What's up?"

Daniel looked around before hesitantly answering, "Uh, obviously, we have some . . . similarities between our worlds if you know about Wormhole Extreme." Roc nodded. "Would you happen to remember a character named Loki?"

"Wasn't he the renegade Asgard who cloned O'Neill and tried to steal his DNA, but it was modified and the clone ended up being a . . . Mini Me O'Neill?" Multiple head nods confirmed his memory. "Nope, don't remember anything about him." He grinned at his own joke.

Thor's reedy voice continued, "He has escaped from our facility and we discovered that he plans to kidnap you. He wishes to steal your DNA in order to create a more biologically stable Asgard clone."

"Ah!" Flanders frowned in distaste. Samantha was just about to help him by explaining what this would mean when she was surprised by his next statement. "How do you know that I'm not already a clone of the original Flanders?" There was silence as the group pondered this possibility. In the past, when Loki `borrowed' humans for his experiments, he replaced the original human with an identical clone.

With the patience used toward small children, Thor responded, "I scanned you for that reason when you first arrived here, Flanders. You are not a clone."

"Please, call me Roc."

"Don't bother. I've been trying to have him call me Jack for years."

Thor ignored both comments. "We need your cooperation to capture Loki."

Flanders quickly responded, "Sure, what do I need to do?"

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Scene 5 - The Plan

When they got to the part about Colonel O'Neill swapping places with Flanders, Roc gave a rich, hearty laugh. "You think *he's* going to pass for *me*?"

O'Neill had a hurt look on his face as he saw the agreement flash through the faces around him. Major Carter avoided his gaze. He indignantly replied, "I've infiltrated many places and assumed the identity of individuals in far more dangerous positions than a . . . //gestures with undisguised disgust// . . . soft actor could possibly imagine."

Roc raised his eyebrows and mouthed a silent, `Oh!' at the challenge. "Have you ever appeared on national television with a talk-show host asking about your sex life . . . and whether you've cheated on your wife with your male costar?" He paused for effect and wasn't disappointed by O'Neill's appalled expression. "Have you ever ridden 200 miles on a bicycle? Have you ever had to act . . . like . . . yourself in front of a camera?" He paused and dismissed his last statement with his hand. "Bad example." Sam and Daniel barely hid their amusement at the familiar mannerisms.

"For crying out loud! It's just a couple of days. How bad can it be?"

Roc grinned. "You think *you* lead an active life. I have a double century . . . uh . . . a 200-mile cycling event the day after tomorrow. After driving all night to get home, I get a partial night's sleep. Then I hop a plane to Vancouver to meet up with my trailer for a multi-day, location shoot.

Thor piped in, "Please explain `location shoot.'"

Flanders's grin widened, "We're in the middle of filming or *shooting* Stargate SG-1 in a remote area. We get to rough it in a trailer on location for a couple of days. I sorta, kinda need to be there or there won't be an O'Neill on SG-1." He paused for effect and sniffed. "Yeah! There's an episode coming up where O'Neill gets to kiss Sam on the . . . Prometheus." They all looked toward Sam; she appeared decidedly uncomfortable. Hammond's eyes blazed for an explanation.

Daniel pursed his eyebrows in puzzlement. "I thought you said the episodes were from events that have already happened in our reality."

"Indeed Daniel Jackson. I do not remember such an incident." Teal'c looked intently at his female teammate.

O'Neill piped in quickly with a nervous look toward Hammond, "Neither do I! Carter? Care to explain? I wasn't even *on* the Prometheus "

The embarrassed Major looked to General Hammond with wide, pleading eyes. "Sir, we don't have much time. If Flanders isn't available to abduct, Loki may go to another alternate reality. We need to act quickly."

As much as Hammond wanted to pursue the line of questioning, they had a mission to complete. He responded with a reluctant sigh, "I agree with Major Carter."

"As do I." The little alien tried to restore order to the meeting. "Colonel O'Neill, do you think you will be able to take the place of Mister Flanders?"

Roc exclaimed, "Aaack! Please don't call me that. It makes me feel like Ned on The Simpsons!"

O'Neill grinned with satisfaction and punched his fist into the air. "Yesssss!" He responded to the startled looks of his teammates. "Hey! He can't be all that bad if he watches The Simpsons." He stood in silent reflection of his favorite television cartoon, but then realized all eyes were on him. "What?"

Hammond rephrased Thor's question. "Colonel, do you think you can pull this off?"

"Sir, though I have every confidence that I can act like Flanders, I *can't* cycle for 200 miles. I don't even *own* a bicycle anymore." He turned to Flanders. "Do you *have* to ride 200 miles?"

Flanders couldn't resist. "We *soft actors* need to stay in shape somehow."

Thor interrupted the gloating and corresponding look of disgust. "O'Neill. If Loki is to abduct Flanders, he will have been studying his movements for some time. Loki will become suspicious if Flanders is suddenly unable to bicycle such a distance." The grey alien paused in thought. "O'Neill, I can enhance your athletic ability to allow you to complete the race."

Roc indignantly interjected, "Hey! That's called *doping* and it's illegal. I don't want to be implicated in such a scandal. It could ruin my reputation as an athlete. Besides, I've been training for this event for three months."

"I thought you said you were an actor." Daniel asked curiously.

Roc responded with tongue-in-cheek amusement. "Acting is just my day job. I'm really an athlete." No one seemed to get the irony of this statement and attention was shifted back to the mission.

Sam looked concerned and doubtful. "Thor, what if Colonel O'Neill can't do this?"

Thor thought for a moment. He raised his crooked index finger. "There is another option. However, I suggest that Colonel O'Neill prepare as much as possible to act like Flanders."

Jack turned to the actor and smugly smirked. "I guess it's only fitting that I act like you. After all, turnabout *is* fair play." He rocked slowly back and forth on his feet in delight at his own joke.

During this exchange Major Carter's jaw tensed in thought. With wide, expressive eyes, she spontaneously interrupted her CO's revelry. "Thor, in the past we encountered a race of beings who were able to conceal their true image by using . . . technology which . . . basically acted like a photocopier." She turned to General Hammond. "Sir, if we could retrieve the mimicking devices, we could accompany Flanders without drawing attention to ourselves."

The General raised his head in question to the grey alien. "Thor?"

"General Hammond, I am unfamiliar with this technology. It may not be able to deceive Asgard sensors." Major Carter looked downcast. "However, I am sure it can be modified to do so." The men in the room were secretly and uncomfortably pleased by the grin that lit up the pretty Major's face.

General Hammond snapped his attention back to the subject. "Good. Major, make sure we get those devices from Area 51 quickly."

"Yes sir." She replied, as she immediately started to back out of the room.

The occupants of the room were surprised when the actor interrupted. "Wait! If I remember correctly, those thingies made you look like other members of the SGC."

Teal'c volunteered. "That is correct, Rocco Flanders. The remaining devices will duplicate Major Davis, Daniel Jackson, and . . . ."

Roc raised his hand to stop the Jaffa and scrunched his face in familiar O'Neill skepticism. "That's all we need - another Daniel Jackson. Look, it's going to be hard enough being incognito with *me* present. If I travel anywhere with someone who looks like Daniel Jackson or any other member of the cast, the fans are going to be all over us." Daniel cocked his head in confusion. "To borrow an expression - For crying out loud! We're on a popular television show and the lady fans are very excited to meet Denny . . . and, and . . . sometimes me." His face colored noticeably in shyness. The members of the team, who were used to traveling anonymously in public, were stunned by this revelation.

Sam recovered quickly. "Thor, do you think you could change the image to look like someone else who isn't such an integral part of SG-1? For instance, could you make one of the images look like . . ." she stood up and walked to the large window that overlooked the gateroom. She pointed down and continued, ". . . Airman Steele?" Roc got up to stand with Sam at the window. She was pointing to a technician who stood next to Sgt. Siler; the technician was in the process of handing a large wrench to Siler.

Roc held his stomach and laughed aloud. "You mean you want to look like one of the directors?" He continued laughing at the stunned faces around the conference table.

Hammond broke the spell. "Airman Steele is a director?"

"Yeah, and Siler's a stunt coordinator. They like to make cameo appearances. Everyone around here is a double of either the cast or crew. If you're going to change the image, then you had better make it someone who isn't connected with the SGC."

"That's settled, then. Mr. Flanders will need to approve of any image you and Thor choose, Major Carter." He looked up at the assembled group. "We'll discuss this matter further at oh nine hundred hours tomorrow. Dismissed."

The dislocated actor raised his hand half way up and looked toward General Hammond, "Uh! I hate to spoil the party, but I have another 40 miles to ride before I can call it quits for today. General Hammond, will you allow me to ride by myself?"

"I'm sorry I can't allow that, son." Hammond grinned. "But I might just have the perfect riding partner for you."

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Scene 6 - Getting to know you

Siler looked nervously toward the spitting image of the SGC's 2IC. He was told he would cycle with this man, who is supposedly *not* Colonel O'Neill. As the peridot-clad cyclist approached the Sergeant, he had a big grin on his face. "Hey Siler. Where's your big wrench?"

"Excuse me? . . . Sir?" He was puzzled by the question and frowned seriously.

The actor waved his hand in dismissal. "Never mind." Flanders shook his head a couple times and grinned at his private joke. "So! I didn't know you rode. Are you a serious cyclist?"

"When I can, sir."

"Seriously, Siler. I'm not Colonel O'Neill. My name is Rocco Flanders." He put on a friendly grin, "But you can just call me Roc. So what kind of bike do you have?"

Siler got an excited expression on his face - his eyes opened more widely. "It's right here in this storage room. I just bought it a couple of weeks ago." He opened the door in front of them, turned on the light, and paused in presentation of his pride and joy. "She's a Beauty!" With a wistful expression, he proceeded to extol on the virtues of his new bicycle. Roc nodded his head appreciatively and asked questions to encourage the suddenly talkative airman.

By the time they headed out of the mountain with both bicycles, the two men had bonded through their chosen sport. As they proceeded out the front gate, they were feeling each other out to assess the other's commitment, skill, and fitness level.

When they returned to the mountain hours later with Roc slightly in the lead, both men had wide and satisfied grins on their faces. They found they were compatible riders. The younger airman learned a number of tricks from the more seasoned actor. "You started distance riding when you were how old?" Flanders regaled him with tales of his cycling adventures while they walked their bicycles back into the SGC. After a refreshing shower and clean clothing, Siler asked the question that had been annoying him since he learned of his alternate career as an actor. "So, I'm just an actor?" He realized he might be insulting his new-found buddy, so he clarified, ". . . I mean. Uh! I'm not more . . . active?"

Roc put his head back and laughed. "Oh! I wouldn't say that. Your main job on the set of SG-1 is to coordinate all the stunts . . . and you still do some for me even though you've retired from full-time stunt work." He watched the Sergeant closely for his reaction.

For the first time that day, Siler's face broke into a broad grin. "Really!"

It was at this point that they ran into Daniel Jackson as he waited outside the locker room. The archeologist was dumbfounded by the blazing smile on Siler's face. "Uh! I've got him from here, Siler."

