//Asses are made to bear, and so are you - William Shakespeare//
"Okay, Carter, you're with me. Teal'c, you and Daniel stay here and set up camp." Jack adjusted his sunglasses, then said with a nod at Carter, "Lead on, McDuff."
Daniel watched as Jack and Sam headed off toward the rocks (in Sam's case, they were nearly always rocks, as opposed to Daniel's rocks, which were artifacts, except when they were Sam's rocks, or just... rocks) that promised untold wealth, and he sighed. He didn't miss the fact that an almost identical sigh had been produced by Teal'c. He could sympathize. Getting stuck with the civilian again, Teal'c? Oh, yeah. Poor guy. Not that he wouldn't be all that he was supposed to be, what with protecting Daniel with all that he was worth, but after all these years, civilian guard duty had to be annoying, especially since it had become the norm lately.
"Carter, you're with me, Teal'c, you're with Daniel...."
Yep, the norm. And wrong. Even civilian Daniel knew it was wrong. The commander doesn't go off with his second. If the team is going to be divided, the commander takes one half, his second the other. But not lately, not with SG-1. And did anyone not know that this time, it should have been Teal'c with Sam? Raise your hand if you didn't know that. Ah-ha, I see no raised hands. Daniel nodded in satisfaction. He loved it when the group - the group that McKenzie would have a field day with - agreed with him. It made his musings so much more - amusing.
He sighed again, slapped his knees, and stood up. "Well, I guess we'd better get cracking, Teal'c. Another four star camp to set up with all the comforts and MRE's of home."
Teal'c rose and nodded, and as he spoke his typical one word, Daniel said it too.
"Indeed."
They shared a quiet laugh and started with the tents.
An hour later, Chez SG-1 was ready and coffee was already heating up; Daniel's reward for an hour well spent. He got his tin cup and stood watching the pot, foot tapping restlessly.
"That will not heat it up any faster, DanielJackson."
"I disagree. Foot tapping - impatient - foot tapping, is well known for its ability to get coffee to heat faster."
"I see. A secret known only to you, perhaps?"
"And now you. But if you tell anyone--"
"If I am to be a member of an elite group, I must insist on a secret handshake. O'Neill has stated that it's a 'must-have'."
"Hold out your pinkie, Teal'c."
Daniel waited for the eyebrow to rise....
There it went.
"Pinkie? I am unaware of this term, DanielJackson."
Daniel held up his hand and wiggled his little finger. "Pinkie."
"Ah." Teal'c held out his 'pinkie'.
"Good. Now we shake." Daniel hooked Teal'c's finger in his own and shook; once, twice, three times. "You have our secret handshake. Feel better?"
"Much. Password?"
Daniel closed one eye, mused silently, then said, "Jack is a dick?"
He got both eyebrows for his password.
"O'Neill is a dick," Teal'c said easily.
"Right. We change it to 'O'Neill is a dick'. Done."
Smiling, Daniel picked up the water container. "I'm going down and fill this. If those rocks of Sam's pay out, we'll be here longer than Jack's insisted upon twenty-four hours."
"Agreed. Do you desire company?"
"Nah. We're safe according to Sam, the M.A.L.P. and the UAV. Not to mention your finely honed sense of hearing."
Teal'c beat him to, "Indeed."
Daniel gave Teal'c a small salute and headed down to the lake that had been personally checked out upon their arrival. No little swimming Goa'uld, no aliens with underwater caverns, just a nice blue lake, crystal clear and teeming with fish that looked remarkably like pike. And no, Daniel would never admit to Jack that he knew what a pike looked like, let alone that he knew the best way to fish for one. A guy had to have a few secrets.
He dunked the large container into the water, then holding the rope that was attached so as not to lose said container, he walked over to a fallen log and sat down.
The area around the lake, and their chosen camp site, was beautiful, serene and peaceful. He let out several calming breaths, glanced at his watch and decided that it would take Teal'c a good half hour before he'd join him, which suited him fine. He could use the peace to come to grips with Jack and Sam. Not that he hadn't been forced to do so a couple of years ago, but he was only just remembering that time, so basically, this was like living through it again.
Lately, it seemed that every mission was ripe for having to come to grips with something. He supposed it was petty really, the way he'd been feeling lately. Petty and juvenile. But hey, he'd gone from being welcomed with open arms (okay, semi-open arms) and having his place on SG-1 restored, to becoming nothing more than background. And for a guy who'd been background most of his life, it was hard going back.
His current invisibility made his return seem temporary at best. Hell, he hadn't even bothered to find a place to live yet and it had been months. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd even been out of the mountain, let alone the last time he'd been invited to Jack's.
Petty Daniel made another appearance and whispered, "Aren't you tired of losing your seat next to Jack because Jack is, again, choosing to sit next to Sam? And what about your position as official "Dial home, Daniel" gone again to Sam?"
Whoa, Petty Daniel was really on a roll.
A truthful roll, but still....
In all honesty, it was hard seeing so many impatient looks when a few weeks ago, they'd been fond looks, and a couple of weeks ago, fondly impatient. It was hard seeing the light of welcome dim in Jack's eyes and harder still to see his own respect for both Jack and Sam ending in the flurry that was their flirtation. A flirtation neither seemed brave enough, nor unselfish enough, to end by a change of status.
He'd been stunned when General Hammond had announced that Major Ike Caldwell was the new leader of SG-7 because it seemed the perfect opportunity for Jack and Sam. Sam could get what she deserved; her own command, and Jack would no longer be her commanding officer, thus freeing them to pursue the relationship they'd been skirting around for the better part of two years. Not to mention that by taking over SG-7, Sam would also have been in perfect position to stay close to Jack, as SG-7 was their counterpart in first contact. SG-1 went in and laid the groundwork, then SG-7 took over, which resulted in constant co-briefings and follow up meetings.
He hadn't been able to figure out why Sam had been passed over, so he'd finally asked her. He'd been shocked by her answer.
"Passed over? I never applied, Daniel. You think I'd give up SG-1 for any other SG unit?"
How could Sam not give up SG-1 when it would give her Jack? You take SG-1, subtract SG-7, and you get six degrees of separation. And Jack. What the hell was wrong with Sam, anyway?
He couldn't remember if SG-1 had always been so dysfunctional, but damn it, they were quite a foursome. He was in love with Jack, Jack was in love with Sam, Sam was in love with Jack, and Teal'c... Teal'c was in love with Sam.
Guess that made Teal'c and Daniel the SG-1 bookends.
One alien, now without a symbiote, and one civilian archaeologist, now without a memory -- sort of - and each holding up Jack and Sam. Well, okay, Teal'c could hold them up all by himself. Daniel would content himself with talking them both to death.
