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nightspear) wrote2009-02-23 09:23 pm
Brotherhood (16/27)
Title: Brotherhood (Table of Contents)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize is mine. I gain nothing of material value from this.
Pairings: Gen.
| Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 |
| Chapter6 | Chapter7 | Chapter8 | Chapter9 | Chapter10 |
| Chapter11 | Chapter12 | Chapter13 | Chapter14 | Chapter15 |
| Chapter16 |
XXXXX
The Abydons
XXXXX
1 December 1999; Vorash; 2300 hrs
Skaara did not remember his brother being so tall. They had not stood together through the entire Triad. Skaara was not certain if this was because of the demon still within him, or because of the formality of the occasion, or simply because they were both so different now from who they had been, but it was only when they followed the Tok'ra through the chaapa'ai that Skaara realized he was the smaller one now.
And his brother called himself Daniel Jackson now, no longer Dan'yel. Or perhaps he had used Daniel as a mask for years, waiting to be able to become Dan'yel of Abydos again. Skaara did not like that thought; it was too much like being Klorel for those years and waiting to be able to become Skaara of Abydos again, and yet it was somehow very different, too.
"Do you know of the Tok'ra?" Daniel asked him as they followed the Tok'ra messenger through the sand.
It was good to hear their own tongue again and not to cover it with the Tau'ri speech that the Tollan had learned. Skaara listened to Abydos flow through his ears and had to force himself to stop and think hard for the demon's memories to rise. "Klorel thought them cowards," Skaara answered, searching through his mind for the answers. He gestured toward the Tok'ra who walked in front of them. "I feel the demon inside him."
Daniel nodded. "They carry Goa'uld as well, but they are different from the System Lords. We count them among our friends."
"I thought you were dead," Skaara blurted, then bit his tongue in embarrassment.
Daniel turned to him and blinked. "I am alive and well," he said, too gently for a person who should be dead. "I thought...that I had had a hand in your death also, until..." He stopped.
"Until what?"
Tilting his head at Skaara curiously, Daniel said, "Until Sha'uri told me she had seen you alive and spoken to you."
Skaara stopped where he was and spun around to grab Daniel's arm. "That is what I must tell you--" he started, but then he saw Daniel's other hand resting on his Tau'ri gun, his eyes startled at the sudden movement. Skaara swallowed and released his grip. "I am not going to hurt you."
Only then did Daniel see his hand on his weapon as well, and he snatched his hand away as if the metal burned him. "I know. I did not think that... I did not think."
"We must hurry," Aldwin said impatiently, so Skaara released Daniel and they both turned hurriedly away from each other to continue on their journey.
Clearing his throat, Daniel said, "You wanted to tell me something?"
"Stop," Aldwin commanded. "Do not move."
Skaara looked around himself nervously. The land was too open here. Why were they stopping?
"Do not worry," Daniel assured him. "You will see."
Goa'uld transport rings rose from the ground. "Ah," Skaara said in understanding, and then they disappeared.
...x...
When they reappeared, Skaara flinched instinctively. It felt as though there were worms crawling through his skin, and he knew without question that he was surrounded by Goa'uld, as he had not been for days after living with unblended humans on Tollana. Without thinking, he took two steps back and turned to flee.
Immediately, several zat'nik'tel sprang open around him, while a voice--a blended, Goa'uld voice--called, "Ar'ee!"
"Tal bet! Do not shoot!" A firm hand pressed him against the hard, rocky surface of the chamber they were in. Still confused, Skaara stood where he was, staring at Daniel's back. "He is not trying to escape," Daniel said. "He was only taken by surprise."
Too late, Skaara reminded himself that he was surrounded by blended Tok'ra and that the sensation of naquadah was nothing to fear. Then he saw Daniel standing between himself and four zat'nik'tel, and something like fury or humiliation filled him as he realized that his little brother was trying to shield him from harm.
"Is this the Goa'uld Klorel?" one of the female Tok'ra said.
"Yes," Aldwin said.
Skaara ground his teeth together but did not speak. Daniel stiffened, and it seemed that he had not learned to hold his tongue any better than he had as a child, so he said, "This is Skaara, Garshaw. Klorel sleeps. The Tollan sent us here for the removal of Klorel from Skaara's body."
"I am Garshaw of Belote," the woman said to Skaara, "of the Tok'ra High Council. Come, and we will perform the extraction immediately."
That name was familiar in that confused part of his mind that was Klorel, but Skaara did not have time to dwell on it before Daniel turned back around and said, "Are you all right?"
Skaara stared at him for a moment--stared up at him, yi shay--and nodded. He had to force down the urge to snap that he was not a child to be protected. Klorel was sleeping now, and Skaara could feel something like exhaustion and yet like restlessness trying to sneak through his bones, without even a symbiote to heal it away.
"The Tollan ask that Klorel be kept alive," Aldwin was saying to the Tok'ra in the lead.
Garshaw turned to face Skaara and asked, "Is this true?"
It took a moment to remember to speak--it had been so long since Skaara had spoken when someone addressed his face. "They said you would take Klorel away," he said between teeth clenched with fear or anger.
"The extraction is the priority," Daniel said firmly from behind him. "If Klorel survives the process, they ask that you either give him a willing host if you can find one, knowing the parasite that he is, or leave him on a Goa'uld planet of his choice."
Skaara scowled at those words, and he could not help feeling a little betrayed. Klorel had taken his mind, his body, his life--yet they wanted the Tok'ra to let it live, perhaps to take over another human. But when he turned, he saw the way Daniel walked, fists clenched and arms crossed with eyes staring hard at the wall, and he knew it was not Daniel's choice, either.
"Perhaps you can leave him on a planet to find a host on his own," Daniel added.
Garshaw nodded seriously. "Unfortunate though it may be," she said, though her tone did not sound like it was unfortunate, "a symbiote alone on a planet has only minutes to survive without a host. We cannot promise that a host will find Klorel where we leave him."
When Skaara realized that they were talking about a way to kill Klorel without disobeying the Nox woman, he relaxed. Then he saw Daniel's satisfied expression, and he did not know how he should feel that his brother was suggesting ways to kill Goa'uld while walking among the Tok'ra. These were truly rebels, then, who fought for a different life.
"It is true, what they say about the shol'va, Teal'c?" Skaara said to Daniel as they continued on.
("This is the face of the traitor, Teal'c," Apophis said. "I will reward the Goa'uld or Jaffa who brings him to me. If he lives, your reward will be greater still.")
"Teal'c...is one of the best men I know," Daniel said.
"I remember his face."
"Yes, I have heard that all the Goa'uld and their Jaffa have seen images of him--"
"No," Skaara interrupted. "I remember he took us from Abydos."
Daniel's back stiffened. "He was a different man then," he started, then quickly shook his head. "No, he was not. He was the same man, looking for a chance to leave that life. They are also slaves to the Goa'uld, but now, the Tau'ri have no warrior more true than Teal'c."
"I know they have little choice." Perhaps Jaffa could be good men, but Daniel was quick to trust--or he had been that way before, at least, and it was Skaara's responsibility to ensure that he was not fooled by a false intention. "Do you remember very much of that night, brother?"