Siler's exuberant response of, "Yeth thir, Doctor Jackthon!" could be heard all the way down the hallway.

Daniel looked at Roc curiously. "How'd you do that?"

"What?"

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Scene 7 - Daniel's Turn

Daniel sighed at the familiar dense expression and knew he would get no further explanation. "Come on. We need to go to Sam's lab." Daniel started walking briskly toward the elevator. He was strangely quiet and his head was lowered.

The uncharacteristic silence didn't escape Roc's notice and he commented, "So, Dr. Jackson, what's bothering you?"

The surprised archeologist halted and raised his head at the question. But he was more surprised by the respect he heard in the actor's tone. "Please! Call me Daniel. The uh . . . doctor title tends to separate me from uh . . . people."

"Okaaayy! Daniel, so . . . what's bothering you?" His voice was much more gentle than Colonel O'Neill's typically gruff speech. Roc smiled internally at the audacity of ever calling this dignified man before him `Space Monkey.'

"Ja. . . I mean, Roc. There's nothing bothering . . ." He stopped when he saw the look of doubt cross the actor's face.

"Daniel. I'm an actor. My job is to convey a myriad of emotions solely through body movement and expression. As a result, I'm pretty skilled at *reading* body language. Something *is* bothering you. What is it?" His tone gentled even further while still maintaining a distinct maleness.

After a thoughtful pause, the younger man commented. "You really aren't like Jack, are you?"

O'Neill's look alike gave a short laugh and his face broke into a huge smile. He chuckled, "Nooo! I'm actually more like . . . you." This statement caused Daniel to visibly startle, so the actor continued to explain. "Like Colonel O'Neill, I'm into astronomy and sports - any sports, but I'm also an archeology buff. I love to travel to distant lands and explore cultures. I'm fluent in four languages, including American Sign Language - not nearly as many as you, but . . . . I hope to better society and don't believe in violence as the first step in conflict resolution. . . Shall I go on?"

Daniel noted that the actor used graceful, expressive hand gestures while speaking. This was very uncharacteristic of the leader of SG-1 who tended to use forceful, quick hand movements. He couldn't imagine this enlightened being before him portraying Jack's cruder moments. "How can you play Jack? I mean, can you? I haven't actually seen you . . . uh . . ."

The actor's demeanor suddenly changed. Through gritted teeth, he raged, "Daniel! For crying out loud! Do you have to question everything I say? I believe the definition of commanding officer is that *I* command. When are you going to understand that?" Roc stalked off in a huff, but stopped suddenly, turned around and lightened his features. "How was that? Good enough for ya?"

Daniel was speechless and knitted his eyebrows in puzzlement. He lowered his head and tightened his crossed arms across his chest. His voice deepened as he responded. "That was . . . creepy." In a minor imitation of Teal'c, Daniel raised his eyebrows. Roc was not surprised by the archeologist's next question. "What am *I* like? I mean, the me that plays . . . me." Daniel stopped with a frown. He wondered again why a linguist would continually have difficulty with awkward sentences.

"The actor that plays . . . you - his name is Dennis Jarret." Roc smiled. "In a lot of ways, Denny is like you, but in other ways . . . he's like . . . Jack." With that parting comment, he continued toward the elevators.

Daniel hesitated in the hallway - horrified by the rude image that flashed in his mind in reaction to that last statement. He jumpstarted himself and shouted after the actor, "What do you mean?" His question was met with infuriating silence. Daniel hoped that Sam would have better luck getting information from the actor.

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Scene 8 - Sam's Lab

Sam stood uncomfortably under his intensely curious gaze. "Um! Why are you looking at me that way?" This was the Colonel's face studying her with undisguised interest. She felt like a bug under a microscope.

He gave her a sideways grin filled with intelligent humor. "Angela is going to ask about you. Not that she'll ever believe I was here, but . . ."

"Yeah! Well! Um!" Sam stood unmoving for a moment and bit the side of her lower lip. Though she was curious as to the identity of `Angela' she decided to change the subject to something more comfortable. "Daniel said I'm supposed to teach you how to operate the communication equipment. So . . . do you have any experience with two-way radios?" She glanced up at him quickly before returning her gaze back down to the radio equipment.

"Just what I learned for the show." His voice was much more gentle than the Colonel's with a more pronounced, nasal, Minnesota accent.

As the conversation shifted to work topics, Sam felt herself relax with the stranger in her teammate's body. She wanted to avoid an interpersonal minefield. Like most scientists, she was uncomfortable talking about non-scientific subjects. This actor, who looked like her CO, was causing her stomach to do strange flip-flops. A gentle, intellectual, grinning Jack O'Neill. `Beware, women, beware!' Her intensely curious nature recognized the opportunity to learn more about the mannerisms of *her* O'Neill since the actor might have insight into the Colonel's behavior. She was also curious about this alternate's lifestyle.

"Uh! We have to wait for the equipment to fully charge or the battery won't use its full capacity. It's a nickel-metal hydride battery as opposed to . . ." She trailed off at the amused expression on his face and cut her explanation short. She gave a quick, nervous grin, which never reached her eyes. "It should be about 15 minutes." She tried to avoid eye contact, but was caught up in his friendly, but non-pushy curiosity. "What?"

"I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?"

She gave a breathy, "Yeah!"

He hesitated in his response. Then grinned shyly. "I'm sorry. I keep waiting for you to act like Angela since there aren't any cameras in this room. She's always cracking jokes." His expression became wistful.

Carter deduced that `Angela' must be the name of her alternate in Roc's universe. "Oh *yes*, there are . . . cameras, I mean." She started pointing to the surveillance cameras.

He stopped her with a gentle raised hand. "No, I mean . . . never mind." He smiled.

Her stomach flip-flopped. Carter grimaced and took the plunge into a personal topic. "What's she like? Me? I mean . . . Angela?"

"Ahhh! Well, she's married." Sam's mouth closed and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Really! To whom?"

"He's probably not someone you know. And if he is, he would have a different name." Sam looked disappointed at his dismissal; she clearly wanted more details, so Roc continued. "They met while hiking; he's a forest ranger." Sam's face cycled through a range of expressions as each detail was revealed. The actor watched her closely as he continued. "They're very happy together. They have horses and ride out on the trails at every opportunity - they love the outdoors. She has a great dog named Bart." Sam didn't miss his twitch of amusement at her expense. Angela is a mother hen to the cast and crew. All the guys . . . and women . . . would do anything for her. Not unexpectedly, she has a large following of male fans. After all, she is beautiful." His eyes twinkled as his gaze quickly caressed her face.

Major Carter blushed profusely at his last comment. She quickly changed the subject to qualities that were more important to her. "Is she smart?" Her question was met with a short laugh. She would never get used to the laugh. When her `O'Neill' laughed - which was rare - he didn't laugh this way. The actor's lighter emotions had a boyish quality and increased his attractiveness. She somehow felt disloyal to the Colonel and quickly amended that her friend and CO didn't need anything to become more attractive. `Is it getting hot in here?' She was startled when the actor answered her forgotten question. She realized he must have been watching her during her slight lapse and had most likely noticed the increased flush in her cheeks.

With a smirk and slight pause to make sure he had her attention, the O'Neill look-alike repeated her question in case she forgot what she had asked. "She has to be smart to memorize all the techno babble that you speak. Uh! I'm sorry, I mean your scientific . . ."

They were suddenly interrupted when Colonel O'Neill walked into the room. Carter immediately came to attention. "Sir, I was just teaching Mr. Flanders how to operate the radio."

The recently arrived Colonel looked startled and quizzically replied, "Major Carter. That's very interesting, but *I'm* not Colonel O'Neill; *he* is." The actor, who had just arrived, pointed to the man with whom Sam had been speaking.

As Sam realized that she had been duped, she looked at her CO in open-mouthed outrage. "Sir, how could you *do* that?"

He grinned wickedly. "Turnabout, Major . . . turnabout. Besides, I though you said I couldn't pull this off." As Colonel O'Neill walked toward the door, he slapped his arm on his double's shoulder. "Well! After you're through here, my good fellow, I'll show you to your temporary quarters. And uh, thanks for the intel on Angela." The grey-haired Colonel sauntered out of the room in cocky self-satisfaction. Sam could have sworn she heard a giggle from the actor who remained in the room. `A giggle!' That's what Colonel O'Neill sounds like when he giggles? Then her face reddened in embarrassment as she remembered the details of the past 15 minutes. She turned back to the grinning actor.

While still smiling widely, Roc shook his head in incredulous disbelief. "He's a piece of work, isn't he?" Sam's smile didn't reach her eyes. Her face had `revenge' written all over it. Roc looked at her in a conspiratorial manner. "If you need my help paying him back, just let me know." When he got a cool look in return, he mumbled. "I'm glad I'm not in *his* shoes. Well, literally I *am* in O'Neill's shoes, but . . . you know what I mean." He wisely decided to remain silent when she continued to stare out the door with her delicate chin pointed in resolve.

Until she calmed down, Roc decided to look around her laboratory. As he checked out the title of the open book on the worktable, he unconsciously picked up a familiar-looking prop. His fingers rotated it absently while he tried to read the title of the book. His face scrunched in frustration. He didn't have his reading glasses and couldn't make out the smaller words no matter how far away he stood. He settled for closing the cover to read the title. The book on astrophysics did not hold his interest, so he moved on to the shelves at the back wall. He placed the original prop down on a nearby table in order to pick up another familiar item from the shelf. He hefted its weight in his left hand while his right hand reached for another object. He didn't notice the now-calm major was observing him.

Samantha Carter was reminded of her brother's young children as she watched Roc's interest bounce from one object to another within the span of seconds. She wondered what he was thinking as he snooped through her laboratory. His single-minded investigation reminded her more of Daniel on an archeological dig. In comparison to his counterpart in this reality, the actor appeared oblivious to her gaze while the Colonel would have been aware of her every action.

Roc eventually turned around and sheepishly replaced the items on a shelf. "Sorry!" After one more look around the room, he returned his gaze to the pretty major. His expression became serious as he softly stated, "I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but . . . it's really an honor to meet you, Major Carter. I admit I'm a little in awe of your character." His face became more animated and his voice raced. "I can't help observe all of you, but if you're anything like *our* Major Carter, then . . . . Do you realize how amazing it is to see a character you helped create come to life before your eyes?" He became self-conscious as he realized the extent of his animation might be making her uncomfortable. He quieted his expressive hands and nervously plucked his shirt away from his chest.

Sam looked at him closely. The first thing she noticed was that he looked much younger than the Colonel. Apparently, the actor had not lived through the same, rough experiences. The second thing she noticed was the lack of menace emanating from him. In comparison, the Colonel's demeanor always seemed to hide a crouching panther beneath a thin layer of civility. She had seen that animal come out of hiding too many times to be fooled by his docile exterior. However, this actor had no such layer. The most startling observation was the lack of attraction toward Roc. She might as well have been in the room with Daniel or her brother. She was amazed.

His deep rumble startled her. "It's amazing, isn't it?"