Damn, he was getting - harsh. Especially in light of the fact that this whole thing was a hell of a lot easier on Daniel than on Teal'c. Daniel was used to it, Teal'c wasn't. And Teal'c's falling in love with Sam had happened, if Daniel were any judge, fairly recently, while Daniel had been in love with Jack for a little over two years. Which was why Daniel was sitting quietly, waiting for Teal'c to decide to join him and eventually spill his Chulakian guts.
His mind took off on a tangent and he started wondering about his ascension and how funny it was that his first returning memories had been of Jack, even though he'd called him 'Jim'. Memories not of his parents, or Shar'e, or his life before the SGC, but Jack.
Always Jack.
And good memories. Memories that had left him smiling, if not out and out laughing. God, he'd been in such a good mood in the early weeks of his return, flashes of Jack lighting up his mind and filling his heart with love and warmth. They'd communicated without really talking and it seemed as if their relationship mirrored his memories. He'd been happier than he could ever remember being - not that his memory was all that intact. But as he'd learned early in life (those memories were now totally present), happiness was a transient thing at best. At least he knew where he belonged.
Didn't he?
"DanielJackson, I believe it is full."
The voice surprised him, in spite of the fact that he'd been expecting it. He glanced over at the lakeshore and sure enough, the container was just about to disappear. He yanked at the rope, stood, and hurried to the water's edge. Righting the plastic five gallon container, he hauled it out, twisted the top back on, and let it stand. Wiping his hands on his thighs, he straightened and walked back to the log. He grinned at Teal'c, indicated he should join him on the makeshift seat, and sat down himself.
"No rush back, right? We've done our part and Jack's the cook tonight, so let's sit and enjoy."
"I believe it is Major Carter's turn to cook--"
"No, no, P3X-383, remember? She cooked, Jack cleaned, now it's Jack's turn."
"Ah, yes. So we may indeed enjoy a few minutes of peace."
"Beginning now," Daniel said with a grin.
Several minutes passed in companionable silence, both men watching the strangely colored birds overhead. The sun moved steadily westward, causing Daniel to finally say, "No matter where we are, have you noticed that the sun - or suns - always set in the west?"
"I have indeed noticed that, DanielJackson."
"Some things seem inevitable. Like a westward setting sun."
"Thus, an eastward rising sun."
"Exactly."
"And trees. Lots of O'Neill trees."
Laughing, Daniel could only nod.
"I do not believe, DanielJackson, that I have told you often enough... how very glad I am that you have returned to us. I have missed you more than you will ever know."
"I missed you as well, Teal'c." He looked away, suddenly self-conscious and embarrassed. "I'm sorry about the whole loss of memory thing, but even when I didn't know who you were, I trusted you. I hope you know that."
"I did. And are your memories now restored?"
"Well, I don't know I haven't remembered something until I do, but my journals have helped a great deal."
"Of course."
For the first time that Daniel could remember (an iffy proposition at best), Teal'c looked uncomfortable, and he doubted that it was related to Sam.
"Teal'c, are you all right?"
"I am. However... do you remember all you should about... me?"
Ah. The light dawned.
"I wrote quite a bit about you in my journals, Teal'c. They're full of you, Shar'e, Apophis, Skaara -- and the fact that you've saved all of our lives too many times to count."
Teal'c looked around as if to ensure that no one else was close, and finally satisfied, said, "I... we have this moment, alone, and I find that I have the courage to ask that which I have failed to ask in the past."
"Teal'c?"
"I would ask how you... how were you able to forgive me? To accept me and place your life so thoroughly in my hands? How could you not judge? And more importantly, how could you not hate?"
"Did you ever ask Jack that same question?"
"I did."
"And his answer?"
Teal'c gazed out over the sparkling blue lake and said, "He stated that it was an instant decision, a knowing. One warrior to another."
"And so it was with me. You gave up your life, your family... your son , for us. In a split second, you made a decision that would have long-lasting effects on your life, and you did it to save those whom you believed could help your people. That truth was visible for anyone to see, Teal'c."
"That is not true, DanielJackson. Many did not see this truth you speak of. O'Neill had to do some, as he called it, 'fast talking', to keep me safe and on SG-1. I expected resistance, but what I did not expect was total acceptance from you, yet that is precisely what I received. What I continued to receive. Even after I took Shar'e's life in order to save yours."
Daniel leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. With hands clasped, he said, "Oh, believe me, that acceptance was not so easy to come by, Teal'c. But thanks to Shar'e, I worked through it while Amaunet had me in the grip of the ribbon device. I lived an entire life in those few minutes, Teal'c. And ultimately, while I would gladly have given my life for Shar'e, I know that she would wish otherwise. She was grateful to you, Teal'c. How could I be less?"
"Gratitude is the one emotion I did not expect. I do not believe there is any other such as you, DanielJackson."
"Jack would say that's a good thing," Daniel said with a wry grin.
"O'Neill would be wrong."
"Jack O'Neill, wrong. Now there's a concept for you," Daniel quipped.
Silence fell again as Daniel tried to figure out how to help Teal'c with his other problem. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was very much the wrong individual to talk to Teal'c. He was as involved in the Jack and Sam flirtation as Teal'c. How could he be certain that any advice he gave, was really for Teal'c?
He couldn't.
Damn.
A scuffing sound brought him back and he glanced down to see Teal'c's boot dragging through the dirt and sand. The big man cleared his throat and Daniel thought, 'here it comes....'
"DanielJackson, there is something else I wish to discuss with you. While you were ... away, I too spent many hours reading your journals and papers. I wished to know more about you, and about the Egypt that so enthralled you and indirectly brought you to the SGC."
Okay, this wasn't anything like what Daniel had supposed they'd be talking about now.
"I became fascinated by the Egyptian love of the number four."
"Ah, yes. The Egyptians believed it to be the most perfect number, being the number that represented totality and completeness."
"Precisely. Are we not a team of four?"
Uncertain where this was going, Daniel nodded warily.
"I have learned that the Egyptians were wrong, that it is not the number alone that brings a sense of totality and completeness, but rather, the individuals that make up that number. We were not ... SG-1, the complete, total SG-1, without you. In your absence, we were a version of SG-1, but not a total version. I believe that it is the four of us, together, that make up the essence and successes of SG-1. Do you agree?"
Did he? Slowly, Daniel shook his head.
"No, I don't. SG-1 was very successful in the last year, and before that there had been many missions, successful missions, when we were not four, but three."
"So even though you now have a place to be, you do not believe that you are needed?"
"Teal'c, how did this become about me? I'm happy, I feel at home again and that I have a purpose. Why--"
"I have once again felt an unhappiness in you, DanielJackson. I wish to assuage it."
Blue eyes met brown. "And what of your unhappiness, Teal'c?"
"I am not unhappy, DanielJackson."
Daniel noticed that Teal'c's gaze slipped away. "Well, since we're both being so honest here - I'm fine, Teal'c and very happy - just like you."