"I remember it," Daniel said, and now his voice held warning, but Skaara continued.
"I only wish to know that you understand. Teal'c was there. Claire and Mel--"
Suddenly, Daniel whipped around to face him, his expression hard like Skaara could not remember seeing ever before. "Do not speak of them to me or to Teal'c. That is a matter between us. He is as a brother to me now. You do not have to forgive him for what he did to you, but I have done so for what he did to me." Skaara stared at him and Daniel finally cleared his throat, his cheeks flushing. "Come. The Tok'ra are waiting."
Skaara followed, so lost that he could no longer even feel surprise. "Then it is also true, that there are other Jaffa who oppose the Goa'uld?"
"Yes. The rebellion is growing in numbers even now, and they are our allies. You know that Bra'tac has been named shol'va as well?"
It took a moment to call up Klorel's memories, but Skaara nodded. "I know. It was Klorel who named him so. But Dan'yel, how do you know so much of these happenings? Why were you on my--his--Apophis's hatak two years ago?"
As if he had not been angry a moment ago, Daniel gave him a small smile and twisted slightly so that Skaara could see the symbol of Tau'ri on his arm, SG-1 stitched into the cloth. "I joined the Tau'ri and the SGC to find you, brother. And now I have." The smile stretched wider, but only for a second before disappearing. "Bra'tac taught Teal'c to oppose the Goa'uld; Teal'c has taught me the same. They have both saved my life and many others."
"Then that is enough for me," Skaara said, and the smile returned, just as brief as before but so bright, the smile that meant Daniel was pleased to have his approval. Skaara forced his lips to remember how to smile back without Klorel making him.
They reached another chamber, this one larger and more open, but with an odd device at one end.
"Danny?" someone said.
Skaara's breath caught. He spun around, almost expecting to see Mel standing there, because only Daniel's parents had called him by that particular ren nafi, but the speaker was a man whom Skaara did not recognize. His brother's expression became exasperated, but to Skaara's surprise, he turned to the man with a more reserved but sincere smile. "Jacob. It's good to see you well," he added in English.
"Thought we'd be getting SG-1 here," Jacob answered."How've you been, kid?"
"Fine," Daniel said, his stance shifting so that he seemed at once to be standing straighter and also somehow more relaxed--more confident, perhaps. Skaara could not decide if this was another mask, too, or if perhaps this collection of masks was not a collection of falsehoods but rather who Daniel truly was now, beyond the boy who had melted away while Skaara had been gone. "And Sam's fine, and so is everyone else. They're busy getting scolded for saving Tollana, or they'd be here, too."
Jacob chuckled. "I'm not even gonna ask."
"Are you going to be here for the...uh, the..."
"The Extraction ceremony, that's what we call it. Yeah, the High Council will be here--we're just waiting on a couple of people and we'll get started. It'll be short, don't worry--you won't feel a thing," Jacob added to Skaara. Then his eyes narrowed. "Klorel! This is the brother you were telling me about, Daniel?"
Skaara frowned, not sure what to make of this man. Daniel gave him an anxious look but said, formally, "Jacob, this is my brother, Skaara, son of Kasuf of Nagada, on Abydos. Skaara, this is Major General Jacob Carter of Earth's United States Air Force, host to Selmak of the Tok'ra High Council. He's also, uh, Major Samantha Carter's father."
The man called Jacob and Selmak gave Skaara a curious look. "Bit of a mouthful," he said. He dipped his head, then raised it, eyes glowing with Goa'uld light as Selmak said in a Goa'uld voice, "We are very happy for you, Skaara of Abydos. Within the hour, your ordeal will be over. You can return home."
To his shame, Skaara felt heat gather behind his eyes. He swallowed and nodded wordlessly.
"Selmak," Daniel said as they waited, "the SGC has had to change its codes. We were going to come here immediately with the new information, but the Tollan contacted us and we were sidetracked. Can I tell you now? It will save us a trip." Selmak nodded, and Daniel handed him a slip of paper from his vest.
"Thank you," Selmak said, reading the paper carefully before destroying it in a nearby torch. "I will make the necessary changes in our systems."
"What is this code?" Skaara asked, confused.
"It is..." Daniel started, then made a face. "It will be easier to explain when we return to Abydos. You can see our iris for yourself."
One more person walked into the chamber. All of a sudden, the Tok'ra slid into position around the edge of the chamber. For once, Daniel seemed to be as confused as Skaara was as the two of them were left standing alone in the center.
"The Extraction ceremony will now begin," Garshaw announced.
Jacob and Selmak gestured for Daniel to step back. Simultaneously, another unfamiliar Tok'ra came and stopped before Skaara. "Please proceed to the Extraction device."
"Extraction device?" Skaara repeated. Then his eyes widened as he realized what the big device with all the straps was.
Garshaw held up something that looked like a small pebble, round like a wheel. "Because this is not an execution, you do not need to be awake to give Klorel an opportunity for final words. We will place you into a sleep-like state. When you awaken, you will be free of your Goa'uld."
Daniel gave him an encouraging nod, saying, "They said it will not hurt you. Trust me?"
"I trust you," Skaara said, bolstered by the confidence his brother had in these people, then steeled himself and walked to the device against the wall. "I am ready."
The restraints on the device were quickly fastened around him--one on each arm and another on each leg. Garshaw stepped forward and something cold touched his temple. He gasped as a short, sharp pain pricked him, and then he felt no more.
...x...
The same brief pain woke him. Skaara opened his eyes, and this time the chamber was much more empty than before. Daniel stood before him, holding the small, circular pebble in his hand. A movement at his hands made him turn to see Aldwin unfastening the restraints.
"Skaara?" Daniel said.
Skaara looked down at his chest and, for a moment, panic overtook him when he saw the Tollan device gone, the only thing that had ever held Klorel at bay without pain.
"Klorel has been removed," Aldwin said, holding up a container. Skaara backed away in horror, not wanting to see his demon curled within. In doing so, he stepped off the device and fell into Daniel, who made a soft oof sound and barely managed to cushion them both awkwardly as they landed on the ground.
"He is gone," Skaara said in wonder, searching for the other presence in his mind and body, but he was truly gone. He laughed. "The demon is gone!"
A sharp inhalation made him turn to see Daniel kneeling before him, staring. "You--" Daniel started, then stopped, blinking very fast.
"I am here," Skaara said quickly, pulling his brother into his arms. It was strange, now that Skaara was the smaller between them, but a desperately strong grip returned the embrace nonetheless. Dan'yel buried his face in Skaara's shoulder, and somehow, it became right again, that his little brother had become a man but was still the child he remembered, and that Skaara could still be the protector, at least sometimes. "I am here, Dan'yel. Hush, or I will tell everyone at home I can still make you cry." At home, home, home!
Immediately, he was pushed away. Dan'yel's face was pink, but his cheeks were dry when he scowled back. "What would Seinah say to see you mocking your brother?" Skaara's smile faltered. Dan'yel saw this and rushed to say, "She misses you. Every time I go to Abydos, she visits from Kalima and comes to ask if we have found you yet."
"Then we should return to Tollana," Skaara said. "Perhaps High Chancellor Travell has finished scolding your friends now."