She flinched slightly and scrunched her face in puzzlement. He couldn't possibly have read her mind. She asked for clarification. "What's amazing?"

He gave her a ghost of O'Neill's sideways smirk. "It's amazing that there are no . . . feelings between us."

His sharp awareness and open honesty stripped every protective layer from her. Her face reddened, so he quickly assured her, "Don't worry. I won't say anything. You have to understand that in my reality, the `thing that's not a thing' between the two of you is common knowledge to the fans." He noticed her discomfort. His tone softened. "Come on. Weren't you going to show me the radios?"

Sam was relieved to change to a safe topic. She started to explain the operation of the radios, but stopped as she came to a realization. She fixed him with wide, startled eyes and said, "You're a lot like Daniel, aren't you." His wide grin was her answer. She shook her head in awe and returned his smile at a lower wattage. Sam felt she could become a friend with this stranger in her CO's body. "Come on Roc, let's tackle this radio so we can talk about your world.

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Scene 9 - T Man

Roc Flanders tossed and turned in an attempt to get comfortable and sleep. The mattress in the guest quarters wasn't supportive enough to ease the ache in his back. The crash through the Stargate had done more than just damage his knee. He wondered if he should have asked Thor to fix his back as well. He reasoned that he could always see Janet for pain medication, but decided against it. If Janet was anything like the doc on the television show, she wouldn't allow him to bicycle in two days. Roc sighed at the familiar ache and decided to keep busy to keep the pain at bay. After leaving his room, he walked in the hallway outside the guest quarters. The corridors were mostly deserted. It was midnight on base and the only people in sight were the guards. After a sudden inspiration, he stopped an SF. "Where would I find Teal'c?" He was directed to a room nearby. He paused outside the alien's door before raising his hand to knock. After a brief silence, he heard, "Enter." Roc took a deep breath and turned the knob to open the door.

Teal'c's expression was unreadable as he greeted his visitor. "Flanders. To what do I owe this visit?"

"I, uhm, couldn't sleep and wondered if you, had time to talk."

"That would be most welcome." Teal'c inclined his head toward a chair further in the room.

Roc smiled at the familiarity of all the candles and wondered how long it took Teal'c to light them each evening. Instead he asked, "So, we've been wondering . . . do you carry candles in your backpack when you're off world? It seems like you always have them with you."

Teal'c opened his mouth to respond, but quickly snapped it closed. He cocked his head with a barely-perceptible twinkle in his eye. The alien gestured to the floor before him. "Please, sit."

The actor chose the chair instead of joining Teal'c on the floor. He felt compelled to explain. "I, uh, have bad knees."

Teal'c looked pointedly at the actor and commented without emotion. "You have also injured your back."

Roc widened his eyes - impressed by the Jaffa's observation skills.

Teal'c patiently educated, "One must continually study his enemy for weakness."

"Do you think I'm an enemy?" Roc's voice raised in pitch to reflect his surprise at the notion of the alien's statement.

"I do not. However, it is often wise to hone observation skills on those who will verify accuracy." After a pause to make sure his lesson was received, the older alien continued. "I do not believe you are capable of treachery. You are similar in nature to Daniel Jackson.

Roc was pleasantly surprised and grinned in delight at the compliment. "Thank you. I take that as a compliment."

"As it was meant."

Roc was in awe at the peace that permeated the room. He had only felt this spiritual oneness before in a Tibetan monastery. It struck him that this exotic being before him was not only from another culture, but he was also from another planet. "Wow! You really are an alien. I can't even begin to tell you how pleased I am to actually meet you." His eyes were bright with awe. His expression sobered and he gestured tentatively to Teal'c's midsection. "Uh! You don't have a . . . symbiote anymore, do you?"

"I do not."

Roc nodded his head slowly. They sat in comfortable silence while the actor looked around the room. He was amazed that the contents of the room matched the props in his reality. He returned his gaze back to the bald Jaffa sitting on the floor. "Teal'c? Why is your head bald?"

Teal'c, who was already accustomed to non-sequiturs from O'Neill, responded without reaction to the illogical change in subject. "It was the tradition of my symbiote. Why do you inquire?"

The actor appeared startled by the question since his mind had already jumped to another subject. "Oh, Terry wanted to know. He's tired of shaving his head."

Teal'c was curious about his human counterpart. "This `Terry' would be the actor who portrays me in your television show. Do his features resemble my own?"

Roc paused before replying. "Oh yeah! Well, except for the, uh . . ." Roc pointed toward his own forehead to indicate the embossed symbol above the Jaffa's eyes. "His name is Terrence Gold, but he goes by Terry. When he's in makeup, he looks *exactly* like you."

Teal'c made no further comment and seemed to be waiting for something. The actor's gentle brown eyes widened as understanding dawned. "Wait. You'd like to know what you would be like if you hadn't been born a Jaffa." His partner inclined his head slowly in affirmation. Roc smiled softly. "Terry is a gentle giant. He's a warm and caring individual with a big heart." His grin widened, "He has the most infectious laugh - and he laughs a lot - at my warped jokes. He's just generally a happy camper, and he's full of energy. He never sits still; he's worse than me."

Teal'c raised his eyebrow dubiously.

Correctly interpreting the Jaffa's doubt, the actor continued. "Ok! So, maybe he's not that bad. Ah! Another thing you both have in common is that he does all he can to better his own culture. He projects a positive, honorable image to young people of color." Teal'c sat back in satisfaction at that last comment.

The two sat in companionable silence. Roc broke the mood with a heavy yawn. "I think I'd better try to get some sleep."

Teal'c was heartened that his counterpart in the alternate universe brought pleasure to those around him rather than the death that Teal'c had too often bestowed upon others. "Rocco Flanders. Thank you."

The actor was surprised to see the glimmer in the alien's eyes. He felt his own eyes well up and he smiled shyly in response. "Anytime, Teal'c. Anytime."

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Scene 10 - Doctoring

Upon awakening early the next morning, Roc realized that he had been able to get some sleep after all. The clock on the nightstand read 5:30 am. He rolled gingerly out of bed - still favoring his back. As he stood up, he gently stretched and gauged the ache to be the same as it was yesterday. He decided to walk around the base again. After getting more directions from the SF's near his room, he entered the recreation room. The bored actor flipped through the television channels, but turned the TV off with a frown. "I guess there's nothing on in *this* reality either." He spotted a guitar in the corner and decided to play. It might calm his nerves and kill time until the mission started. After tuning the guitar, he began limbering up by picking a few easier ballads and humming in a quiet baritone. He eventually began strumming a haunting tune, which he had composed some years before.

As the last note drifted to silence, he looked up to see Dr. Janet Fraiser standing in the doorway with a wistful expression on her face. "That was beautiful. Who is the composer?"

His face reddened and he gave her a shy, but pleased smile. "Uh! That would be me."

Janet smiled in pleasant surprise. Roc knew when she transitioned to her professional role when she abruptly placed her hands in the pockets of her white coat. Her facial expression hardened slightly. "I just came to ask you to accompany me to the infirmary. I need to get a baseline of your DNA." She had carefully phrased her request, being well aware that she couldn't order the civilian. "If you don't mind."

"I'd be pleased, doctor."

"Please, call me Janet."

"OK, Janet. Lead on." As he lurched up from the couch, he couldn't stop the flinch from the pain and stiffness in his back. Luckily, the doctor didn't appear to notice, so he followed her into the corridor. After walking in silence for a few feet, Roc looked down to the short doctor. "Aren't you curious about your counterpart in my reality?"

Janet's clicking heels stopped in the hallway. She looked up to the handsome face before her. "No. I'm not. I'm here to do a job, and we don't have much time to do it." She resumed her brisk walk to the elevator.

Roc was a little disappointed. After a brief hesitation, his long strides quickly shortened the distance between them. He gave her a sideways look and then looked forward again. He shortened his stride to match her quick, mincing steps. They both stopped to turn their attention to the closed elevator door.

A passing airman observed the two as they waited for the elevator in silence.

00000

Daniel was startled as the elevator doors opened to the sound of Janet's laughter. "Roc, you are so funny." She removed her hand from his forearm and the two stepped out of the elevator. "Oh! Good morning Daniel." She flashed the startled archeologist with a rare smile.

Roc inclined his head in greeting, "Daniel." The pair continued out of the elevator and on to the infirmary. Their walk was occasionally interrupted by bursts of laughter from Janet. Daniel stood in the hallway in puzzlement. The usually serious doctor appeared to be flirting with the actor. Daniel mumbled incredulously, "How did he do that?"

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Scene 11 - Time for reflection

As Sam rounded the corner, she noticed Colonel O'Neill leaving the commissary. "Good morning, sir."

He was especially exuberant this morning. "Carter!!! Are you sure it's me? . . . not him?"

"Yes sir." She hesitated for effect. "I've memorized one of your um . . . scars, sir."

"Oh! Which *one* might that be, Carter?" He was surprised that she dared to mention it.

"I'm, uhhh! I'm not going to tell you . . . Colonel . . . sir." She smirked to soften her disobedience.

O'Neill faked a hurt expression. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't trust me, Major."

Sam ignored his comment and her face became more sober. "Seriously, Colonel. How are you feeling about all this?"

"You have a couple hours?" He stopped in the hallway and faced his 2IC with an equally serious expression.

Sam hesitated at the familiar retort - then remembered that she had made the same response when O'Neill had asked about Dr. Carter, her `double,' years ago. At that time, the feelings she had confronted about her life choices were overwhelming - words couldn't express the cacophony of emotions and possible regrets, so she had said nothing. She suspected that the man before her was experiencing a similar tide of emotions. "If you want to talk about it . . . I'm willing to listen."

"Carter. I wouldn't even know where to begin." He continued toward the infirmary to join the group already present - effectively ending the conversation. Major Carter trailed behind.

As they rounded the corner, Dr. Fraiser looked up. Her smile was disconcerting. "Ah! Colonel O'Neill. Perfect timing. You know, sir, you could take some lessons from Roc on being an ideal patient." General Hammond struggled to prevent a smirk from overtaking his face.

The actor faced no such struggle as a wide grin split his face. "Thanks Janet." His voice hummed smoothly and deeply.

The doctor turned away to hide the blush that infused her face. Her demeanor became strictly professional as she faced her CO. "General. I've completed my examination. Roc is essentially identical to the Colonel except for various observable scars, a weight difference, and the absence of the gene marker placed there by the Asgard."

"Which scars?" O'Neill's question was ignored by the group. He was disappointed and looked toward Carter. Though she didn't look at him, the Major wore a slight, self-satisfied grin.

Dr. Fraiser continued. "There shouldn't be a problem with Colonel O'Neill pretending to be Roc. We could explain the extra weight as the result of vacation."

"What do you mean *extra* weight?" Jack looked affronted.

"Sir, Roc weighs less than you by about 15 pounds. He explained that the camera adds weight to his televised image, so he diets right before returning to work. Colonel, since you don't appear before cameras regularly, your extra poundage is not as noticeable." Janet looked toward the General - effectively cutting off any response. Hammond cleared his throat in sympathy.