Teal'c gazed out over the lake, then down at the ground. He picked up a stick and began to drag it through the dirt as he said, "I fear that your unhappiness will lead you away from us again. I believe this unhappiness is, in part, why you chose the path of the Ancients. I know you shared that one of the reasons was that you'd never felt that you belonged anywhere, that you'd always wanted to make a difference--"
"Hence my unhappiness, Teal'c," Daniel offered.
"No, there was more. The cause of those feelings ran much deeper, DanielJackson."
Teal'c began to make designs in the dirt and Daniel realized they were about to discuss Jack and Sam, but from the perspective of his needs, not Teal'c's. He shouldn't have been surprised. Teal'c was very observant. Too observant.
"OH, KIDS! WE'RE BAAAAACK!"
Thank God for Jack. Daniel stood and started for the container, but a hand on his arm halted his movement.
"I will retrieve the water, DanielJackson."
He rubbed at the back of his head and frowned. "Oh, okay, sure. It's all yours."
They walked the short distance back to camp where Sam was going through a nice stack of rocks. Real rocks.
//All that glisters is not gold - William Shakespeare//
Jack's meal of chicken stew was history - thank God, and darkness was minutes away. Sam was still pouring over her rocks, and every few minutes, she'd cackle. She was seriously starting to worry Daniel. Jack was poking the fire, his expression one that sent shivers - the good kind -- up and down Daniel's spine. The firelight, and the dusky purples of the sky behind Jack, combined to highlight the angles and planes of his handsome face in a way that set Daniel's libido soaring. God, he was an amazing looking man. So different from anyone he'd ever cared about. And so out of reach.
Daniel felt the usual clenching in his chest and the tightening of his jaw. Incredible how real the pain could be. To come all the way back - only to understand that no matter what else he did, or what he accomplished, he would never know love from the man he loved more than life itself.
Unhappy, Teal'c? Damn right. But functioning, just like you, old friend. Just like you.
Daniel glanced away and stared out into the woods that surrounded their camp on three sides. He blinked. What the hell? Daniel stood up.
"Daniel?"
"Look."
Jack looked. "Daniel?"
"The trees, the bushes, look , Jack."
"I'm looking, Daniel, and you know what I see?"
"Trees and bushes?"
"Got it in one."
"You don't think they look - different? Kind of... shiny?"
Jack stood. "Shiny, Daniel? Shiny?"
Daniel's shoulders slumped as he said, "Yes, Jack, shiny. You don't see it?"
Sam rose and walked over to Jack's side. "I don't see anything either. Everything looks normal to me."
He rubbed at his temples and the beginning of a headache. Why was he not surprised? Of course no one else could see anything. He closed his eyes.
"I'm afraid I see nothing out of the ordinary either, DanielJackson. However, I suspect that if you do, there is something out of the ordinary to see," Teal'c said quietly.
Daniel turned to face his friend and smiled gently. "Thank you, Teal'c." At that moment, a fragrance unlike anything Daniel had ever smelled before enveloped him. "I don't suppose you guys... smell that, right?"
Jack, with a strange look thrown at Teal'c, walked over to Daniel's side. He sniffed a bit, and his eyes widened. "Wow, that smells ... good. Is it you, Daniel?"
"Oh, right, Eau de Chicken Stew with a smattering of male sweat."
"Works for me, but I do get a touch of," he sniffed again, "of... gardenia?"
Daniel rolled his eyes and moved toward the bushes that were getting ... shinier by the minute. He reached out and....
A hand clamped over his. "Don't you dare touch it."
"Jack?" he said as he faced his friend.
"Daniel? If something is going on, why would you want to actually touch it? Haven't we learned anything in all these years?"
"It's a leaf, Jack. I'm going to touch a leaf. It's shining, as is the grass you're standing on, and the trees that surround us, and that tree over there, the one with one of Sam's bags of rocks hanging from it, and even the fire, or rather, the logs that are on fire are shiny. So let me touch the leaf."
Jack kept his hand on Daniel's as he scrutinized the stupid leaf. He squinted. He opened one eye while shutting the other, then reversed the process. He frowned. "Well, I'll be damned, the thing is shiny... or shin ing ." He looked up, his gaze traveling the length and breadth of the tree. "The whole danged thing is shining."
"No, really? Are you sure, Jack?" Daniel asked, his voice dripping with innocence.
Jack let Daniel's hand go, reached out... and touched the leaf. "It doesn't... feel... shiny. It feels... silky, but otherwise, normal."
Ignoring the tingling in the hand so recently held by Jack, Daniel touched the leaf. It didn't feel normal to him. It felt... alive. As in more than a plant alive. He didn't think he should say that though.
"O-kay, so we have shining and shiny plant life all of a sudden. Anyone got any ideas?"
"Sir, it might be the air, but until I do a study--"
"The air, Carter? Care to explain that?"
"Like a mirage? You know, hot day, shimmering air, and you think the road ahead is wet?"
"Ah. So I only think this leaf is shiny?"
"Well, that might be a bit too simple, sir. There could be properties in the air, properties that change with nightfall, that cause us to see an aura around the plant life, but again, until I can do--"
"Some studies, right. Fine, do some studies, Carter. Unless you think this is unsafe?"
"I don't think we're in any danger, Colonel. The air on this planet is slightly different than what we're used to, and it's definitely cleaner than anything we've experienced."
"And clean air is shiny air, right, Carter?"
"Well, yes, sir."
"Great. Then let's have some dessert."
He turned away, walked back to the fire and sat down. He waited with his head cocked. "Kids? Dessert?"
Daniel looked over at Sam, who looked over at Teal'c, who looked over at Jack. Who dug into his pack and pulled out... candy bars. He waved them enticingly. "Hershey bars, kids."
Daniel's mouth dropped open. Hershey bars? Jack brought Hershey bars? Pulled as if by a string, Daniel moved toward the candy.
"God, Daniel, you're so easy."
Okay, this was weird. Everything had gone from shiny to... sparkling. Daniel shot a few covert looks at his teammates and, based on their apparent comfort, deduced that they hadn't yet noticed the change from shiny to sparkly. Of course, some could argue that it was a vague distinction at best, but Daniel knew from his shiny and sparkly. He also had the distinct impression that they were being watched. An impression clearly not shared by Teal'c or Jack, both 'we're being watched' experts. The sense of being observed left no feeling of danger or worry... in fact, Daniel was getting that 'oh, boy, new artifacts to play with' feeling in the pit of his stomach. He loved that feeling.
//We are such stuff... As dreams are made on - William Shakespeare//
"He sees us, my Lord."
"No, but he does sense us. And he noticed the change with nightfall, long before he should have."
"My King, should we... dare we... show ourselves to him?"
"Not yet, if at all. Patience, my love. You too, Puckton."
The King watched the familiar strangers, his hand on his Queen's arm. Next to him Puckton sat on a branch, legs swinging. Suddenly Puckton's wings flapped lazily as he drifted down to land on his King's shoulder.