Daniel rose to his feet and said, "Yes! Jack wants to meet you. I mean Jack O'Neill. He remembers you from the Rebellion. Teal'c, Sam, all my friends--I have told them about you. They all wish to meet you. Kasuf is waiting for you, too." Now Daniel moved to a corner of the room to reach for something.
Skaara raised his eyebrows and felt a flush of surprise that Jack O'Neill remembered him, who had been no more than a child during the Great Rebellion.
A pile of cloth was thrust at him as he rose. "If you want to change your clothing before we return," Daniel said, looking uncertain again. "It does not matter, but perhaps--"
"I will change," Skaara said, suddenly wishing nothing more than to strip himself of his Goa'uld trappings.
XXXXX
2 December 1999; Courtroom, Tollana; 0200 hrs
"Father!" Skaara said when the door slid open. Kasuf raised his head. He spread his arms to show he was completely himself again. "It is finished. I am myself again, only myself!"
Kasuf met him partway and crushed him into an embrace. "My son," he whispered, his voice choked and muffled in the top of Skaara's head. "My son."
When Skaara finally pulled away, Travell was gone and only SG-1 remained in the room. To his astonishment, Daniel was before Teal'c, head lowered as if in shame and speaking quietly. Skaara saw that the others also did not seem to know why--it was in the Goa'uld tongue--but O'Neill seemed unconcerned and approached Skaara with Major Carter at his side.
"Hey, Skaara," O'Neill said, in English. "Don't mind them. It's better to let them get whatever it is out of their systems."
"Dan'yel is asking for forgiveness," Skaara said, puzzled. "It is in the way of the Jaffa."
"Of course it is," O'Neill said. "He kind of blew up at Teal'c when he thought we were gonna do something... Don't you worry about it--it all worked out. Hey, congratulations! I've been waiting to meet you properly. Daniel's told me all about you."
Then it was true--the hero of the Great Rebellion knew of him, Skaara, and not only as Klorel or the host of Klorel. Remembering what he had seen of Tau'ri soldiers, Skaara stood tall and raised a hand to his brow.
O'Neill stared at him for a moment, then raised his own hand in return of the salute before dropping it with a sharp motion. Skaara lowered his hand as well. "Colonel O'Neill." O'Neill smiled at him, so he turned to the woman and said, "And Major Carter. Thank you."
"We weren't the ones arguing for you," O'Neill said. "Thank your dad and Daniel."
"No," Skaara said, shaking his head. "Your people stopped Zipacna. If not for you--and Teal'c--they would have taken me away without removing Klorel. And...you have kept my brother safe. Thank you."
At this, O'Neill and Carter exchanged odd looks. "Well, we...try," O'Neill said.
"It is difficult, with Dan'yel," Skaara agreed.
Carter ducked her head and pretended she was not smiling. O'Neill let out a short laugh, and turned to say, "You hear that, Daniel? Respect your elders more!"
Daniel was standing straight now, both he and Teal'c looking happier as O'Neill had predicted, and he replied, "Teal'c's your elder, too, Jack. That means we should all just obey him--I mean, that's fair, right? I'll do that if you will."
O'Neill turned back to Skaara and raised his eyebrows. "You see what I have to deal with? How'd you put up for him for so many years, huh?"
"I was bigger," Skaara told him. "It will not be so easy now."
O'Neill grinned again and reached out to put a hand on Skaara's shoulder. "I knew I'd like you."
By then, Daniel and Teal'c had joined them--the rest of SG-1 from the Tau'ri SGC, Skaara thought, realizing with a jolt that his little brother and a First Prime Jaffa were among the threat that was so feared by the Goa'uld. Skaara suppressed the apprehension he could not help feeling at the sight of Teal'c and solemnly clasped the Jaffa's arm the same way that he had often seen his--Klorel's--Jaffa greet one another. He received a solemn bow in return.
"We should go back to..." Daniel started, then stopped. "Um. Where...I mean, what now?"
There was hesitation hanging heavy around SG-1, and even his father. Skaara wondered for a moment why there was a question--the Abydons would return to Abydos and the Tau'ri to Tau'ri...and then he remembered Daniel saying 'Every time I go to Abydos' and 'I have joined the Tau'ri...'
"The three of us should report back to base," O'Neill finally said. "Gotta send a team to take the death glider apart and bring it back, too--"
"Death glider?" Daniel interrupted. "What death glider?"
Carter smiled widely. "The one Klorel and Skaara flew here--it's damaged, but worth salvaging. The Tollan don't need it, and it's Goa'uld technology, so they don't mind letting us have it."
"Anyway," O'Neill said, "Daniel, why don't you escort Kasuf and Skaara back to Abydos. We'll go to Earth first and then meet you guys there, in the SGC house. Skaara...if you don't mind, we have a few questions for you."
"Jack," Daniel said, "don't you think the interrogation could wait--"
"No, it should not wait," Skaara interrupted. "I will tell you all I know, and I have things I must tell you without delay."
Kasuf seemed surprised by his answer but said, "We will meet with you on Abydos, Colonel O'Neill."
"Will you return to Earth first?" Skaara asked Daniel.
Daniel glanced at O'Neill, then shook his head, reaching into a pocket to pull out a device with rows of numbered buttons and a screen. "I will go with you. You need my code to return."
XXXXX
2 December 1999; Nagada, Abydos; 0300 hrs
Skaara turned, startled, when he heard the sound of scraping metal behind him as the wormhole closed. What...?
"We call it iris," Daniel explained. "The Tau'ri built it last year. It will stop enemies from attacking again through the chaapa'ai, but friends also need a code to be able to open it."
"Skaara!"
There were voices coming from behind him, some wary but most excited. He turned again, and this time, he saw four people rising to their feet, Tau'ri guns falling to their side. "My son has returned," Kasuf said, and before Skaara could move, there were bodies surrounding him, people emerging from outside the chaapa'ai room and others leaving the shadows, everyone crowding together to speak and touch, and he did not understand why it terrified him so--
"Enough!" Daniel called sternly, and, surprisingly, most of them stopped. "Skaara is tired. You can talk to him if you can do it without crushing him, too."
Bemused, Skaara watched the crowd thin away--they listened, Skaara realized with a touch of surprise, the way they might have listened to something Mel or Claire said, although they were not afraid to tease Daniel or give him friendly slaps to the back of the head or elbows in the ribs as they did. Skaara was tired, in truth--his skin felt tight and uncomfortable, as if it were not truly his own. He had almost forgotten what it felt like for his limbs to be his own.
"SG-1 will return soon to meet us," Kasuf told the others. "Should we remain here to wait?"
"There is still time," Daniel assured him. "General Hammond will want to know what happened to Skaara, to Heru-ur, to Tollana. I think they will also take time to bring recording devices if they are to ask questions. We can wait for them at the SGC house."
Tobay clapped Skaara on the back as they passed. Skaara responded automatically, wondering what the SGC house was and feeling strangely disconnected from his body. He stopped at the entrance, realizing that he had stood passive and not opened his mouth once since returning to Abydos.
Turning around, Skaara spread his arms wide and said, "Hello!"
Hearty cheers and a few laughs answered him, and then they turned back and set off into the desert.
...x...