Jack tried to slyly look at his image on the reflective surface of a piece of medical equipment. He frowned at the distorted image and then looked toward his teammates for reassurance. Teal'c stood ramrod straight and raised his chin in the other direction. Sam busied herself with making sure her watch was working, and Daniel returned the gaze with his densest, absent-minded-professor look. When Jack looked back to his counterpart, he observed a quiet intelligence behind the actor's grin. "What?"

Roc shrugged in response, but kept grinning. He enjoyed watching the interaction between the team members. He would use these observations when directing his fellow cast members in the future.

The group was interrupted when Thor returned via a column of light. "There has been a change of plans."

"Hello Thor." O'Neill insisted on proper salutations when anyone entered the room.

"Colonel O'Neill. Hello! I am sorry. I forgot the customs of your planet." The alien looked slightly abashed.

"Yes, well . . . it's good of you to drop in." The Colonel's levity did not detract from the seriousness of their mission.

General Hammond decided to rescue the little alien from the uncomfortable faux pas. "Thor, what change of plans?"

Thor looked relieved to change the subject. "The Asgard have just learned that Loki has another operative assigned to observe Colonel O'Neill in this reality. It is imperative that O'Neill continue to maintain a presence in his usual activities to avoid arousing suspicion."

The General turned to his 2IC. "Colonel, what do you have planned for the next couple of days."

"Sir, the only public event is the parachuting refresher for SGC personnel early this afternoon. I had planned on canceling it to spend more time observing Flanders. The more time we spend together, the easier it will be for me to act like him." O'Neill turned to the actor as an idea dawned. "On the other hand, it would definitely be beneficial for me to observe him a little . . . nervous from parachuting. Then I can imitate that behavior when Loki eventually does kidnap him - me."

Teal'c looked uncomfortable. Remembering his own parachuting experience, he muttered a slow and deep, "Indeed!"

The actor cleared his throat gently. He couldn't keep the pride from his voice as he responded to the slight from the military man. "Uh! It'll take a lot more than parachuting to . . . make me nervous." His statement was met with silence, so he continued. "I've been skydiving since the 80's." When the silence continued, he shrugged his shoulders and sheepishly gestured for the Colonel and General to continue their conversation.

After slowly peeling his glare away from the actor, O'Neill returned his gaze to his CO. "General, I was scheduled for down time after that and planned on heading up to my cabin in Minnesota later today."

The General made a quick decision. He turned to Roc. "Son, *you* will be the one who makes the trip to Minnesota while the Colonel and the rest of SG-1 prepare to go to your . . . world. I understand you have the same piece of property there."

The actor nodded reassuringly. "I know the way, General Hammond."

O'Neill turned to the Asgard Supreme Commander as a thought came to him. "Thor, won't the Asgard sensors pick up that there are two of us in the same place?"

Thor responded to the question quickly. "We will use Replicator technology to remove Flanders from the Asgard sensors while he is in your presence, O'Neill. While you are diving through the sky, I will be observing from a safe distance to see if we can apprehend Loki's partner. They must not know that we are aware of their plans."

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Scene 12 - The jump

Amidst the deafening noise on the cargo plane, Colonel O'Neill observed each parachutist using a checklist, which verified that proper Air Force procedure was followed. Despite the routine task, his gut was twisted in knots, and he had a little tension headache. This was the same feeling he got when something wasn't quite right - or when confronted with a double of himself. In order to thwart his audience, he tried, unsuccessfully, to keep his features neutral.

Though Major Carter wasn't due to be recertified until the next quarter, she had decided to renew early. She smirked as she observed her commander surreptitiously through the darkened helmet shield. Sam had worked with O'Neill long enough to know that he became agitated whenever he encountered his double. Because it was so rare to see him off balance, she enjoyed watching the spectacle. Her musings were interrupted when the nearby actor touched her arm. They shared a knowing smirk before turning to resume their entertainment.

They were startled by a bellowed question. "What the hell are you two looking at?" O'Neill knew her smirk. His irritation at being a public spectacle didn't help his mood. He gruffed, "You two are up next."

Sam Carter was surprised to see that everyone else had already debarked the aircraft.

"Come on. Move!" O'Neill's tone softened to reduce the impact of his words, but his manner remained serious as his 2IC went through her checkout process. At the point before she was to jump out of the airplane, he yelled, "See you at the bottom." She gave a thumbs up before disappearing through the doorway. O'Neill observed until her chute opened and then turned to the only other occupant of the cargo hold. He watched as the actor got up smoothly from the floor and calmly performed the checkout procedure with total accuracy. Apparently he was good at mimicking after observing those who had jumped before him. Roc was about to jump from the plane when O'Neill signaled for him to wait. He shouted above the noise. "No daredevil stunts! I don't want something to happen to you." As soon as he performed his own checkout procedure, Jack joined his alternate self near the doorway. "You first." The actor gave a perfect salute and jumped. After a measured time period, the Colonel followed.

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Samantha landed smoothly in the target zone. After gathering up her chute, she looked around her. She was startled to see the onlookers staring up in the sky with helpless expressions. She ran over to the nearest airman. "What's going on?"

"Ma'am. One of the parachutes didn't open. She was quickly filled in on a daring rescue in progress. Apparently, the diver whose chute had opened was attempting to intercept the second diver. Sam asked the obvious question. "Whose chute didn't open?" The onlookers could only shake their heads and shrug their shoulders in ignorance. Sam grabbed a pair of binoculars, but had difficulty seeing the two figures clearly due to the angle of the sun. She unconsciously held her breath when the two images merged. She looked on hopefully as the secondary chute began to deploy.

After witnessing the daring rescue, Sam's heart lurched in her throat when she saw the rescued man begin his solo plunge again from a distance too high to escape serious injury. She couldn't help her exclamation, "Oh God! No!" She moved her hand to cover her mouth in an unconscious gesture of denial. She closed her eyes to avoid witnessing the brutal contact as the man crashed to the ground at high velocity. She lowered her head and ran.

As the body of the unprotected parachutist impacted the ground, the bystanders were already initiating aid. Someone had called for a rescue helicopter in the optimistic hope that the victim would survive. Due to the distance from the intended landing site, the bystanders endured an extra wait as they ran full speed to reach the fall site.

Sam was one of the first to arrive at the crash scene. Her rapid breathing hitched when she saw the misshapen pile of clothing and bruised flesh. Sam ran to the victim's side and knelt beside the broken body. The man was barely conscious and groaning from the considerable pain of obvious, multiple fractures. She looked back to the other parachutist who was just landing. The cloth gracefully fluttering down was in direct contrast to the brutality of the body impacting the ground. Sam fervently prayed for . . . . she suddenly realized that she didn't know the identity of either man. She had assumed the daring rescue could only have been carried out by her CO. With added vigor, she turned back to the man before her. Sam's attention focused on keeping the injured man alive. She didn't know where to begin; there were so many injuries and so much blood as flesh split from the force of the impact. The man on the ground groaned and opened glazed eyes. She positioned herself in front of him. As he focused on her hovering face, she assured him, "You're going to be OK. We have a rescue helicopter coming."

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Roc felt exhilarated after he jumped from the airplane. He had not had a chance to skydive in quite some time, and he enjoyed the exciting freefall. He looked back to see the Colonel's dark form slightly above and to the side. Though he enjoyed freefalling, freeflying was his preferred method of descent. This extreme sport involves using different body positions in order to change the rate of descent from the typical 110 mph to sometimes 170 mph. Groups of two or more individuals jump together and use each other as a point of reference to gauge speed. The jump partners often dock on each other (make contact) by carefully matching speed and direction; due to the high velocity of mistimed contact, injuries can occur. (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-freeflying.htm) Roc sighed. He knew he would not have the opportunity to freefly today because Colonel Mother Hen would worry too much. He smiled again in disbelief that he was actually in this alternate universe speaking with the character that he had helped develop. He sighed in contentment as he pulled the ripcord to engage his chute. After the initial disorientation, he felt the pressure from the straps as his descent slowed.

As Roc looked up, he saw that Colonel O'Neill had not yet deployed his chute. That was puzzling. He knew the protocol, but figured the Colonel wanted to beat him down to the ground. But then he saw the man was struggling with something; he was frantically grappling with the straps on his clearly damaged, primary chute. Roc sighed with relief when he saw the chute float away and the Colonel pull the ripcord on his backup chute. That relief quickly turned to horror when the chute completely failed to open. Thinking quickly, Roc maneuvered his parachute to intercept the rapidly falling airman. At the appropriate time, Roc cut away at the triple ring to free his primary chute in order to resume his free fall. It would be close, but he knew he could match the Colonel's speed by using his arms and legs in a head-down position. The faces of the two men shared the same determined look as they contorted their bodies to manipulate the airflow and maneuver toward each other. Each man was determined to intercept the other.

Both the men timed their maneuvers to avoid body slamming into each other, but they grasped arms firmly when they drew closer. Roc yelled unnecessarily, "Hang on!" They both turned to orient in the same direction with their bodies parallel. Roc pulled O'Neill closer and wrapped his legs around the other man's trunk. Jack clasped his hands behind Roc's waist and held on tightly.

Roc was relieved to have the Colonel grasped securely, though uncomfortably, to his body. Breathing was a little tight, but he was afraid to loosen his grip because the force of deploying his own secondary parachute might pull them apart. With trepidation, he yelled out, "Ready?" He received a shout of confirmation to go ahead and pull his ripcord. With a sigh, he complied. At the same time, he felt a familiar lurch; Roc was puzzled by a flash of white behind O'Neill's head.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After his emergency chute failed to deploy, Jack resigned himself to his fate. He wondered who was responsible for the sabotage. Jack experienced regret that Sam and the others would witness the impact of his body on the ground. He'd been through this before; this time there were no trees to break his fall and it meant almost certain death from this altitude. The Colonel looked over to make sure Flanders was safely descending. He was puzzled when he saw his jumping partner's ripstop nylon chute flutter off. The actor was slightly above him, but maneuvering his body to intercept Jack. With a surge of hope, Jack did the same. As they slammed into each other and managed to hang on, Jack breathed a shaky sigh of relief. With his arms wrapped around Roc's waist and his face pressed to his chest, he waited for his rescuer to signal his intent. In response to the question, he shouted, "Pull it!"

Shortly after seeing Roc pull the ripcord. which deployed his secondary chute, Jack felt a lurch from his own backpack. His eyes widened in dawning horror then resigned regret. In a split second, he realized the saboteur had already planned a counter maneuver should a rescue attempt be made. Jack had only one action possible.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roc was surprised at the shift in the Colonel's backpack. "What the . . . .?" In dismay, Roc realized the shift signaled the release of O'Neill's backup parachute. It would most likely tangle dangerously with his *own* deployed chute and cause both of them to fall to probable death. Simultaneous to this realization, he felt O'Neill shift violently in front of him. Too late, he realized that the Colonel had reached the same conclusion moments before and had initiated a successful move to free himself from Roc's grasp. Roc scrambled frantically to hold onto the man, but the more combat-experienced airman had already anticipated any move and had dropped too far away to retrieve. As he realized that Jack had sacrificed his own life to save him, Roc screamed out, "Noooooo!" Roc could only hope that the Colonel's chute would deploy correctly. That hope was dashed when he saw the completely disconnected parachute flutter away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Through a haze of pain, O'Neill barely focused on the face of his 2IC. He could see the desperate hope in Sam's eyes as she leaned over his broken body. "You're going to be OK. We have a rescue helicopter coming." He realized she didn't know who he was. He tried to speak, but broken ribs prevented the controlled breathing necessary to produce sufficient volume. He mouthed a request and hoped she understood.