"May I touch him, my Lord?"
The King studied the young human in question and slowly smiled. A touch by his son indeed. That might tell him all he needed to know of this particular human. Decision made, he nodded.
"His emotions do not confuse us as the others do," Oberon mused. "Yes, I think you may. But gently, Puck, and briefly. No more than a blink in their time, understood?"
A wing flicked excitedly just before Puckton took off.
"Was that wise, my King?"
"We will know in a moment, will we not?"
"I'll take first watch," Daniel offered, to no one's surprise.
Jack rose, stretched, and with arms above his head, said, "Sounds like a plan. Teal'c, you take second and I'll take the third. Carter, you now have plenty of time to study your rocks. Have a ball. I'm turning in."
Daniel watched as Jack entered the tent, the one they'd be sharing for four short hours, then watched as Teal'c stood.
"I shall use this time for some quiet meditation."
Daniel, noting Teal'c refusal to say 'kel-no-reem' now that he no longer required the practice, nodded and said, "See you in four, T."
Sam glanced up, realized that it was just the two of them, and began to gather her rocks. Once she had them packed up, she stood quickly and said, "I'll just take these to the tent and do my thing with them, Daniel. See you in the morning."
He gave her a bright empty smile and nodded. He wasn't surprised she was 'escaping'. Unless they could talk about their job, the latest emergency, or were in a briefing, he and Sam simply didn't talk.
For the first time since Jonas had returned home, Daniel wondered if that had been a mistake. Was that the real issue for SG-1? Teal'c obviously excluded. Daniel had ascended, Jonas had taken his place, and suddenly, after an entire year, Daniel shows up and Jonas is out? Oh, God, was that it? Was that why Jack and Sam were suddenly the Bobbsey Twins? Sure, the attraction could still be there - was obviously still there, but could it be that both Jack and Sam preferred... wanted... Jonas? Preferred working with him? Or were now finding that fact out?
He rubbed at his temple, then squeezed the bridge of his nose. Too much to think about, to consider. Too much between him and his world. The world he'd returned to.
Suddenly Daniel cocked his head. What the hell?
A tingling... a fluttering of something....
A voice, small and high, yet Daniel heard no words. Just the sound of a voice in his ear, and he had to wonder why he could hear a voice, when there were no words? There was definitely sound, but no sound he recognized. No humming or singing, or... he was going crazy.
He was going crazy. Like the bends. Like coming down off a high. Like the shock of descending. This was a side affect of descending. Oh joy.
Daniel decided to keep this newest development to himself. Among so many other developments.
Puck liked the young human. He was enjoying the warmth and humanity of him, but he wasn't immune to the sadness that flowed from the man. He knew human emotions were dangerous, but this young one...this one was different. Slowly he lifted off, and with a gentle flap of his thin silvery wings, sped back to his father, the King.
"My Lord, I have touched him, and I heartily recommend that we all do so. His mind is very odd, but I enjoyed it." Puck lowered his head, his long lashes brushing his cheeks. "I fear... that he... well, I suspect... that he--"
"Felt you, my Son?" the King asked without a trace of ire.
"Yes, my Father."
"That simply confirms my suspicions."
"My King, I would like to touch him," his Queen said, her gaze on the man sitting by the fire.
King Oberon gave his queen a skeptical look. "Yes, I'm sure you would, Titania. But I think not. He is not for you."
One elegant eyebrow rose. "I suppose he's for you, then, my King?"
With a thoughtful look, Oberon shrugged. "That I do not know. Let us watch a bit and see what happens as the night deepens."
"My Lord, I think you should know," Puck said with some trepidation, "the human carries with him a great sadness... and an energy I could not place. It was nothing like the others, not even the Jaffa. Nothing like any human I have ever touched."
Oberon regarded the human again, this time with a different gleam in his eye. "Really? I may need to 'touch' him myself."
Titania gazed heavenward.
//That he's mad, 'tis true, 'tis true 'tis pity //
He was two hours into his shift and the sense of whatever had been near him was gone. But not the feeling of being watched. That was still very present. He'd also noticed that the area around the camp was changing.
Slowly, and with some care, he rose to his feet. He waited, then turned, making a full circle. Daniel couldn't begin to try to describe what he was seeing and sensing. The forest seemed all soft silver edges, the flowers suddenly gilt-lined, the air alive with small twinkling lights, like fireflies, only lazier than any he'd ever seen. His attention was drawn upward, to the sky, a dark, velvety midnight blue sky, a true midnight blue that artists could only dream of trying to match. Daniel took in a breath and held it because he could hear....
...whispers
...surrounding him like the softest zephyr, caressing his soul, alive and silky. Slowly he moved toward the thickest part of the forest. He glanced over his shoulder and, satisfied that his teammates were either asleep or meditating, murmured, "Who are you?"
He had not a clue as to why he asked that question, but he knew the moment it left his lips, it was the right one. This planet was alive, and he knew that beyond his sight were the inhabitants of P4S-381.
Several of the small firefly type lights bobbed and weaved around him, circling his head, and he was reminded of the creatures Sam had told him about, the ones on that moon... M4C-862. He took a quick step back, and they followed.
"Okay, if you are like those creatures on M4C-862, well, we're not here to hurt you, study you, or capture you, so you don't need to go zipping through us, right? And if you're not like... well, then, all right. Good. That would be good."
The lights seemed to dance in front of him, and he had the distinct impression that whatever else these lights were... they were happy little buggers. He smiled at his word choice. Buggers. Probably not the right thing to say out loud, he suspected. But happy was the right word, definitely. Which accounted for what he did next....
Daniel put out his right hand, palm up.
Two of the lights hovered mere centimeters above his palm, then one of them touched down.
"Whoa," he whispered. "Nice."
Okay, whatever the hell they were, he liked them.
"Look, my name is Daniel Jackson and I'm from Earth. We're explorers and we came to this planet because a device we have, a device called a M.A.L.P.... uhm, that means Mobile Analytic Laboratory Probe... anyway, we sent it through the Stargate, you know, the big ring a couple of miles from here? We sent it through and it told us that the environment was safe for us, and gives us..."
With his left hand, he scratched the back of his head, grinned, and said, "In the words of our fearless leader, Colonel O'Neill, TMI, or too much information. Anyway, we're here because the M.A.L.P. recorded a certain mineral that isn't found on our planet, but one that we need, so we're here to check it out. That's all. We recorded no signs of life, but I'm thinking those results were really off, because I think I'm surrounded by life, right?"
He addressed his remarks to the one light still resting on his palm, but his eyes were fixed on the woods just beyond his sight.
"You know, this is all very familiar to me... if I could just... peg it. The woods, the way everything is all soft and mystical and kind of magical...."
He stopped. Then grinned a huge grin. "God, this is just like A Midsummer Night's Dream."