The SGC house was what they called the house under Melburn and Claire Jackson's, the one that had been empty for years until now. There were a few boxes scattered around that he did not recognize, but if this was being used as a base for SGC soldiers when they visited Abydos, Skaara supposed they most likely contained supplies.
Now, Kasuf took a seat. Skaara followed his lead as Daniel stripped off his thick Tau'ri jacket. Skaara noticed his arm, bared of the jacket now, and caught the wrist in his hand. "You still wear this," he said, astonished that the band he had given his brother years ago was still there, if somewhat battered. There was another loop, too. "What is this?"
"From Teal'c--leather from his homeworld." Daniel gently took his arm back. "I keep them to remember why we fight the Goa'uld."
"I must learn more of your friends. The last I saw of them--"
(Klorel spun the Tau'ri boy around, slamming his hand against the transport crates until he screamed and the zat'nik'tel fell from his grasp. "Skaara," the boy begged.
Skaara's mouth opened for Klorel's laugh to spill forth. "A child? This is what the Tau'ri have sent to oppose a god?")
"Skaara?"
He met Daniel's worried eyes and shook his head. "I have...I remember things sometimes." Frustrated because he could not decide how to explain this, he sighed and shook his head again. "I do not know how to say it."
But Daniel looked thoughtful. "Major Carter says the same. She was host to a Goa'uld once--a Tok'ra, but it was also not by choice. She would understand some of what you feel."
"Sha'uri said the same," Kasuf said. "She saw things from the mind of her demon."
("Heru-ur comes," Sha'uri whispered. "I will give you your time. Go to Dan'yel--go to the Tau'ri.")
Skaara's eyes widened. "I spoke to Sha'uri! Only days ago."
Kasuf straightened in his seat. Daniel leaned forward, not looking surprised, but his expression was intent. "You said that before. It was when you went to meet Heru-ur?"
"Yes," he said, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to remember everything. What had she told him? "She said--"
"Wait," Daniel interrupted. "Sha'uri or Amaunet?"
"Sha'uri," Skaara said, then wrinkled his nose. "I think. I do not know. I think it was Sha'uri--she was...weak. When the body is weak, it is harder for the demon to take control. She said he had not allowed her a sarcophagus in many, many days--perhaps this makes the body weaker."
A strange look was on Daniel's face. "Mm," he said. "That may be true. Then you spoke to her. She was on the hatak with you?"
"Heru-ur wishes to form an alliance with Apophis. He believed that if he had Amaunet and Klorel as prisoners, Apophis would help him, in trade. Amaunet had not tried to escape in more than a year, so he did not expect that she would try so suddenly. She fled while he was speaking to me, then when they tried to stop her, I escaped also. I used the rings to return to my--Klorel's hatak. They pursued us to Tollana, then I escaped in an udajeet."
"How did Sha'uri escape?" Daniel said. "To where?"
"She went toward the peltak," Skaara remembered, "but I did not see her leave. Only udajeet were on the hatak; she could not have gone far in that, but there was a planet within reach."
Daniel nodded, thinking fast. "There were transport rings in the peltak, yes? Could she have reached an udajeet from there and flown to that planet before the hatak flew out of distance toward Tollana? Then she would have used the chaapa'ai from there."
Skaara nodded. "Perhaps--some udajeet can use rings as well. Or if she used the rings to reach Klorel's ship, she may have taken one of those udajeet before I arrived. I do not know for certain where she went. She said she was going to where you found her."
"But Sha'uri is not here," Kasuf said. "This is where Dan'yel met her last time."
"I thought she might be here," Skaara admitted, the too-familiar feeling of defeat beginning to creep in past the joy of returning home. "She would not say the name of the place--"
"Why?" Daniel said sharply. "You are sure she said nothing else? Why would she--"
"I do not know! Perhaps...there were Jaffa who might be listening. I do not know, Dan'yel."
Daniel subsided, but Skaara knew he was not finished; he was only thinking.
Kasuf looked between the two of them, his expression as disturbed as it was confused. "Perhaps she did not know of the iris--" Kasuf started. Daniel's eyes widened in horror, but then Kasuf said, "No. The Guards would have told me if someone had tried to use the chaapa'ai. Does this mean that she was unable to escape the warriors of Heru-ur, if she is not here on Abydos?"
"There are other possibilities," Daniel said, blinking at the floor as he thought. "But...I may need to ask people at the SGC. You also said that Heru-ur wishes an alliance with Apophis, even now? But Apophis is dead, is he not?"
"No," Skaara said with certainty. "He lives. He spoke to Klorel recently."
Daniel raised his eyebrows. "How recently? He was prisoner to Sokar--we destroyed Sokar's moon only weeks ago--"
With a dejected feeling in his gut, Skaara said, "Dan'yel, the message Apophis sent to his son said that Sokar had been killed. He said that he was the only Goa'uld left on Delmak."
"Gods," Daniel breathed, his eyes widening. "Then that means..."
Skaara nodded grimly. "Yes."
Looking frustrated, Kasuf said, "What is it? What does that mean?"
"It means that Apophis has taken control of the greatest army of any Goa'uld we know," Daniel said. He stared at Skaara for a long moment, and then looked away. "I apologize. I should wait before asking these questions. The others will know better what we need to ask."
As if he had been waiting for that signal, O'Neill's voice called, "Hello?" Daniel rose and walked outside. Skaara joined him, where he saw SG-1. "Hah! Told you I wouldn't get lost this time," he added to Teal'c.
"I did not say otherwise, O'Neill," Teal'c said.
"Jack, can I talk to you guys for a minute?" Daniel said.
"Well, yeah, that's why we came--"
"No, Jack," Daniel said impatiently, making room for them as they strode along the ramp and taking a bag away from Major Carter as she reached them first. He put it down carefully inside the house, then moved into SG-1's path to stop them when they tried to follow. "Sam, someone checked P3X-974 a few months ago, right? The Hammer's been rebuilt?" SG-1 stared at him, then at Skaara and Kasuf. Daniel added, "Can I talk to you outside? I have a question I really, really need to ask."
"Ah...okay," O'Neill said, frowning.
Daniel turned back to him and smiled tensely. "I apologize. I will be only a minute."
XXXXX
"Spill, Daniel," Jack said shortly when Daniel only looked anxiously back toward the SGC dwelling long enough to see both Skaara and Kasuf settle on the floor. "What's this about Cimmeria and Thor's Hammer?"
"Is there question about the completeness of Klorel's extraction?" Teal'c asked quietly.
Surprised, Daniel quickly shook his head. "No, no. Nothing like that. I don't know if you heard, when we first met Skaara on Tollana, but he said then that Sha'uri had told him I was alive."
There was a pause. Then Teal'c filled in, "And yet, when we found Sha'uri on this planet last year, she still believed that you were dead, because Klorel had told her so."
Sam and Jack exchanged glances. "They had contact between then and now," Jack summarized. "Are you sure?"
Daniel nodded vigorously. "Skaara says Heru-ur wanted Amaunet and Klorel as bargaining chips to...well, the point is, she was still prisoner there, on Heru-ur's ship. She was physically weak, which made it easier for Sha'uri's mind to fight for control over Amaunet as they escaped--"
"She was the other prisoner Skaara mentioned on Tollana," Sam said. "The one who gave him the distraction to escape himself."