Sam saw the man on the ground attempt to speak, but she couldn't hear what he said over background noises. She leaned closer and placed her ear near his mouth.

His gasped voice was barely audible and laced with pain. "Find out . . . who . . . did this . . . Carter."

Sam drew back to look at his face with an anguished cry. "Sir!" Her eyes quickly filled with tears, and she went into command mode with renewed vigor. The seasoned Major turned her head to the bystanders while keeping her eyes on her CO and friend. She yelled out through clenched teeth, "Where the hell is that chopper?" Sam turned her full attention back to her injured teammate. "Colonel, we're going to get you out of here." He tried to comment, but she stopped him quickly. "No, sir. Don't talk. Save your strength. You're going to make it." She hoped the conviction in her voice would somehow make the statement true. She searched his body to find a place to touch him reassuringly, but there was no place that looked undamaged. She was distracted and relieved by the sound of the chopper and looked back to watch it's progress toward them.

The medics debarked quickly to stabilize their patient. Sam saw the doubt as they assessed the massive injuries. She pulled the leader aside and commanded quietly. "You do everything you can to keep him alive." He nodded solemnly as his teammates placed an intricate backboard around their patient in preparation for transport. Each movement of his broken limbs caused the Colonel to scream in agony through clenched teeth. His breathless shouts caused his pallor to become more grey as his compromised respiratory system fought for air. One of the rescue workers attached an oxygen mask to the victim's face. His teammates systematically and efficiently secured the Colonel to the stiff, protective stretcher. As they secured the last strap, the Colonel lost consciousness.

Sam's worried expression conveyed her fear. The leader reassured her that Jack was still breathing. She blessed the silence, which meant he was unaware of the pain. The major's nerves were frayed from worry about her CO. Each scream had sent a wave of anguish through her and increased her doubt that he would live through this. In all her experience to date, she had never seen someone this injured survive. But this was the Colonel - this was SG-1. She held onto hope and cursed the fact that there was nothing she could do to increase his chances for survival.

The rescuers were relieved that the victim was no longer aware of pain as they prepared him for transport. Once they had him strapped to the skid of the transport helicopter, they ascended to the hospital. Those on board didn't expect their patient to survive the trip. Those on the ground fervently prayed that expectation was incorrect.

As the helicopter left the scene, Sam's shoulders tensed in anticipation of the wait. She was surprised when a strong hand grasped her shoulder in support. She turned quickly and fought the urge to seek solace from the actor. He was a heartbreaking reminder of what she might lose - who she might lose.

Roc saw the emotions clearly flash across Sam's face; she wished it to be him on the chopper and Colonel O'Neill placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Roc's voice was low and despaired. "I know it won't make you feel better, but I tried to stop him."

Sam's voice was deceptively calm as she asked, "What happened? Why did you let go?"

Roc flinched as if he had been hit. "As soon as my chute deployed, his backup chute started to open. Before I even realized what was happening, he purposefully pushed himself away from me." Roc swallowed down his rising emotions. "He saved my life at the expense of his." His eyes moistened. "Doesn't he know how valuable he is? I would have held onto him. Maybe we both would have been okay."

Sam raised her chin and struggled to contain her emotions. "He's a warrior. Saving lives is what he does." She explained further to ease the man's guilt. "He couldn't take the chance that you both would have died." She blinked back the moisture in her eyes and strode purposefully toward the Colonel's discarded pack. Sam knew she would have to keep busy until they heard about her CO's condition. She could think of no better way than to investigate why this `accident' had happened. Roc watched her and wished there was something he could do to distract himself as well. Normally, he would comfort those around him, but his presence only seemed to accentuate the absence of the Colonel.

A jeep suddenly pulled up and expelled a frantic archeologist. "What happened?" Daniel's blue eyes were filled with concern and questions.

Roc sighed as the archeologist closely studied his face. "I'm not Colonel O'Neill."

Daniel visibly deflated. He apologized when he realized the implications of his action. "Roc, I'm sorry. It's not that we . . ."

Roc rescued him. "I know."

Daniel nodded his head in gratitude for the understanding. The actor placed his arm around the younger man's shoulder and quickly filled him in on the details of the last hour.

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Scene 13 - Waiting

While the scene of the accident was being thoroughly investigated, members of the SGC waited anxiously to find out the condition of Colonel O'Neill. He was the 2IC of the base and generally liked and admired by personnel there because he treated even the lowest-ranking service people with fairness. General Hammond was particularly upset by the events. It was disconcerting to him that this accident had happened on Earth. He was sickened that he might lose his 2IC. He had grown close to the irreverent, honorable officer. Jack's injuries were quite serious. When Dr. Fraiser had discovered the extent of the injuries, she couldn't hide the doubt about O'Neill's chances for survival. In order to get ongoing information on his condition, Hammond had Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman keep in contact with the chopper pilots who were taking O'Neill to the nearest trauma hospital. The General was to be informed about any changes as soon as they happened. Shortly after the helicopter was to arrive at the helipad, Harriman entered his CO's office with a shocked look on his face. Hammond questioned him with alarm. "Son?"

"Sir, they lost him."

Hammond's shoulders dropped in sadness at the loss of his 2IC and friend. He was startled by the next words. "No, sir. Not that. I mean . . . they *lost* him. When they got to the hospital, Colonel O'Neill was missing." Hammond's face constricted in puzzlement.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two hours after the Colonel had been reported missing, Roc and the rest of SG-1 waited for General Hammond in the briefing room of the SGC. The actor was relieved to escape the uncomfortable, open stares he received in more public areas of the mountain. He was used to similar attention from fans who recognized him, but the looks he received now were heart-breaking. It seemed everyone was hoping there had been a mistake - that the man before them was really the Colonel. Several of the younger airmen had hesitantly saluted - unsure how they should behave toward the man who looked so much like the 2IC of the SGC. The worst, however, was that SG-1 avoided looking at him at all.

Roc was grateful when the General and Dr. Fraiser entered the room to start the debriefing. After all members had shared their view of the events, General Hammond asked, "Major, have you determined anything from the remains of the parachute?"

"Yes sir. Both the Colonel's primary and backup parachutes were sabotaged. The secondary parachute was rigged to unfurl after a set time period should there be a sudden deceleration. It effectively ensured that any rescue attempt would be doomed to failure. It was definitely deliberate, sir." She paused while her stunned audience processed this news.

The General's face hardened. "Do we have any idea who is responsible."

Sam's shoulders were almost imperceptibly lowered in dejection. "No sir. But we do know the technology was most likely alien since the damage was done *after* the chute was packed. We found remnants of . . . ."

An Asgard transport beam interrupted her explanation. Daniel Jackson stood up instantly and welcomed the alien who suddenly appeared. "Thor! We need your help. Jack's been . . ."

Thor interrupted him with a raised hand. "Colonel O'Neill is safe aboard my vessel. I have also captured the Asgard responsible for the attempt on O'Neill's life." The alien's gaze shifted over a sea of hopeful faces. "O'Neill is currently undergoing a rejuvenation process, which will completely restore his previous health." Those present breathed a collective sigh and shared their relief with short eye contact. When he had their attention again, Thor continued. "However, we must now change the original plan."

Five expectant faces searched the alien for further explanation. "The time required for the rejuvenation process will extend beyond the planned time of abduction in the alternate reality."

Hammond quickly interpreted the problem. "Well, that leaves Colonel O'Neill out of the picture. What is Plan B?"

Thor raised his index finger to get the floor. "That is not necessarily so, General Hammond. It is possible to utilize O'Neill's consciousness while his body is healing. By transferring him into Flanders' body, we may benefit from the experiences of both O'Neill and Flanders on this mission."

His revelation was met with stunned silence as the possibilities and repercussions became apparent.

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Scene 14 - Plan B

Teal'c expressed his doubt. "I do not believe Colonel O'Neill would not like this."

Doctor Fraiser turned to look at General Hammond. "I agree, sir. He's been violently opposed to `blending' in the past."

Roc snorted. "You think *he* won't like it. It's *my* body."

Thor's large eyes blinked before he responded. "It is possible to ask Colonel O'Neill prior to the transfer. Would that be acceptable?"

General Hammond's Texas twang became more pronounced as he expressed the sentiment of those present. "Supreme Commander Thor, not only is it acceptable, it is absolutely necessary."

Thor closed his eyes briefly and the observers watched as a small iridescent column of light appeared. A hollow voice echoed from the column, "Helloooo! Anybody out there?" The voice was definitely identifiable as that of Colonel O'Neill. It gradually coalesced into the image of the CO of SG-1.

Thor greeted the image; he was not about to repeat his previous lack of salutation. "Welcome O'Neill."

"Hey Thor! Thanks for the lift." The image sniffed and smirked his lips to one side. "Ya know, ya coulda picked me up a little earlier. There would have been fewer pieces - less messy." Though all were relieved that the Colonel was safe, Major Carter and General Hammond hid silent huffs of amusement. Daniel furrowed his brow in mock sternness while Teal'c allowed a small smile to grace his features. Doctor Fraiser hid her amused expression by lowering her head and hiding behind her hand.

Thor looked apologetic. "I am sorry for the delay, O'Neill. It was necessary to allow the accident to occur in order to locate the renegade Asgard. He is now in custody and in stasis aboard my ship. I apologize for our lack of knowledge that he planned to end your life." Thor then proceeded to explain the current situation and the new plan.

The Colonel slowly shook his head. "I don't like this."

"Did I not say he would feel this way?" Teal'c raised his chin righteously.

Flanders had still not decided whether he wanted to allow the sharing of his body. "Thor, will you be able to get him out of my mind completely after this is over?" The actor looked apprehensively toward the little alien.

Thor responded calmly. "The Asgard are quite familiar with the transference of consciousness from one body to another. During an unexpected death, it is often necessary to transfer to an unfamiliar body before a clone can be readied. In those cases, both individuals share one body. We have never had a problem separating both individuals . . . Hmmm! There was that one time. But that was an unusual circumstance."

Flanders looked at him with wide-eyed expectancy. Thor continued with deadpan delivery, "That was a joke. Did I do well with your humor?"

The column of light grumbled in non-amusement. "You're going to have to work a little bit on that Thor. There's humor . . . and then there's downright cruelty."