A rustling of leaves alerted Daniel to the fact that something was moving off to his right.
"I'm not surprised," a low but musical voice said. "Willie based his play on us. We were his inspiration."
A figure stood a few feet from Daniel, the shadows preventing him from seeing anything more than the outline. The light in his hand took off, buzzed around the figure, and was quickly joined by at least twenty other glittering lights.
"Who--"
The figure stepped out of the shadow.
"I am King Oberon and this is my world, Daniel."
Three thoughts came immediately to mind; he should have Jack's P-90, which was followed by thought number two; he shouldn't have Jack's P-90, followed by thought three; it was McKenzie time again.
King Oberon indeed.
//What's in a name? That which we call a rose - William Shakespeare//
"So," Daniel finally managed to say, "you're the King of the Fairies?" He was somehow able not to sound like Colonel "Doubting Thomas" Jonathon O'Neill.
The man moved forward, out of the shadows, and Daniel could see him clearly. He was tall, slender, beautifully dressed in a thin, white,v-necked shirt, dark billowing pants and a grass-grazing lavender robe of velvet. His hair was jet black, long, curly and tucked behind tiny ears that--yes--were delicately pointed. In the lobe of one, a diamond-like jewel glittered, and on his head, a thin circlet of gold.
Smiling, King Oberon said, "Don't laugh, but the whole 'fairy' thing was a mistake. We identified ourselves as 'Furlings' and somehow, that translated into fairies for Willie."
Furlings. The other ancient race as represented by the writings on P3X-972.
There was so much Daniel wanted to ask, but all that came out was, "Willie? As in... William Shakespeare?"
Oberon nodded. "We visited your world many moons ago but eventually found that we needed to move on as you proved to be too complicated for us."
" We were too complicated for you? Okay, that's new. The Nox, the Asgard, the Ancients, they all believe us too young, and complicated is definitely not a word any of them have used in describing us."
Oberon moved to stand beside Daniel, and he was amazed that he had no urge to back away. He stood his ground as Oberon stopped a mere foot away.
"You have met the Nox? The Asgard and the Ancients?"
"Yes, the Asgard believe Jack, our leader, Jack O'Neill, is special, they love him." Daniel rubbed his chin and grinned. "I've begun to wonder about the Asgard."
"How did you find the Nox?" Oberon asked, his eyes wide with interest.
"We went to their planet searching for what we believed to be an invisible creature called the Fenri but found the Nox instead. We've had a total of three encounters with them and I hope that one day we can form a real alliance."
Oberon's face took on an almost dreamy expression as he said, "I have not seen Opher for longer than I can remember. He was a good friend."
Daniel's curiosity was pounding at the gates, questions filling his brain, but he was on guard duty and--
"Have no worries, there is nothing on this planet that can harm you or your teammates, Daniel. Come, walk with me."
Daniel glanced nervously back at camp, then shook his head. "I can't. I have a duty...."
His voice trailed off as Oberon took his arm. "Then come, we'll sit near the fire. Your friends will not awaken."
Before he could blink, he was being led over to the center of camp and the fire. A fire that seemed superfluous in the temperate night air. Oberon sat him down on the log he'd been using earlier as a chair, and sat down beside him - close beside him.
"You have been to Heliopolis, haven't you?" Oberon asked quietly.
"Yes," Daniel found himself answering easily. "A good man, Ernest Littlefield, was trapped there for over fifty years. We rescued him and...." Daniel glanced away as he added quietly, "It's gone now, all of it. Washed away in a storm. All that you, the Asgard, the Ancients and the Nox worked toward, gone."
With a knowing smile, Oberon said, "No, Daniel, not gone. Never gone. It's here," he touched his heart, then followed it up by touching his temple, "and here. We four races are entwined for all time, in spite of our differences, and the paths we ultimately chose to take."
Daniel could no more not ask the next question than breathe. "What did happen? What we found was already in ruins and--"
Oberon sighed heavily, cutting Daniel's words off. He waited, expectantly.
"I suspect it would not suffice to tell you that the choice of paths separated us, would it, Daniel?"
Daniel chose to allow his silence to be his answer. Oberon sighed again.
"I didn't think so. Tell me what you believe you know of the others."
"I know that the Nox have shut themselves away from the world, that the Asgard have done what they can in the battle with the Goa'uld by protecting hundreds of planets, but at the moment, they're in the middle of their own inner battles and recovering from the war with something called the replicators." He ducked his head, picked up a stick and started making doodles in the dirt as he added, "And we know that a plague destroyed the Ancients until they learned how... to ... ascend to another plane of existence." He looked up again and said, "That's about it."
" Robustious, periwigpated--"
Daniel reared back, both eyebrows arched as he regarded Oberon who, at catching Daniel's expression, sputtered to a stop before asking, "Wha'?"Robustious? Perwigpated? Where did those come from?"
Oberon smiled. "Oh, a little something Willie shared. Our days with him were quite... illuminating. And fun. I miss you humans."
Daniel let one eyebrow rise in what he knew was a fine imitation of Teal'c. Oberon nodded and said, "Right. To put it bluntly, when the Ancients were hit by that plague, it scared us. For all their abilities, they couldn't save themselves. The Asgard, who were advancing beyond anything we could understand technologically, couldn't save them either. Nor could the Nox, in spite of their abilities. And we, well, the Furlings are not without a few tricks of our own, yet, we could not help them. The four greatest races, and yet, we couldn't save them. Fear set in and the Nox are now a people unto themselves. They used to be adventurous souls, always reaching out like curious children... much like us. Which explains why we followed the same path and chose to close ourselves off from everything, and every risk. We came here, and here we stay. The Goa'uld are no threat to us--"
"Aren't they?" Daniel asked. "How is that possible? You have a 'Gate, and while this address was one on the list we have from the Ancients, they could still--"
"No, Daniel. This planet is protected. The Goa'uld would find nothing here of interest, and thus, would leave. But more than that, the address to our world could not even be randomly found. You are only here because you somehow have a list of... and how did you--"
"Long story short, all the knowledge of the Ancients was downloaded into Jack. Before the Asgard removed it, he downloaded hundreds of 'Gate addresses into our computer system and we're still exploring them, along with thousands found on a Goa'uld cartouche on Abydos."
Oberon digested the information, and ultimately, it served to confirm his already high opinion of the humans. He was about to ask another question, when Daniel interrupted him.
"You're not so safe from the Goa'uld, by the way. Whatever you think you've done to this planet to protect it, well, what would you say if I told you that at least one Goa'uld is a half ascended being?"
For the first time, Oberon looked truly unsettled. "That is not possible--"
"Yes, it is. A Goa'uld by the name of Anubis is, at the moment, the single greatest threat to all of us. And I mean... all of us."
"Anubis?" Oberon said in surprise.
Daniel nodded solemnly.
"How do you know this, Daniel?"