"Exactly. She told him to look for us, but also that she was going to the place where I found her last time. She either took a death glider or--or ringed to another ship, but either way, she would've wanted to get off at the closest planet possible. And then she would've used a Stargate, and there have been no activations here on Abydos, so she must have gone to--"
"Cimmeria," Jack filled in. "You think Amaunet would go to Cimmeria?"
"No, Jack," Daniel said; "I think Sha'uri would go to Cimmeria. Teal'c and I told her there was a Hammer there, while Amaunet was sleeping, so she knows about it and Amaunet doesn't know she knows, and the last time she was there, the Hammer was broken. So maybe she's just hoping we'll find her before Amaunet takes control back and leaves, or she's hoping the Hammer was rebuilt... The point is, she has every reason to go there."
"If," Jack pointed out, "she had a say in where she was going and found a way to trick Amaunet into it."
"She might have. I mean, there must be some separation between the minds for that Tollan device to have worked, right?"
Everyone turned to Sam, who looked startled and unsure in what capacity she was being consulted. "W-well, I couldn't seem to hide my thoughts from Jolinar, but I didn't have two and a half years, most of them in a jail cell, to figure things out. But it's true--I felt like I was closer to having control once I got tranqed or...was otherwise weaker than usual. I'd guess that the symbiote's energy gets diverted to healing the host as a survival mechanism."
"There would be no harm in going to Cimmeria to determine whether she did in fact go there," Teal'c said.
"No, I guess there wouldn't," Jack conceded, but he was still watching Daniel carefully. "I just want to make sure you're not getting your hopes up too high."
"There's nowhere else she could have meant," Daniel said, eager to leave.
"That's not what I'm saying. The best case scenario is that she took off from Heru-ur's mothership in a death glider with a couple more motherships in the area. Klorel tried that and got shot down."
A cold feeling washed over Daniel. Somehow, the thought that the escape attempt might not have been successful hadn't occurred to him. "But Klorel had to lure them into Tollan space," Daniel said. "Sha'uri went first, so she had surprise on her side, and she just had to get to any planet that had a Stargate. And then they were preoccupied chasing Klorel."
"True," Jack said, letting his tone say that he still held some reservations. "All right, go back and grab your stuff, and we'll go take a look around Cimmeria. But Daniel, don't get their hopes up."
"I know," Daniel said quietly. Apparently, some part of him must have realized it might not be that simple and had been unwilling to say it outright in front of her father and brother.
He ran back into the SGC house. "Forgive me," he said, bending to pick up the jacket he'd taken off. "My team needs to see to something, but we will return very soon--within hours."
He ducked back out before he had to screw up the courage either to answer any questions or lie to Skaara and Kasuf, and then nodded to SG-1 when he returned. "Okay. Let's go."
XXXXX
2 December 1999; Cimmeria; 0530 hrs
He wasn't sure if it was by instinct or by design, but both Sam and Jack had moved to surround Teal'c by the time they stepped out onto Cimmeria, where it was currently nighttime. When Daniel realized why, he looked up at the obelisk he remembered seeing before, the one that was supposed to beam any Goa'uld into Thor's Hammer. Last time, Heru-ur had already damaged it, but now...
The bright beam of light he associated with Asgard technology shot forth and scanned over all of them, and, despite Thor's promise that Teal'c would be welcome, Daniel inched a little closer, too. If one of them got transported into the Hammer, he'd rather they all be sent together. Besides, it would get them closer to Sha'uri if she really had come here.
But they didn't need to worry, because all of them passed the scan without incident. "Oh no," Daniel said as another thought struck him, and he turned urgently to Jack and Teal'c. "There was an Unas in the Hammer when you were there, right? You needed firearms to defeat it?"
"I doubt the Asgard put an Unas in there on purpose," Jack pointed out.
"It is more likely that the Unas came to this world and was transported inside," Teal'c added. "Although it could not escape, it survived by using the healing abilities of its symbiote and utilizing long periods of sleep."
"Oh," Daniel said, relieved that, if Sha'uri was here, she hadn't been left to her own devices to face a monster like that. "That makes sense. So...uh, where do we start looking?"
Hooves sounded near them. The other three raised their flashlights--Daniel searched an extra minute before deciding he didn't have his--and they saw a familiar figure appearing from the main road on horseback, lighting her way with a torch.
"Gairwyn," Jack greeted. "Hi. Sorry to bug you in the middle of the night..."
In reply, Gairwyn gave them all a bright smile and dismounted smoothly, keeping a hand on her horse. "I see our friends from Midgard have returned. You are always welcome here."
"Well, that's good to know," Jack said. "Gairwyn, we're actually looking for someone--a woman, a little younger than Major Carter"--he pointed to Sam--"who might've come through here a couple of days ago...uh, dark hair..."
"Ah, yes!" Gairwyn said, with such exuberance that Daniel started forward immediately, stopping when Jack's hand grabbed the back of his jacket. "The Ettin. We saw such a woman taken into Thor's Hammer two days ago."
"Where is she now?" Daniel said urgently.
"She has not yet emerged," Gairwyn said. "I am afraid only one person here would have known where Thor took her, but she died last year resisting the Ettin whom you came here to fight."
Daniel looked back up at the obelisk. There was another stone near the top, like the one they'd touched before to enter the Hall of Thor's Might, but it was far too high to reach from where they were and might just be the source of the beam, not a transportation trigger. "There must be another way into the Hall of Mjolnir," he said.
"We know where it is," Jack said. "The two of us were there. You remember the way, Teal'c?"
"Indeed," Teal'c said.
"Gairwyn, thanks for your help," Sam said politely. "It's all right if we look for the entrance?"
Gairwyn nodded slowly, then said, "Perhaps I should join you--when Kendra went through Thor's Hammer many seasons ago, it took days for hunters to stumble upon her when she left. Now I will know where we should meet the hostages of the Ettins so that we can care for them."
"All right," Jack agreed. "Let's go. Daniel, where's your flashlight?"
"Um, I'm not sure," Daniel said, starting off after Teal'c. When Jack turned to him with a look that he might have recognized as exasperated if he'd had a flashlight to see, he said defensively, "This is the fourth planet I've been on in as many hours. I think I forgot it on Abydos." Or Vorash or Tollana. Probably Abydos, during the rush to get to Cimmeria.
Jack shook his head and said, "Teal'c and I need to take the lead. Carter, keep an eye on our six."
The rest of the journey was a blur, as much from the dark as from the mixture of fatigue and adrenaline and shock that had shaded the last couple of days. Even so, Daniel could see that, while trees and brush that had been razed to the ground were still growing, the Goa'uld encampment they'd found a year ago was gone, replaced by houses and other structures that were being slowly erected.
Even knowing exactly where to go and hurrying as much as the rocky mountain paths would allow, it took them nearly an hour before Teal'c stopped at a rock face.
"We have arrived," Teal'c said, shining his light into a cave entrance. "This is where we were transported by Thor's Hammer. A symbiote is severely weakened by the Asgard beam, but I cannot say whether it is Amaunet or Sha'uri that you will find inside."