Flanders looked physically ill at the thought of sharing thoughts with the hardened warrior. The actor acknowledged to himself that he was a little frightened to experience O'Neill's unpleasant and violent memories. That his `roommate' might actually kill someone while in Roc's body was completely unacceptable. He gulped and turned to Thor. "Can he take control of me like the Goa'uld do?"

Thor blinked in puzzlement. He was unsure whether the actor's question was motivated by fear or by curiosity. He hesitantly explained. "You will retain complete control of your body - unless you wish to relinquish control for short periods of time. There is limited storage space in your brain, so only O'Neill's personality and memories will be transferred. It is not necessary to transfer data from areas of the brain that sense and direct body movement - that data already exists in the host. Because your bodies are so similar, O'Neill should not have difficulty accepting control when needed." Since Roc looked relieved, Thor continued, "In addition, you will be unable to probe each other's thoughts. However, you may consciously share thoughts and memories."

Roc stood in thought for a few seconds, then slowly nodded his assent. "Ok, I'm willing to do this." The actor then spoke to the column of light. "Well, do you want to do this?"

O'Neill responded almost immediately, "Give me a minute, will ya?" After an O'Neill minute, which lasted five seconds, the disembodied voice asked, "Carter, what are the repercussions if Loki does clone Flanders?"

She responded, "Sir, it will be as if he has cloned you. Your . . . progeny will possibly be used for any purpose Loki sees fit to pursue. He's desperate, sir. I think he'll continue searching in other realities if he's unsuccessful in this attempt."

Jack scowled. "So, I'll be looking over my shoulder wondering if he'll come after me." He grumbled resignedly. "I'll do it."

Flanders responded softly and with thought, "That's settled then. What do we have to do?"

Thor directed the actor. "Please step into the stream of light to initiate the transfer."

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Scene 15 - It's crowded in here

Flanders moved forward eagerly. He had made up his mind to proceed with the adventure of sharing his body with O'Neill, and he was excited to get started. As he entered the column of iridescent light, his body appeared to glow. Thor raised the imbedded crystal in his hand to focus it toward the actor's temple. Shortly afterward, the beam winked out, and the actor stood stock-still. Roc could feel the presence of another mind. It was similar to being in a darkened room with another individual. Though he couldn't see the other person, he knew there was someone else present. Flanders reached out with his mind tentatively. `Hey, O'Neill, are you there?' He received no response, so he tried again. He imagined a microphone and a hand. He tapped an imaginary finger on the microphone and asked, `Hello! Is this thing on? Hellooo!'

Jack was trying to get his bearings. He felt disoriented in the strange body that wasn't so strange. It was a bit unnerving to be a guest in a body that felt so familiar. He tried to respond to the actor out loud. By Roc's less-than-humorous visual and verbal response, Jack realized that his own attempt at communication was unsuccessful. So he tried to communicate in his mind silently. `I'm here. Can you hear me now?'

Roc grinned. `Yeah! Let's see if you can move.'

`Tried that already. Zilch. Nada.'

The actor tried another tactic. He remembered that Thor stated the host was in control. So he tried to consciously give up control. He felt his body stagger and then right itself without his conscious thought.

Teal'c hurried to their side to provide assistance. Aloud, O'Neill exclaimed, "Whoa! This is strange."

"I'll say!" The actor had quickly and smoothly retaken control of his body. He gave Jack control again and retook it two more times. Through inner dialogue, Jack and Roc perfected the transition process. Roc was once again in control, and he waved away Teal'c's help.

Carter and Daniel looked on anxiously. The initial switching back and forth looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie. As the features on the actor settled into one expression, Daniel spoke. "Uh! Jack?"

The features on Flanders's face subtly changed and hardened. "Yes Daniel."

The archeologist wondered if the actor was pulling his leg since he had already demonstrated the ability to convincingly portray Jack O'Neill. "How do I know it's really you?"

O'Neill smirked, "Well, Roc here has a problem calling you Space Monkey. I don't, . . . Space Monkey." Daniel frowned in response, but was secretly pleased to speak with his friend again.

Major Carter clearly looked uncomfortable. She was face to face with her commanding officer as well as a stranger. When the Colonel turned to her, she asked, "How are you doing, sir?"

O'Neill's hand waved characteristically while he responded to the question. "Other than feeling like a herd of animals stomped on my back on their way to the zoo, I'm fine. The knee is better than usual. Thanks for asking."

Dr. Fraiser stepped forward with dogged, professional concern. "Sir, what's wrong with your back?"

Flanders frowned internally and thought, `Oh great. *Now* you've done it. We won't be going anywhere. You better let me handle this one.'

The onlookers were fascinated as O'Neill's facial features rapidly lightened to that of the actor. Unlike the Tok'ra, there was no need for a head nod before the shift in consciousness. It was obvious to the onlookers when O'Neill had control of the body because the facial features took on a decidedly darker look. With Flanders in charge, the features were lighter with a touch more humor.

Flanders donned a laid-back pose, and he answered the doctor's question with a smooth, Midwestern twang. "Uh! Janet, there's nothing to worry about. I just pulled a muscle when I arrived." He decided not to remind the doctor that his arrival consisted of a high-speed crash through the Stargate. He continued. "It just gives off a little twinge every once in a while. No more than usual for me." He shrugged his shoulders and gave a little smirk. The actor gentled his eyes and placed his open hands palm forward to convey trustworthiness to Janet.

In his head Flanders heard O'Neill scoff. `If that's a twinge, I'd hate to feel something more serious.'

Flanders ignored the internal comment and kept a light smile on his face to reassure Doctor Fraiser. Her crossed arms unfurled a little in response to his disarming charm. She gave him a sideways smile and replied, "Colonel, maybe you could learn some lessons from Roc on how to treat your doctor." She was unable to see as Jack snorted and rolled his eyes internally.

Daniel couldn't believe Roc had gotten away with the act. He looked over to see if Sam had bought into it as well. As the two pairs of blue eyes met, the Major narrowed her eyes and shook her head slightly in disbelief.

General Hammond cleared his throat to bring their attention back to the mission. Thor continued his instructions and reached his hand toward the Colonel. "O'Neill, here is a crystal. It will allow you to transfer out of this body should you be in danger."

Flanders and O'Neill coordinated the change of consciousness smoothly. In a deep, slow voice, the Colonel drawled, "And where would I go?"

The Asgard was unperturbed by the question. "I will give your teammates a receptacle which can contain your essence until it can be returned to your body. I must warn you, however, that you will be unable to communicate while you are contained inside." You also have the option to transfer into another living being. But choose carefully, as the existing consciousness will always have primary control over the body." As he finished speaking, a small beam of light deposited a very ornate, box-like container onto the floor. The sides were a deep maroon and black velvety metal with an inlaid gold emblem decorating the top area. The only opening in the box was filled with an iridescent whirl of purple pearl light. The members of the SGC stood transfixed at the beauty of the box.

Dr. Fraiser couldn't contain her exclamation. "Thor, it's beautiful."

O'Neill asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Does it have cable hookups?" He received an incredulous glare from Daniel. "What! I'm in the middle of watching the playoffs. If I'm going to transfer into that . . . box, then I want to know what I'm getting into."

Thor took the statement literally. "The box is my own //indecipherable//." He blinked at the puzzled looks before him and appeared to sigh. He often forgot to compensate for the youth of this race. The alien patiently explained. "In your language, it roughly translates to `sanctuary.' It has been my home periodically for thousands of your years. I would be honored if O'Neill was a guest in this place."

O'Neill stood in stunned awe and quickly blinked the moisture from his eyes. He tried to unobtrusively clear the emotion from his voice. "Thank you! You're always welcome in my place too. I'll even clean it up a bit if you give me enough warning." Daniel looked down toward the floor in order to hide the smile from his face. Janet and Sam shared a fleeting glance. They were all amused at the emotion forced upon Jack. Roc internally commented, `Gotta love those guys.'

Hammond had enjoyed the interplay between his people, but he decided to rescue one embarrassed Colonel. "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Let's get some rest."

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Scene 16 - The Day of the Event - Roc's World

"Hey, it's MacGregor!"

Roc flashed his trademark, smirky smile toward the group of cyclists who had recognized him as an actor. He didn't stop moving, however, and donned his bicycle helmet and fingerless gloves with practiced ease. He was soon indistinguishable from the other colorfully dressed riders in the cycling event. As he swung his leg up over his bicycle, someone shouted, "See you at the finish line, Jack." Though Roc was flattered by the recognition, he also felt uncomfortable with the attention. Like O'Neill, he didn't feel he deserved the accolades. So he quickly added force to lock his shoe into his pedal, and he pushed off with a wave to his fans.

Once he was on the road, Jack's voice sounded inside their shared cranial space. `Who's MacGregor?'

Roc brushed off the comment casually, `Oh! He's just a character I used to play back in the 80's.'

Somehow, O'Neill's voice sounded gruff even though it was not spoken aloud. `And they *still* remember it?' There was silence for a block while Roc tried to establish a steady cadence. `The person who yelled out to Jack . . ./throat clear/ . . . was he talking about me?'

Roc couldn't help the small, knowing smile that broke over his face. `Yeah. That was for your character.'

After another block of silence, the Colonel quietly exclaimed, `Sweet!'

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Samantha, Daniel, and Teal'c traveled the route of the event in an unmarked van. They were unofficially classified as a SAG wagon - a vehicle equipped to assist stranded cyclists. They all felt ridiculous in their Hollywood disguises. Thor had not yet readied the alien mimicking devices, so they had to resort to more conventional sunglasses and baseball caps. Roc was more than eager to design their temporary disguises since he used them himself when out in public. The identical caps and t-shirts marked the members of the SGC as a team.

Major Carter felt nervous about the distance they had to stay away from their CO. She fiddled constantly with the radio. "Colonel, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Carter. For the third time, I can hear you loudly and clearly." They were 35 miles into the bicycling event. "Let's keep communication to a minimum, shall we. Some of the other cyclists think we're talking to ourselves." He continued gruffly. "We're already drawing enough attention as it is." He referred to the fact that they wore a virtually invisible transceiver. Roc had refused anything larger because it would add weight to their bicycle and thus increase the difficulty of cycling. The actor had explained that the extra weight is compounded by the number of miles it is carried.

Carter chewed her lower lip in worry as she responded to the Colonel. "Yes sir. Just checking." She didn't like the fact that a renegade Asgard was trying to kidnap Roc and her CO while the rest of SG-1 was so far away. She knew the Colonel must be uncomfortable by the attention he and Roc were drawing. There were constant greetings shouted toward the actor, which Sam heard over the two-way radio. Some called the actor by his name, but most shouted out for MacGregor or for Colonel O'Neill - more for the former than the latter. She was sure that her CO felt exposed because the fans knew so much about him. Sam wondered if they knew more about him than she did. She vowed to explore the Stargate series at the first opportunity. Her face displayed a slight frown and her complexion reddened as she realized that she might also be exposed on the videos. The comment about the kiss on the Prometheus had already demonstrated that fact. Somehow, her hallucinations had been broadcast on national television for all to see. She vowed that whichever episode she decided to watch would be from a mission that did not contain embarrassing moments for her. With that decision made, Sam also decided to check on the `MacGregor' character. It might be funny to see her CO as a different character. Maybe MacGregor was a Scotsman in a kilt or a sitcom character. She would ask at the next opportunity.