The stick was put into use again as Daniel said, "It doesn't matter how I know, just trust me, it's true."
"I see," Oberon said thoughtfully. "That does change things a bit. I assume the Nox and the Asgard know of this?"
"It would matter one way or the other?"
"It could."
Daniel rose, tossed the stick several feet away and said, "What's with you advanced races, anyway? Do you have any idea how many have been lost in the battle with the Goa'uld? How many have been taken as hosts? And why do I think that all it would take to end it is if just two of the almighty great races banded together? Why do I think that?"
Oberon watched as Daniel's tone changed and his voice rose in anger and frustration.
"Hell, I'm betting the Nox could have ended it centuries ago, and I know the Ancients could end it now, and who knows what you can do, but do any of you do anything? Did I do anything? NO!"
His yelled out 'no' filled the air and Daniel immediately whirled around to check out the tents. Oberon stood and raised a hand.
"Do not worry, they will not awaken unless I allow it."
Daniel's expression changed from anger to fear. "What do you mean?"
Oberon rose quickly and put out a hand to stave off the worry. "There is no need to fear for them. It is a simple spell of restful sleep. Didn't you read Willie's work?"
Feeling like he'd been trapped in a free-falling elevator that had just screeched to a halt, Daniel dug his fingers into his hair, then turned helplessly toward the tents. "You put them to sleep," he finally said. "You just... put them to sleep."
"How else to approach you, Daniel? They are not ready to see us, but you, you're different. You even felt my son, Puckton. You heard him too, although you could not make out the words."
"I'm not different, I just... look, you need to wake them, or let them wake, or... sleep, or, you know, whatever they would be doing naturally... you need to let them do it."
"Why? Are you not enjoying our interaction?"
"Are you saying it would end if they woke?"
"Yes. I would return to my forest and your human eyes would not see me or the others. Is that what you want?"
"Why? Why would you hide? My teammates are no threat to you, but you know that. So why not... interact... with all of us?"
"You humans are very ... emotional, Daniel. We feel those emotions. Before they slept, these woods were full of their thoughts, desires, dreams and aspirations. It is very confusing for my people. That's one of the reasons we finally left your world."
Daniel almost laughed. Almost. The idea that Jack or Teal'c or Sam could put out the kind of emotions that would bother anyone was almost... ludicrous. Sure, Jack and Sam were in love, but those emotions were so tightly packaged, so contained, so normal for the two, that he doubted they even registered as a blip on the radar of ... whatever measured love. He shrugged mentally and decided he was slipping in the verbiage department.
Oh, hell. Teal'c. No, Teal'c wouldn't account for any runaway emotions. He was too in control. His love for Sam was quiet and constant, but hardly disturbing.
"I can see that you do not believe me, Daniel."
"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that--"
"Would a demonstration of the emotions wielded by your teammates be helpful?"
Daniel took a step back. "Wha'... what do you mean?"
Oberon gave him a thoughtful look, then said, "You shall see, Daniel. You shall see...."
"My King, what are you planning?" Titania asked.
She stood by his side, and next to them, the very still and unaware human, Daniel Jackson. She had the urge to touch his skin, his cheek, to see if it could be as soft and warm as it appeared.
"I believe it is time to unleash the emotions of those called... SG-1, my Queen. Daniel does not believe his friends could possess feelings so wild and erratic that they would bother us. I think he must learn and perhaps... perhaps, find his way tonight."
Daniel blinked. Damn, what had he been doing? He glanced around and found everything as it should be. Man, he must have dozed off. He stood up and started jogging in place to wake himself up. As he jogged, he checked out the shiny plant life and found that it was still shining. He checked his watch and realized that he had an hour left of his watch. He could make it.
"DanielJackson?"
He looked over his shoulder to see Teal'c emerging from his tent.
"Couldn't sleep?"
"Apparently not. I find myself suddenly very restless. I believe I shall take a walk, DanielJackson."
"Oh, okay. Just be...."
"You were about to say?" Teal'c asked.
Smiling, Daniel said, "I was about to tell you to be careful. Silly, huh?"
"Would you care to come with me? We can be... careful ... together."
Daniel knew he shouldn't say it, even as he said it.
"Sure, why not? Let's go."
He knew he'd wonder later what got into both of them, but for now, it felt good.
They wandered toward the lake again, the huge orb in the sky guiding them with its brightness. The moon's beam cut them a path and they followed it slowly and lazily. Around them, what appeared to be fireflies, darted about, giving the night a feeling of magic.
"I find this planet very... restful, Daniel."
"I know what you mean."
They stopped at the edge of the lake and before Daniel could blink, Teal'c was removing his tee-shirt.
"Would you join me in a swim?"
Strangely enough, the idea of swimming in the moonlight appealed to Daniel. He nodded and lifted his shirt over his head. When it was off, he was surprised to find that Teal'c was already waist deep in the water. Wow, he was fast. As Daniel took off his boots and socks, then stepped out of his BDU's, he felt an unusual tingle in his gut. The surge of a strange, excited kind of anticipatory feeling shot straight to his groin and he found himself moving toward the water in a weird daze.
As the gentle tide lapped at his feet, caressing them, he smiled in the moonlight and received a broad grin from Teal'c.
"Come in, DanielJackson. The water is quite refreshing."
Teal'c's voice was soft, silky, and inviting... Daniel obeyed without question. He walked in, and kept walking until he was face to face with the Jaffa. The night air swirled around the two of them, dancing in delight, brushing bare skin, teasing and tantalizing.
"I have noticed your eyes many times, DanielJackson, but never have they looked so beautiful as they do now, with the moonlight reflected within their depths and shining back at me."
Such words coming from his stoic friend should have shocked Daniel, but they didn't. He simply smiled. Compliments weren't something he was used to, and the few he'd received in his life had always been met with an embarrassed ducking of his head, followed by a finger pushing up his glasses. Not this time. He ran his hand up Teal'c's strong muscled arm and said, "I've always had difficulty telling what you were thinking, Teal'c. Your eyes give away nothing, but tonight, tonight I see so much...."
Several fireflies darted in and out between them, but neither man gave the creatures a second glance. The night seemed to focus on Daniel and Teal'c, the water their blanket, the breeze their breath. Daniel watched as Teal'c leaned in, his lips drawing impossibly closer....
//To sleep, perchance to dream - William Shakespeare//
Sam jerked awake. She listened for danger, and found that the only odd sound was coming from her in the form of her own short, sharp gasps. She was dripping with sweat, and yet, she wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, if she didn't know better, she'd have said she'd just had the greatest orgasm of her life. She blinked in the darkness and tried to recapture something... a dream, perhaps? She closed her eyes and could almost feel him... strong and protective, dark eyes giving nothing away as large hands roamed over her body, claiming her, setting her nerves on fire....
Shit. Where the hell had that come from?