"Teal'c, maybe you should stay outside," Jack said. "If there's anything wrong with the Asgard recognition thing, you'd be trapped." Teal'c gave him a dark look but didn't protest the logic. The Asgard might be less happy with the Tau'ri if they destroyed Thor's Hammer every time they came here.
"Don't worry," Sam said to Teal'c, reaching the entrance as well and patting her gun. "It should be more or less safe this time around, and we know what we're dealing with."
"Why don't you and Gairwyn meet us back here outside the cave," Jack said.
"Go with Thor," Gairwyn added as Teal'c nodded to them and the two of them held their ground just outside the entrance.
"Daniel," Jack said as he led the way in, "your zat won't work in there--don't waste time trying. Anything comes at us, you find cover and go for your Beretta."
"This..." Sam said, looking up and at the walls. "This is the actual Thor's Hammer?"
"Yeah," Jack answered, gesturing around them. "Just beyond this chamber here. Red beam comes down and everything."
Daniel followed the beams of their flashlights, looking around doubtfully. "Um, Jack...this is a chamber. And, uh...that's the only door." He pointing back the way they'd come. "Isn't there supposed to be something that leads from the hall of Mjolnir to...well, here?"
Jack pursed his lips, twisting around to look at the walls. "It's right there," he said, pointing at a wall.
"That's a wall, Jack," Daniel said tensely.
"It was open before!" Jack insisted, looking at the wall in consternation. "That's the passageway from the Hammer to here--it's how we got out last time."
Sam moved forward to examine the stone. "It could easily be some kind of door. We just have to find the trigger."
Deciding that they were wasting time if Sha'uri wasn't even nearby, Daniel stepped up next to Sam at the wall and shouted, "Sha'uri!"
Sam jumped as Jack said, "Geez, Daniel..."
Daniel took another deep breath and yelled, "Sha'uri, tano'ta? Sha'uri!"
And on the other side, someone screamed, "Senamiu!"
"She's there, gods, she's calling for help," Daniel said, looking frantically at the wall for any clue. "Sha'uri!"
"Dammit," Jack said. He stepped up to the other side of Daniel. "Look at this, here, this indentation," he said, fitting his hand into a handprint carved into the wall. Daniel watched anxiously, hoping the trigger was as simple as that, but nothing happened.
"What if there's another riddle?" Sam said, still looking around for other possibilities. "Or some other stimulus as a trigger besides touch--in the Hall of Thor's Might, we touched a stone to activate the transportation technology, but the program responded to audio input, too."
"What, a password?" Jack said, his hand still pressed into the wall. "Daniel, anything?"
"There," Sam said suddenly, swinging her flashlight up higher, over Jack's head. "Look--what's that say? Read it!"
Daniel squinted up at where she was pointing to see four runes. Judging by the meanings, it spoke of something to do with the Ettin, and the Asgard, and a gift, and men, but, hoping the easiest way was the right one, he simply read them aloud: "Thurisaz! Ansuz! Gebo! Mannaz!"
The stone shifted. Jack reeled back, snatching his hand away, and they watched a slab of stone rotate on its axis. Daniel could feel himself literally hopping with impatience and didn't care--as soon as the doorway opened enough for him to fit, he slipped past Jack and squeezed through--
And in the next chamber was Sha'uri.
Daniel's feet ground to a halt as he stared at the woman lying on the ground, breathing hard and disheveled, her face worn and too thin and covered in sweat and dirt. He looked around, but there was nothing that looked like a threat--and he was standing only a few paces from her, inside Thor's Hammer itself.
It was so close--they had to make her pass through there, and it would all be over...
Just as Jack and Sam both reached him, Sha'uri looked up, and her eyes glowed.
"No," Amaunet rasped. "Stay back!"
"You make the wrong move, you die," Jack said as Daniel took a step forward, not sure if Amaunet would release the Goa'uld toxin to kill Sha'uri if they tried to force her. Did that happen only if the Goa'uld died? Could they do that at will? "Come with us and we'll tell you where your son is."
Suddenly, she was on her feet. "You lie," she breathed. "You still have my son?"
Daniel glanced back up at the symbol of Thor's Hammer over the doorway. He turned around to give Jack and Sam a look he really hoped they understood, then rushed toward his sister.
"Sha'uri, I know you can hear me," he said, pulling her into a tight grip but not dragging her toward the Hammer. Amaunet shrieked and started pushing him away. He tightened his arms in surprise, digging his feet into the ground and discovering just how strong a Goa'uld could be, even when weak and stripped of power and all weapons.
"Get away from her, Daniel!" Sam said. Jack's hands grabbed him by the arms, starting to pull him away, even as Sam appeared next to Sha'uri, a gun aimed in her direction. She took her attention off Sha'uri, meeting Daniel's eyes for a split second before finding her target again.
"Daniel," Jack growled next to his ear, hands clamping on his.
"Don't," Daniel said, struggling to maintain his grip and suddenly unsure all three of them were thinking the same thing. "Jack--"
"Release me now!" Amaunet growled. Daniel squeezed her tighter, and then he felt Jack brace his feet behind him and knew they were on the same page. "I can kill your sister if you--"
Sam abruptly swung her gun to the ground and opened fire. Amaunet flinched--
Both of them threw themselves to the side at once, Daniel's grip pulling Sha'uri and Jack's pulling him until all three of them were flung into the Hammer.
Jack and Daniel tumbled to the ground on the other side. A red beam shot down from the ceiling, trapping Sha'uri in the light. She froze, kneeling, stiff, as if held in place. Daniel watched warily, wondering if they'd been fast enough, if it would work, if, if--
Then Amaunet screamed, her back arching. Her eyes flashed bright and opened wide, cords standing out on her neck, and she inched away, out of the beam--
Sam grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her back in, and Daniel lunged and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest and holding her in place. "Hear me," he said frantically into the top of her head. "It will be over soon, Sha'uri..."
Her hands convulsed on Daniel's arms as another choked cry was ripped from her throat. "Release...me," Amaunet hissed, still struggling to move away. "Hasshak! You...cannot--"
"You have to fight, Sha'uri," Daniel said over her screamed curses, holding on with all his might and pulling her further into the Hammer's beam. "Your son--his name is Sharemes, known as Shifu. I will tell you about him, Sha'uri, everyone is waiting for you--"
And then, Daniel felt Sha'uri's head pressing into his shoulder, not pulling away, and she was holding to him as much as he was holding to her. The Goa'uld yelling faded to human moans, until, without warning, she collapsed, and Daniel had to scramble to cushion her head before it hit the ground.
"No. No, no," he said, still wrapped around Sha'uri and trying to untangle himself without hurting her and find a pulse and... "Jack--Sam!"
"All right, we got her," Jack said, pulling him back as Sam eased Sha'uri the rest of the way to the ground.
"I think she's just passed out," Sam said. "Her breathing's strong--" Sha'uri stirred. "Easy," Sam said soothingly. "Are you okay?"
Daniel held his breath, and even Jack stilled behind him. Slowly, Sha'uri blinked her eyes open. "Tano'ai?" she said.
"You did it," Daniel said, crawling the few feet that separated them until he was kneeling over her. "It is done--the demon is gone, Sha'uri."