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Flanders / O'Neill continued cycling to the first of six rest stops. They pulled up to the side of an unmarked SAG wagon and rested their bicycle near the enclosed van. After quickly taking advantage of the restroom, they stooped to recheck the tires and chain. The side of the van was now open and Daniel's concerned face peered out. O'Neill gestured with the back of his hand for Daniel to retreat back inside. Roc had already warned him that Daniel would be difficult to disguise. It was important that no one recognize the other members of SG-1 or there would never be a private moment for Loki to initiate the kidnap.

O'Neill was glad for the chance to stretch his legs - well, Roc's legs. The two body-mates had agreed that the airman would get to control the body in between cycling. The actor wisely allowed this since he could sense the restless tension in the usually active airman. His head beneath the bicycle helmet felt hot and constricted, so O'Neill took the headgear off for a brief break. He rubbed his head vigorously and looked around. A number of individuals had stopped to stare, and he wondered if his bicycle shorts had a zipper. His skin started to crawl until a soothing voice sounded in his head. `It's OK, Jack. They recognize you, but they won't come any closer. Why don't you give them a little smile.' O'Neill scowled instead. He gladly relinquished control of the body to allow Roc to handle this uncomfortable social situation.

Roc salvaged the situation by exclaiming, "For crying out loud. Don't you people have anything better to do?" After a stunned silence, the group of fans laughed. He returned their laughter with a slight grin and a shrug. He placed the helmet back on his head and shouted, "See you at the finish line." As he was about to resume his ride, one of the fans yelled, "Hey Roc. When are Jack and Sam going to get together?"

Roc chuckled. His voice faded in the distance as he shouted backward, "Keep watching and find out." O'Neill stayed silent and hoped Major Carter hadn't heard the fan's comment.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sam eventually raised her head from the intense task of calibrating her watch to the local time. She knew Teal'c and Daniel would never mention the comment they overheard on the two-way radio. But they must have heard it. She glanced up to see Teal'c driving the van with his head back as if he were flying a Tel'tak. She braved a look in Daniel's direction and found him openly grinning at her. She quickly grew annoyed. "What?"

Daniel shook his head. "Nothing." He continued to grin.

Their exchange was interrupted by a radio transmission. It seemed a group of cyclists were shouting out to Roc as he rode by. They could hear a continuous string of shouts. "Hey MacGregor." "Go get `em Mac." "Hey, loved your show, MacGregor."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Roc could tell the shouts were starting to get on O'Neill's nerves. He thought he knew what might be bothering the airman. It was confirmed when O'Neill finally asked. `So, how long was MacGregor on TV anyway?'

The actor kept his focus and pedaled. `It was on for seven years.'

`How long has the Stargate show been on?'

Roc sighed. `Almost seven years.' Knowing that the questions would continue, Roc asked, `Look Jack. We have a long way to go. Do you think we could save our energy for the ride? I need to keep my focus so I don't lose cadence.'

`Not a problem.' Jack decided to enjoy the ride even though his feathers were ruffled by the popularity of MacGregor over his own character. Though he couldn't participate in the physical work of cycling, he could enjoy the view of being outdoors.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

At the next rest stop, Sam turned to her two teammates and stated, "I'm going to take a walk. Be right back." Teal'c nodded his head slowly in acknowledgment.

Daniel's head rose sharply. "Want some company?"

Sam gave him a sly smile. "Sure. Why not!"

As they left the vicinity of the van, Daniel asked, "So whom should we ask?"

Sam looked around and settled on a middle-aged worker who was supervising the unloading of water and other supplies for the cyclists. They stopped in front of him and waited until they had his attention.

"What can I do for you folks? You're SAG, right?" The worker continued with his activity while giving Sam and Daniel part of his attention.

Daniel was puzzled. "How did you know?" The man looked up from his clipboard and pointed his pen to their matching t-shirts which were emblazoned with `SAG-1.' Roc's sense of humor was evident in the shirts he designed for the members of `SG-1.' Daniel frowned in annoyance at having to be part of such juvenile humor. He got back to the matter at hand. "We were wondering if you could answer a question."

The worker stopped and gave them his complete attention. "Sure. By the way, name's Bill." He stuck his hand out in greeting.

Daniel shook his hand and responded. "I'm Da . . . Dave and this is . . ."

Sam responded quickly, "Cassandra." Neither of them wanted to give their real names in case Bill was a Stargate fan. Sam gave the worker a winning smile. "We hear that MacGregor is here. Do you know who he . . . .?"

Bill interrupted and his face lit up instantly. "Really? He's here?" He looked around him eagerly. "Where?"

Sam couldn't believe Bill recognized the name so quickly. "Uh! He just left. But we were wondering if you could tell us who MacGregor is."

Bill looked at the two people in front of him as if they were from another planet. "Don't watch much television, do ya?" When they responded in stupefied negative, the worker continued. "MacGregor was a TV detective back in the 80's. He used to get out of jams by disguising himself using common, household items." His face lit up as he reminisced. "My favorite episode was when he used a mop and a colander to . . . . Hey! What are you doing? Get away from there!"

Daniel and Sam were startled as Bill shouted at them. Then they realized he was looking over their shoulders. As they turned around to look behind them, Bill excused himself quickly and ran to a group of cyclists who were rummaging through the boxes at the base of the supply van. An argument ensued, so the two members of SG-1 shrugged and went back to their SAG wagon. They had their answer.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two thirds of the way through the event, there was a rest stop located at the crest of a steep hill. Many of the cyclists used this opportunity to get a ride back to the starting line rather than continue to pedal the final third. Others decided to cut through the center of the figure eight shaped route thus shortening the final 75 miles. The rest stop had various goodies to fuel the cyclists for the next leg of the ride whether it be by bicycle or car. Banana and orange segments were offered near bagel slices smeared with peanut butter. Other tables offered a variety of cookies and muffins. Of course, water and juice were plentiful. Most riders chose to carry their own special mixtures in their water bottles. Many had pre-arranged refills at this waypoint.

O'Neill directed Roc to stop in a secluded area. They were trying to simplify the abduction by Loki rather than avoid it. The Colonel was feeling restless at the lack of activity. The sooner the kidnapping happened, the sooner the trap to capture the renegade Asgard could be sprung.

Daniel and Teal'c watched closely while Sam monitored the equipment in the van. Thor was silently monitoring from his ship in hidden orbit. He could not transmit communication to the SGC team members lest Loki overhear the transmission.

Teal'c busied himself by scanning the cyclists. He quickly spotted O'Neill among the 100's of cyclists at the event. He observed as the commander of SG-1 walked to a secluded building. Teal'c nodded as O'Neill turned to acknowledge their presence. His nod also indicated that he was going to spring the trap by going to a private area out of visibility and thus provide Loki with an attractive kidnap point. Daniel felt somehow inadequate. He had not spotted Jack and he would never have been aware of Teal'c's stare had he been O'Neill. Daniel sighed and consoled himself that the ability was a warrior thing. He turned his attention back to the secluded building in anticipation.

Shortly after Jack disappeared behind the building, another cyclist stopped. He followed the Colonel behind the building - apparently thinking it was a restroom. Teal'c was alerted by two events that occurred almost simultaneously. A beam of brightness illuminated the back area of the flat-roofed building and then Colonel O'Neill walked back to the front of the building. Teal'c hurriedly left the van while commanding, "Major Carter, Daniel Jackson!" The two teammates quickly dropped what they were doing and attempted to match the alien's long stride. They swiftly walked across the grassy area toward the secluded building and toward their CO.

Jack saw his teammates striding toward him. He turned around to see if he could perceive any danger. But there was no one behind him. The warrior switched into stealth mode; he knew Teal'c would not present himself in public unless there was a good reason. Jack walked behind the building to look for the man who had followed him, but the man was no longer there. He stood for a moment in stunned silence and then turned to his just-arriving teammates. "What's going on?"

Daniel and Sam were slightly out of breath from walking so quickly. They shook their heads in response to O'Neill's question. They both turned to look questioningly at Teal'c. Jack repeated, "What's going on, T?"

The alien showed no signs of exertion after the quick stride across the park. "I observed a glowing light behind this building shortly before you reappeared." The alien raised his ebony head. "Major Carter. This may be a clone."

Sam looked at her CO thoughtfully. "Sir, could I speak with Roc, please."

The actor's lighter features took over the face before her. "How would we know if we were cloned?" Roc pointed to the back of the building. "Where's the guy?"

The actor's features hardened suddenly as O'Neill took over the body in impatience. He scrunched up his face and asked, "Carter? What the hell just happened?"

The blond Major looked confident as she turned to answer Teal'c's original question. "No, Teal'c. They haven't been cloned yet. Thor explained that the cloning process can only duplicate one occupant - the original occupant - of the body. In addition, the cloning process takes time. It couldn't have been completed so quickly."

Teal'c nodded his head in acknowledgment of her wisdom.

As O'Neill spoke, they all turned to him. "Then what happened to that other guy? What was the light that Teal'c saw?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scene 17 - Not Low Key

The members of SG-1, with Roc in tow, sat at a nearby picnic table to eat a small lunch. Because the table was situated on a slight hill, it allowed them to watch the building while they ate. As the members of SG-1 reviewed the events of the day, they were interrupted by two male cyclists who rode up to the side of the building. "I'm telling you. That's his bike?" The other replied, "Yeah, well then, where is he?"

From their vantage point near the side of the low structure, SG-1 could see a shaft of light pierce the darkened area behind the building. They stopped mid chew because the two newcomers were walking to the back of the building just as the light winked out. They could hear the muffled voices. "There you are. We've been looking all over for you?"

The two were now three as their missing riding buddy rounded the corner with them. "Guys, you won't believe where I just was!" The three stopped near their bicycles. "Well, wherever it was, you better be back soon cause we need to get going if we're going to make the end of this ride while it's still daylight."

"No listen. This is important. I was on an alien spaceship. I got beamed up like with Scotty."

"Knock it off with the jokes, Ben."

"No. You gotta believe me. I was beamed up onto this ship and there was a little grey space alien . . . just like on Stargate. Hey, he looked like one of them Oz Guards." He trailed off when his friends mounted their bicycles and started riding away. "Hey, wait for me!" He started after them.

In the silence, the SG team looked at each other. Inside his head, Roc commented, `No one ever said Loki was the sharpest knife in the kitchen. How could he kidnap the wrong guy?'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scene 18 - End of the Road

The cycling duo continued on the rest of the 200-mile route. The scenery was beautiful and they both enjoyed the respite from their respective busy schedules. O'Neill internally commented, `Ahh! No trees. My kind of planet.'

`I just realized that you really *do* go to other planets! What's it like?'

O'Neill allowed Roc to view his memory of a number of his favorite and least favorite planets. Flanders looked at the images with wonder. `It looks like various places on Earth!'