She sat up abruptly, tossed off the top of her sleeping bag and scrambled out. She was wearing her BDU's and black sweater, so she quickly pulled on her boots, laced them up almost angrily, then stepped out of the tent.
"Daniel, I...."
Her voice trailed off as she realized she was alone. There was no Daniel. Oddly enough, she felt no panic as she turned toward Teal'c's tent. She poked her head inside and quickly jumped back.
No Teal'c.
Running nervous fingers through her hair, she pulled at the flap of the colonel's tent and whispered, "Colonel?"
A grumbling from inside set her mind slightly at rest. At least he was here.
"Wha' the hell?"
Okay, not the colonel's normal response when being awakened on a mission.
"Sir, Teal'c and Daniel... they're... gone."
"No, they're not," he said automatically, his mind refusing to accept that A) Teal'c could be taken without a fuss, or that B) Teal'c and Daniel would simply wander off, leaving the camp unguarded.
"Sir, they are."
Body language yelling "I'm a stubborn son-of-a-bitch", Jack got up, and with ruffled bedhead, a yawn, and a creased face, he stepped past Carter and walked forcefully over to Teal'c's tent. He threw back the flap, peered inside, and his breath immediately whooshed from his lungs as he observed, "Teal'c's not here."
"No, sir, he isn't. Neither is Daniel."
Jack stepped back and allowed the flap to fall from his fingers. He stood a moment, reviewing possibilities A and B. He shook his head, turned, grabbed his P-90, and said, "Come on, let's go. We have two men to find."
Sam didn't immediately respond, her gaze stuck on Jack, on his face in the moonlight, on his long slender fingers as they curled angrily around his weapon. She felt a lurch in her stomach, a pitch and turn, the way she'd felt her first time in a flight simulator. She should be worried sick, and on guard, but all she could think about were those fingers... on her.
"Carter? Get a move on. Something's going on here and we're going to find out what."
Jerked back to awareness, she stumbled back, found her weapon, and realized that Jack was already moving away.
What the hell was wrong with her? And why hadn't she ever noticed Jack's butt before? Not as round as Teal'c's, nor as high, and not as... as... perfect... as Daniel's, but it was definitely nice. Very nice. Very, very, nice. She followed happily behind him.
//Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind - William Shakespeare//
When Teal'c's lips finally touched his, Daniel sighed into the kiss. It was - delicious. His arms came up, one settling around Teal'c's waist, the other around Teal'c's neck. He could feel the muscles bunching up, felt the hardness of them, their perfection, and he leaned into the kiss, demanding more. Teal'c gave it to him.
Daniel's gut was doing flip-flops and he couldn't believe that such a calm night could exist while being touched by their passion. The water that tickled his skin should have been bubbling white with churning waves and the stars above should have been racing across the heavens. Teal'c suddenly pulled him close, their chests bumping, then resting against each other. He felt one of Teal'c's hands smoothing down his back, then gliding under the waistband of his shorts. He moaned into the older man's mouth. So good... so....
Wrong.
NO! RIGHT! They deserved this, didn't they? Two lost people, forced to watch the individuals they loved....
He and Teal'c deserved this.
Wrong.
One word, the truth of which doused his passion like a cold shower. It was wrong on so many levels, he couldn't begin to express them all. Ultimately, it came down to one thing; the man he was kissing so passionately wasn't Jack, and he wasn't... Sam.
He pushed slightly and murmured deep in his throat, "No."
The word sent Teal'c reeling backward.
Glazed brown eyes tried to focus on him as Teal'c whispered, "DanielJackson?"
He caressed Teal'c's cheek and said, "No, Teal'c, we can't be what we aren't."
Sanity had returned. He could see it in the quickly clearing eyes of his friend. Teal'c leaned into the caress for the briefest of moments, then nodded.
"You are correct, DanielJackson. I do not understand what possessed me--"
"Us, what possessed us," Daniel corrected with a small smile.
"We are brothers and friends. And yet, for a moment, it seemed very right, did it not?"
Teal'c's arm was still around his waist and he let the strength of the man pull him back. He rested his head against Teal'c's, felt the larger man's breath against the side of his face, and he nodded. "Yes, yes, it did. For a moment."
He was almost certain that Teal'c's lips brushed his temple before the arm released him and they both stepped away from each other.
"O'Neill is a fool," Teal'c said simply.
"So is Sam," Daniel answered with a grin.
Moving together, they walked out of the water and began to dress. The air was sweet and warm so Daniel decided to forgo wearing his shirt. He also had no desire to return to camp - yet. He sat down on the same stump he'd used earlier in the day and wasn't surprised when Teal'c, also shirtless, joined him.
Eyes on the water and the fireflies that danced over the spot he and Teal'c had shared a moment before, Daniel murmured, "Sanity is highly overrated."
"I agree, DanielJackson."
Clouds seemed to appear in the night sky and they watched them drift across the moon even as their bodies subconsciously leaned into each other, their shoulders touching.
When he got his hands on Daniel, the man was going to die. If it was the last thing he did. He just knew Daniel was responsible for this - whatever this was. He just knew it. And what the fuck was up with Carter? She was acting all ... feminine, and stuff. She'd actually batted her eyes at him earlier, and he was damn certain she was looking at his ass. Definitely not military, and definitely not Carter.
"Sir, we've been walking for quite a while. I really could use a rest."
Jack was so shocked by the tone of Carter's voice that he stopped dead. She'd sounded so... so....
"Sir, I'm just going to sit," she sidled up to him, her hip just grazing him, "over there." She gazed up at him, her lashes fluttered minutely, then she tugged at his shirt. "There's room for both of us, Colonel," she added breathlessly.
"Carter, we've only been walking for fifteen minutes. They're at the lake, if the trail is any indication. I think," he added snidely, "you can make it that far, you being a soldier and all."
She leaned into him and said, "But this spot looks very comfortable and we both need to rest, just for a few minutes? Sir?"
Good God, she's batting her eyelashes again. He'd just bet Daniel was responsible for this,too. He was such a dead archaeologist.
" Major , we are going to continue until we find Daniel and Teal'c. Am I making myself clear?"
He watched, stunned, as Major-Doctor Samantha Carter - pouted.
Dear God in heaven.
"Yes, sir, if you say so, sir."
Brushing past her, he mumbled, "I say so."
Shivering uncontrollably, Jack continued walking, fully aware that his 2IC was once again staring at his ass.
Ten minutes later, he spotted his wayward archaeologist and Jaffa. He could see them sitting on a tree stump next to the lake. And they appeared... they were... shirtless.
Inwardly seething, he started to move through the trees when Teal'c leaned into Daniel and the gesture seemed so....
Jack's brain refused to say the word.
"Oh, there they are, sir," Carter said brightly. She came abreast and added, "Don't they look cute, Colonel?"
Cute was most definitely not the word his mind was refusing to say.