"Dan'yel," she said, sitting up weakly with Sam's help. One hand trembled as it braced her against the ground, and the other reached for him. He was peripherally aware of Sam moving discreetly away as he pulled her toward him, more gently this time. "I knew you would come," she said, her voice whispering across his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder, and he pressed his face against her hair. "Shh, do not cry, my little Dan'yel," she added. Only then did Daniel realized he'd been crying at all, and that there was something wet leaking onto his shoulder as well.
"You are safe," he said, both to reassure her and to hear the words for himself. "Are you hurt?"
"No. Not badly," Sha'uri said, pulling back enough to smile and wipe a palm across her face. He studied her more carefully now--he could feel her ribs too clearly under his fingers, and there were shadows under her eyes, but there was no injury he could see that rest would not cure. "Gods, I am tired. What of Skaara?"
"He is safe, waiting for you with Kasuf," Daniel promised. He wiped his own face and said to the others, "She's okay. We should get her home to rest."
He'd expected Jack to answer, but it was Sam who dropped to a crouch next to them. "Hello. I'm Sam," she said. "We met very briefly on Cimmeria before; I've heard a lot about you."
Sha'uri studied Sam's face, then touched a tentative hand to her shoulder. "You were a Goa'uld once," she said curiously. "But no more?"
Instead of the uncomfortable shrugs and stiffened shoulders Daniel had come to expect from Sam upon mention of Jolinar, she nodded, so readily that he realized this was exactly why Sam had come forward. "Yup, I was," Sam said, smiling. "Like you. Which is why I know you're gonna be fine. Can you make it back, do you think, if we help you?"
Daniel couldn't quite stop himself from fidgeting restlessly as he stood by and watched Sam help his sister to wobbly feet. "This way," Jack said, gesturing them toward the path outside. "I see Teal'c and Gairwyn waiting for us."
As they stepped out, Gairwyn's face lit up in warm welcome. "You are freed!" she said. "Thanks be to Thor." Teal'c stood his ground at her side, watching them approach.
"You want to get back home on your own feet, I'll bet," Sam said calmly, ducking a little for Sha'uri's arm to loop more comfortably around her shoulders as she steadied herself. "But it's a kind of long way to the Stargate here, and then from there to your village on Abydos. How about letting Teal'c help you, and then you can walk through to Abydos on your own?"
Teal'c came forward now, arms spread slightly and bowing his head. "It would be no trouble."
Sha'uri lifted one hand toward Teal'c's lowered forehead, but she had already trusted him once before, despite--or perhaps because of--his past allegiance. She let her hand rest on his cheek and said, "I thank you, Teal'c." The Jaffa glanced up sharply, looking surprised, then bowed once more.
As Teal'c lifted her carefully into his arms, Jack quietly thanked Gairwyn for her help, then said, "Everyone ready?" Daniel tucked a stray strand of black hair behind Sha'uri's ear and nodded.
"You will come home, too, Dan'yel?" Sha'uri asked, her head resting against Teal'c's shoulder.
Daniel hesitated. He looked up hopefully at Jack, who was watching the two of them. Jack gave him a half-smile and said too lightly, "Yeah. He's going home."
XXXXX
4 December 1999; Archaeology Office, SGC; 0900 hrs
"But you're coming back," Robert said when the news had been broken, everyone was settling in back on Abydos, and Daniel was finishing his final preparations to leave. "Right?"
Daniel looked up from his bag where he'd been packing away his belongings. "It's not...I mean, the Stargate's open, so I'm not stuck there or anything. But I joined the SGC to find my brother and sister, and now I have. It's been...a long time."
"But that's not the only reason you joined us," Robert said, his eyes wide behind his glasses.
Daniel paused, feeling like he was being ungrateful, betraying one family for another. Robert was right, of course--exploration and knowledge aside, he'd joined for his family and to help fight the Goa'uld, but somehow, even the larger war couldn't seem quite as important with Skaara and Sha'uri both at home. No one would speak against him if he chose to stay there, and it would be so much easier...
"I should be there," Daniel said finally, focusing intently on the surprisingly few belongings that actually belonged to him among the mess on his desk. "I need to be there. For them. And for me. At least right now... I don't know what'll happen afterward."
"Well...do me a favor," Robert said.
"Anything," he said immediately.
"You're specifically trained for initial assessment of a planet, and you know Abydos better than anyone. Look around, okay? If there's anything the SGC might be interested in, or if you can find an excuse for a research mission on Abydos..."
"Yeah, of course; I'll report back and let you know," Daniel promised. He looked around. "I don't know what I'm expected to take. I have my notebooks, but it's not like my laptop would work for long on Abydos. And the reference books are the department's..."
"You can leave stuff here if you want," Robert said.
Daniel tapped his desk wryly. "Maybe, but whoever gets this desk isn't going to be happy with all the clutter."
"Well, it's not like anyone needs that desk now. I could just use it for extra bench space for myself--this was originally my office, remember?"
Nodding, he hefted the pack experimentally and said, "I feel bad. Not that I'm saying you'll be drowning in work just because I'm not here, but..." Robert didn't answer, so he scratched his head and said, "Thank you, Robert."
"Yeah," Robert said. "Come visit a lot. Or something."
Daniel had dreamed of this moment for years, and he'd expected it to be an easy choice--he would miss everyone at the SGC, of course, and he'd known that he would, but there shouldn't have been any question about which path he would take. This should have felt like a conclusion to a part of his life--a horrifying, wondrous, and amazing part of his life, but an end of one thing and the beginning of another. Instead... "I feel like...like it's not done. Does that make sense?"
"You're sixteen," Jack's voice said from the doorway as he walked in. "Of course you're not done. That makes more sense than most of the stuff you say."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "That's not what I mean, Jack."
"Come on, you're going home," Jack said, animated and cheerful in a way that Daniel was, too, somewhere under the oddness that he couldn't seem to shake. "Where's the excitement?"
"You're excited enough for us both," Daniel observed, amused. Jack faltered slightly, but he returned soon enough to his previous, not-quite-smirking expression. Daniel appreciated the effort. "Did I leave anything in your house?"
"Probably," Jack said, shrugging. "You leave your pens lying around everywhere. Nothing big, though. You need help with anything in your room on base?"
Daniel heard Robert going deliberately back to work behind him and told Jack, "Actually, yeah, could you, uh, come with me and see what I need to clear out?"
"Sure," Jack said. Daniel grabbed his pack and followed Jack to his quarters.
Once they were inside with the door closed behind them, Jack let him put the pack down and said, "What's wrong?"
"Why would something be--"
"Daniel," Jack said again, "what's wrong?"
He plucked halfheartedly at one of his books. "Nothing," he insisted. "I just...can't believe it. I keep thinking I'll wake up and..." He thought of the way Sha'uri had fallen asleep in Teal'c's arms but had insisted on walking through to Abydos on her own, the expression on Skaara and Kasuf's faces when they'd brought her back to the SGC house...
Jack was staring at him.
"What?" he said, self-conscious.
"Goofy little smile on your face," Jack said.
Daniel shrugged again and grinned wider, not caring if he looked silly, because otherwise he was going to start crying again. "Can you believe it?"