`Yeah. Carter explained that there are only so many elements with a limited number of combinations allowed by the physical boundaries of . . . something or other.'

As he trailed off, Flanders chuckled. A wave of the Colonel's thought processes came into his consciousness. `I knew you knew a lot more than you let on."

`What do you mean by that?' O'Neill slyly asked.

`I heard the rest of your thoughts. You actually listen to her and know the words . . . but you love to see the looks on the faces of Sam and Daniel when you purposefully misconstrue what they say!' O'Neill remained internally silent, but Flanders could sense his light humor. A broad grin split his face. O'Neill quickly interjected, `Don't you dare tell them.'

`Hah! Never. It just gives me more internal motivation when acting. Carter looks kinda cute when she's exasperated, doesn't she? But why *do* you bait both of them?'

`Ahh! That's easy. Sometimes it's the only way to get a human reaction out of them. They both get so caught up in their work that they forget to look around. I'm just trying to ground them in reality . . . and Carter looks so cute when she's exasperated.' Roc's face wore the same smirk that Jack would have worn had he been in charge.

`The fans think Daniel is cute when exasperated too,' laughed Flanders.

`So - what exactly *do* the fans think about . . . us? I mean, it's like being in that movie *Being John Malcovic*. Hey, it's not on at the same time as The Simpsons, is it?'

`No way. I wouldn't allow it.' Flanders responded.

Roc shifted control to the excited Colonel for a moment. "Yesss! Hey Carter, Daniel, Teal'c! He likes the Simpsons as much as I do!" A walking cyclist looked askance at the loud exclamation as Roc and O'Neill pedaled up a steep hill.

An exasperated Sam responded, "Sir, do you see anything unusual?"

"No Carter. Still nothing. Look, we are just about to hit the last rest stop. Are you guys in position?"

"Yes sir. We'll be waiting."

"Samantha, how's our time?" Flanders was curious.

There was silence as Sam made her calculations. "You have about 15 miles left and you're averaging a little behind your previous time on this run."

"Thanks Sam." Silently, Flanders said, `OK O'Neill, we're going to have to pick it up for the last leg. Let's make this a short stop. If we get serious, we can pick up our time.'

As they began climbing the last hill, Flanders felt a little twinge in his knee. He relayed to O'Neill that this was either really bad or a minor problem. `Let's take it a little easy up this hill.' A short time later, a well-dressed cyclist pulled alongside Flanders. He was wearing a coordinated cycling outfit that perfectly matched his bicycle. The newcomer called out arrogantly. "Hey old man. There's a SAG wagon coming up behind us if you can't make it up the hill." The cyclist then began increasing the distance between them as he passed.

O'Neill internally yelled, `Old man? You gonna let him get away with that?' Flanders got a feral look on his face and replied out loud, "Not on your life."

In the van, the members of SG-1 had heard the cyclist and Flanders' response. Carter's brows furrowed in concern. "Sir, what is going on? Don't do anything reckless. Roc, Janet said to be careful!" There was no response.

On the road, Flanders increased his cadence and switched gears. He quickly picked up speed and came up alongside the well-coordinated cyclist. The actor battled with the fashionable cyclist for a quarter of a mile with each gaining the lead at various points. There was still another quarter mile to go before cresting the steep hill. Flanders looked over at the other cyclist and grinned savagely. "Hey Junior, you may look good - but you ride like a sissy." With a burst of speed, Flanders pedaled past the young man and quickly outdistanced him. The young cyclist shook his head and smiled when he realized the older cyclist had been toying with him.

With a look of intense concentration, Flanders continued the rest of the route at the new pace to finish just under his previous time. He collected his souvenir t-shirt and walked stiffly over to his waiting van. Despite fatigue, the cyclist looked at the members of SG-1 with light-featured excitement. "That was fun!"

Sam smiled in response to his infectious smile. "I'm glad you liked it, Roc. Could I speak with Colonel O'Neill?"

The man in front of her cocked his head in puzzlement. "It *is* me, Carter."

She stammered and then recovered quickly. "Oh! Sorry! Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, sir. Where do we go from here?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scene 19 - Home Sweet Home

After Roc carefully disassembled his bicycle and packed it in it's travel case, they packed into the van and headed to his home. Jack expressed impatience shortly after starting the 450-mile drive. "Carter, we can't hitch a ride with Thor because . . . why?"

Sam stifled an impatient sigh. She had finally managed to ignore the impatient tapping on the back of her seat, but she had to pay attention when she was directly addressed by her CO. Sam used her index finger to mark her place in the scientific journal she had been reading. She looked back as far as her neck would allow to the tall, grey-haired man sitting in the seat directly behind her. The Colonel was clenching his jaw and somehow looked like he was pacing while buckled into the uncomfortable bench seat. He also looked exhausted from the bicycle ride. Other than stopping for fast food, they had not had a chance to rest from the long day. "Sir. Now that his accomplice is caught, Loki is probably monitoring for any signs of interference . . . such as an Asgard transport beam." Sam then looked over to Daniel, her seat mate and sent a silent plea for some peace.

Daniel acknowledged her plea with a slight nod and silently signaled that he would try to help.

Jack and Roc had an internal dialog about the look that had passed between the two members of SG-1. Both body mates were aware of Daniel's plan to distract them, but they were too tired to fight it. Roc's patience with his fidgety guest was wearing thin because it wasn't his habit to annoy others when he was fatigued. Roc did, in fact, annoy others, but that was beside the point. This time, he was *aware* that his body was being used to annoy one Major Samantha Carter. The female Major was unable to defend herself against her CO, and Roc felt it was his duty to defend his new-found friend. This started an argument between Roc and Jack that took place entirely within their internal world.

Daniel tapped Sam's shoulder and pointed to the scene in the seat behind them. Roc's facial expressions alternated between the two inhabitants of his body. From the looks of things, neither of the two were happy at the moment. Daniel turned his head forward to look at the driver and met Teal'c's eyes in the rear view mirror. The Jaffa had also noticed the boredom and annoying habits of their CO. Though they didn't know about Roc's habits, the rest of SG-1 knew the signs when their CO needed sleep. As a team, they shifted into action. Teal'c pulled over to the side of the road as soon as it was safe to do so. They were barely stopped before Daniel opened the side, sliding door and stepped out of the van. As he did so, Sam gathered bits of clothing from the floor. Daniel opened the front, passenger door and began removing items from the seating area; the items had been placed there to make more room in the crowded back of the van. The archeologist's face looked as determined as if he were brushing off the ruins of a newly discovered tomb. He slid the seat back as far as it would go and positioned the climate control vents for comfort. Teal'c headed to the back of the vehicle while Daniel took his place as driver.

The Jaffa's no-nonsense tone startled Roc in apparent mid-sentence. "I require this back seat in order to perform Kel-no-reem." Startled, bloodshot eyes met his and the actor nodded in astonishment. "Sure thing, Teal'c." Flanders got up stiffly and crabbed in a half crouch to the middle of the van. He exited through the sliding door and straightened his back very slowly. It was obvious that his knees and back had stiffened painfully while cramped in the back seat. He slowly extended his arms back, rolled his neck, and stretched his back. Roc looked toward his alternate-reality teammates. "We were getting annoying, weren't we?" His question was met with dead silence, so he sheepishly pulled himself into the passenger seat, and buckled the seatbelt. After adjusting the back of the seat to recline, he accepted the articles of clothing that suddenly appeared from the seat behind. The actor smiled at Sam gratefully. He locked the front door and placed the jacket/pillow on the doorjam. He was just able to stretch his legs out and covered himself with Teal'c's large jacket. Roc sighed deeply in contentment. After a brief pause there was another more familiar sigh of contentment as Jack took over. "Goodnight kids."

"Goodnight, sirs."

"Sleep well O'Neill. . . and Flanders."

Daniel looked over and smirked slightly at the cuddly Colonel. He caught a brown-eyed glare through slitted eyes and raised his own eyebrows in complete innocence. "What?" Jack closed his eyes again without replying. Daniel smiled to his two teammates through the rearview mirror. There was some residual shuffling as Teal'c and Sam settled in for the remainder of the drive. But for the first time in the multi-hour ride, there was peace in the van.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Soon after the sun rose in the early morning hours, the team arrived at the gates of a beautiful home in the hills which overlooked the Pacific Ocean. The hiss of garden sprinklers on the expansive lawn was punctuated by the distant sound of waves crashing against the craggy shoreline. Rising sunrays glinted off the spray of water from the sprinklers. A crisp, cool, ocean scent wafted over the team and was refreshing after yesterday's dry, dusty heat. Roc looked at peace in his own surroundings. He strode past the natural beauty of colorful, native flowers and billowy grasses that decorated the front walkway to his home.

As he reached the front door, the actor felt suddenly nervous. He realized that he wanted to impress his counterparts from the alternate universe. "Come on in. It's not much, but I call it home." He stood in the doorway and waved them inside.

Major Carter entered first. She had a tentative look as if she was expecting a room full of Air Force Generals to be waiting inside. Daniel followed very closely behind. In contrast to his female teammate, he appeared eager and impatient to explore. Teal'c looked impassive and nodded before proceeding indoors. Roc joked with O'Neill. `After you.' O'Neill accepted control of the body and strode confidently into the foyer. He stopped alongside his three teammates and stared.

Sam couldn't believe the size of the home. It was apparent from the two deep doorways that the first floor continued further back while an elaborate staircase hinted at a sumptuous second floor. From the outside, the home looked deceptively small because it was deeper than it was wide.

Roc recognized the look of astonishment, so he explained. "There was an addition built on the original house by the second owner."

Daniel was also in awe, but for different reasons. He was pointing to a painting on the wall. "Isn't that . . . ?"

Roc looked embarrassed but pleased by the attention. "Um! Yeah. It's an original." But Daniel had already moved onto a piece of sculpture not apparent from the entrance way.

Sam was about to apologize when she realized the stranger in the group was accustomed to the behavior of the curious archeologist. She gave a rare, wide grin to Roc. Roc felt his heart lurch. He contrasted the elegant beauty of his costar, Angela Turner with the woman before him. Sam's natural girl-next-door charm was as innocent as it was sexy. Angela often magically conveyed this on camera, but this was the first time Roc had seen it in person. He was brought out of his reflection by O'Neill's internal voice. `Earth to Roc! Helloooo!' Roc realized that Sam was looking a little uncomfortable under his stare. "Oh, sorry. Let me show you the rest of the house."

As the actor turned suddenly, he almost bumped into an immovable Teal'c. Up close, the alien's opinion of his surroundings was not apparent. He had the same intimidating look he wore when facing execution at the hands of a system lord. Roc moved back and directed a thought to his internal body mate. `So O'Neill. What does Teal'c think about my place?' After a short pause, Roc got the hint. Aloud, he said, "Right. Let me show you where I *really* live."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Scene 20 - Opportunity

After a tour of the home and grounds, Roc led them into the large kitchen. The cooking area was decorated to be somewhat primitive with a large wooden tab

Jackfic Archive Story

Turnabout is Fair Play

by Neiths Arrow