"Believe it," Jack said. "So, do you have idea what you're doing after this 'indefinite leave of absence' business? I mean, sure, get everyone settled back in at home, but afterward?"
"What, are you Dr. Mackenzie, now?"
"What, did he ask you that?"
Daniel's grin faded a little as he realized that Mackenzie had, in fact, asked him that very question, and that he didn't know the answer now any more than he'd known it two months ago. What now? The war hadn't ended just because two minor Goa'uld had been defeated. There were still goals to be met and places to explore. Where was his role, and when was it done?
"Hey, look," Jack said quickly, noticing the change in mood, "not like there's any rush. You take all the time you want. Besides, unless you really want to be done with everything, you've still got a check-in in a week. Abydos-Earth relations and all."
"Right," Daniel said. "Of course. I won't forget."
There was a pause, just too long to be anything but awkward, and then Jack said, "I'm going to assume you got the 'call if you need anything' talk from Hammond already. Check in every two weeks for an update if there aren't any teams actively there, until you make a decision about what you're gonna do--"
"Yes. I know." Daniel plucked at his jacket sleeve that proclaimed who his team was. "It's, uh...it's funny. I just got this patch. Finally. It certainly took enough trouble, and now I'm leaving." He gave a half-smile. "Somehow, it never seems to work. Maybe it's a sign."
"Stop picking at it," Jack said, slapping his hand away. "When you come back, the place is still yours."
"When I come back?" Daniel repeated. "What happened to 'when you make a decision about what you're going to do'?"
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Ah, you and I both know you can't stay away from all this. A month, a year, two years...you'd miss me." Daniel huffed. "And Sam and Teal'c," Jack amended. "You'd get bored."
"Maybe I'll make a place for myself there," Daniel said defensively, despite the part of him that thought Jack was right. "Jack, no, about SG-1, I appreciate it, but find a fourth man. Or woman. Don't go off-world shorthanded because you're waiting for me."
"Yeah, and who made you SG-1 leader?"
"Jack--"
"That's General Hammond's place to say, Daniel," Jack reminded him. "Not yours."
"Then do it for me," he said, not afraid to guilt Jack into this. "I'll feel better knowing you have more people watching your back."
Jack looked like he was going to argue for a moment, then said, "We'll see. Now. You don't have all that much stuff around here. Anything you're not bringing with you to Abydos I can throw into a couple of boxes and keep at my place."
Daniel bit his lip. "You really...you don't have to--"
"Who else do you think is going to be using that room in my house while you're gone?" Jack asked rhetorically. "It'll be waiting for you when you get back. I mean, you'll visit. Right?"
"Yeah." Impulsively, Daniel took a breath, straightened, and raised his hand in Tau'ri salute, the way Skaara had earlier. "Colonel O'Neill."
Jack gave him an odd smile, then saluted back and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Mr. Jackson. Don't be a stranger, all right?" He was released, then nudged toward the dresser. "Get what you want, and then go say your goodbyes to people."
"Thank you, Jack," Daniel said helplessly. He dragged his feet and turned back. "I don't even know how to tell you--"
"I know," Jack interrupted. "Ah, come on, it's not like this is the last time we're gonna see each other. There's that new naquadah deposit outside Nagada that everyone got so excited about a couple of weeks back, if nothing else."
Daniel returned the wry smile. "If nothing else. Jack, be careful, all of you."
"I'm always careful," Jack replied.
"I'm serious."
"You're always serious. For cryin' out loud, Daniel, I've been doing this longer than you've been alive. Teal'c's been doing this longer than I've been alive. And Carter's smarter than half the people here combined. We'll be fine."
"Good. Okay, then." Daniel turned back to the bag he'd put down and began to pack.
From the next chapter ("Need"):
Skaara did not seem to have this problem at all, and he seemed just as much at ease in his usual shendyt and robe as Tobay and the other two men on shift with them. Still, Daniel watched him tap the DHD and stalk around the room--there was a wariness to the way he moved, every gesture just a little smaller and tighter, and there was a sharper edge in his voice when he spoke. The others were giving him a wide berth, too, looking confused.
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And then I take a peek at your next chapter and realize Skaara is the one who may be going through withdrawal...:::waits impatiently for next chapter::::
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Thanks!
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Y'know, Shau'ri living, and getting a strong hint that Skaara will be the one who is addicted to the sarcophagus, got me thinking. Other than his parent's deaths, Daniel really hasn't experienced the tragedies and traumas that canon-Daniel has had to live with, and form as much of his character as the victories. It gets me to thinking that when grown, this may not be the same guy at all...
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Thanks!
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I was also wondering-is Shau'ri older than Daniel,and if so, is it an amout that would seem significant at their ages?
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And my approximate ages for the Abydon kids as of "right now" in the story would be: Daniel=16, Skaara=21/22, Sha'uri=26/27. Sha'uri's age is based on the age of the actress from the movie; Skaara's a little younger than his actor, just because he supposedly reminded canon!Jack of his son, and I figure any older than late teens at the time of the canon movie was kind of pushing that. So Sha'uri's old enough that she might've watched over Daniel when he was a kid.
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The feel and interplay of all the characters was wonderful, and I pumped air when you confirmed my deduction that Sha'uri had been referring to Cimmeria. :-) The only thing that gave me pause at all was "entering" the Hall of Mjolnir. I always assumed that the only physical opening was the "exit" beyond the Hammer (most reliable way to force a Goa'uld through the Hammer), and that people not beamed in would have to enter and exit through that Hammer. How do you envision the Asgard keeping Goa'uld from going out your front entrance? Another Hammer? Nit-picky-mind here is evidently not envisioning whatever you envisioned (and is now into some serious pondering).
Anyway, thanks for another terrific installment. Since you still have 11 chapters to go, I suspect that Jack is correct and Daniel WILL return to the SGC (or poor Skaara [and Sha'uri?] are in for MANY chapters of withdrawal).
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You're weaving a LOT of threads, so it's no surprise that one got temporarily tangled. I couldn't figure out how (or why) you had changed the configuration of the caves in your AU, and that's because you hadn't! :-) Your revision fits very nicely, indeed. My tired brain can stop pondering the imponderable, thank you. :-)
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And Skaara! Skaara seeing Daniel as the kid brother that grew up. Saluting Jack, eee! HIs reactions to Daniel and Teal'c. His reactions to going home. Superb.
And back to Sha'uri, because YES that is the woman I adore - seizing the moment and remembering Cimmeria and getting there, and Sam, Sam is just awesome in how she stepped forward and knew exactly what Sha'uri needed. And Sha'uri trusting Teal'c, and just - just -
And then WHAM, suddenly faced with the question of where Daniel is going to be - all the nebulous what-ifs? suddenly staring him right in the face. Is there a reason why Hammond doesn't call it a few weeks of personal leave, to give him time to come to a real decision?
Jack trying not to say goodbye. Robert trying to keep busy. Oh, just fantastic.
This going down in my book as one of your best chapters ever!
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I'm going to say that Hammond's calling it personal leave (and with that handy Stargate, phone calls from Abydos are easy :) ), but that they're all leaving it kind of up in the air for some indefinite period of time. I suppose the question is, then, what it will take to make that decision!
Thanks.