Carter took two steps ahead of Jack, then tilted her head to the right, then the left. Jack frowned. "Carter?"
In a voice as hard as the iris that covered the 'Gate, she said, "Just what is Daniel doing?"
"As far as I can tell, Carter, he's currently sitting on a tree stump. But perhaps you, being so intelligent and all, can see what I can't," Jack answered, his anger at what he was seeing hidden beneath a sarcastic tone.
"They look too... chummy... to me," Sam hissed out. "Way too chummy. I swear, Daniel is nothing but a horn dog and now he's making moves on Teal'c!"
Shocked speechless, Jack could only stare open-mouthed as his 2IC went insane. Daniel Jackson, a horn dog? Jack doubted Daniel even knew what the expression meant, let alone the idea that he could actually be one. Carter suddenly moved forward again, and the purposeful set of her chin told him to stop her before she made a fool out of herself. He snagged her sweater and yanked her back. Before she could protest, he backtracked until they were out of sight and sound of Daniel and Teal'c.
"Carter, you're losing it. Now I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I will get to the bottom of it. You're--"
"Sir, I beg to differ. The only thing wrong here is Daniel. How dare he--"
"Carter, shut up."
She blinked rapidly up at him, then started waving her arms and sputtering something about Daniel and Teal'c and how dare he just stand there and let Daniel seduce Teal'c. Poor innocent Teal'c.
"Carter, you're to go back to camp - now. That's an order."
"Sir--"
"An order."
Evidently, being a major in the Air Force was more ingrained than being insane. Carter shot another look toward the lake, saluted him, turned on her heel and marched back toward camp.
Thank you, God.
It was now time to deal with that seducing son-of-a-bitch Jaffa.
"I am ready to head back, DanielJackson."
"You go ahead, Teal'c. I think... I think I'll stay here a while longer. It's your watch now anyway."
"Are you certain, Daniel?" Teal'c asked gently.
"I'm certain."
Teal'c rose, reached for his shirt and slipped it on. As he pulled it down, Daniel caught a glimpse of the 'x' that signified his pouch. Funny, he hadn't even felt it in the water. Of course, with no symbiote, he supposed that was natural.
A few moments later, he was alone. Suddenly he felt exhausted. And ashamed.
Teal'c moved quietly through the forest, his mind full of the last several minutes. He did not regret his actions in the lake, but he was fairly certain that DanielJackson did. He would have been content to be with Daniel, for he loved him. Not as he cared for Samantha Carter, but to give solace and comfort to a man who was as a brother to him, and needed it, yes, he would have been content. A movement to his right caught his attention and he stopped. He felt no need for caution and a moment later, he understood why. It was O'Neill. Slowly Teal'c smiled. He remained quiet and partially hidden as his friend passed within a few feet of him. O'Neill looked angry. Teal'c's grin broadened.
If he could have whistled, he would have done so as he made his way back to camp. Perhaps he had a chance with Samantha after all, he mused.
"You are truly devious, my King."
"Not at all. If we are to interact with these humans, we must once again learn to deal with their emotions. And if, in doing so, a special man finds his heart's other half, than so be it."
"You are also a sap, my Husband."
One finely shaped black brow rose. "Sap? I do not believe you learned that from Willie, my Wife."
"No, I did not," she said enigmatically.
"Where is he?" Jack demanded as he entered the clearing.
Daniel shot up. "Jack?"
"Teal'c. Where the fuck is he?"
"Uhm, camp, why?"
"Why? Because I want to bust his head open, that's why."
"Now, Jack, it's only just now his watch. You want to bust anyone's head open, it should be mine. I'm the one who shirked his duty and left you and Sam vulnerable... and by the way? I can't believe I did that." He ran a hand over his still damp face and shook his head helplessly. "I don't know what got into me, Jack. I'm sorry."
"Don't be an ass."
Jack's words interrupted the beginnings of a really good guilt-fest. "Ass?" Daniel repeated. "Ass?"
"You heard me." Resting his arm on his P-90, Jack regarded his friend. "Just exactly where are your smarts, anyway? Can anyone be as ignorant as you? I mean, come on, Daniel, you're in your fucking thirties, you've been around the block at least a few times. You're not some babe-in-the-woods, you know?"
Daniel frowned stupidly. "Jack, what the hell are you talking about?"
Waving his arm expansively, Jack said, "I'm talking about you allowing Teal'c to seduce you. For a grown man, you're so damn naïve."
The light bulb went on. "Oh, God, you saw us."
"Damn straight I saw you. I swear, Daniel, you need a keeper."
Indignation quickly replaced embarrassment. "For crying out loud, Jack, it was one kiss. And if Teal'c and I want to kiss in the lake, then guess what? We're going to fucking kiss in the lake. He's not military, I'm not military, he's not my commanding officer, thank you very much, so there's not one thing keeping us from kissing or anything else, and further more," he lifted his chin stubbornly, " you're the asshole, not me."
Jack's face flushed a deep crimson, but it was the red of anger, not embarrassment. He advanced toward Daniel, his eyes mere slits. "You kissed Teal'c? You kissed him?"
Holding his ground, Daniel nodded. "I did, and what are you going to do about it? Transfer me? Transfer him? What, you and Sam can carry on a stupid fucking flirtation for years , riding the edge of court martial, but Teal'c and I can't kiss? You and Sam can teeter on the brink of a relationship, a relationship you're both too selfish to actually start , but Teal'c and I can't receive solace from one another in our loss? Well, you know what I say? I say fuck you, Colonel Jack 'I'm an asshole' O'Neill. FUCK YOU!"
"WELL FUCK YOU TOO!" Jack yelled back.
"NO THANK YOU. NOT IF YOU WERE THE LAST FUCKING MAN ON THIS FUCKING PLANET OR ANY OTHER FUCKING PLANET!"
"BULL SHIT. YOU'D FUCK A TREE IF IT CROOKED ITS PINKIE."
"TREES DON'T HAVE PINKIES, YOU IDIOT!"
"YOU'D STILL FUCK IT!"
Daniel took a step forward, his anger sizzling between them. "You know, you're one miserable excuse for a human being, O'Neill."
Jack moved within two feet of Daniel, pointed a finger threateningly, and hissed, "Don't you dare call me 'O'Neill'."
Leaning in, Daniel hissed back, "And why the hell not? What, only Teal'c can call you that? I'm not warrior enough to call you O'Neill?"
"Teal'c better not call me anything any time soon, or we'll be one Jaffa short of a Jaffa."
"Hey, no problem, we're already one brain short of a colonel."
They were now nose to nose as Jack asked angrily, "What the hell does that mean?"
"It mean... IT means...."
Daniel took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, "Déjà vu."
"Vu ja-day," Jack answered, suddenly feeling every inch the fool.
Knees going weak, Daniel made his way over to the stump and sat down. He and the stump were becoming fast friends. Maybe he should fuck it? He put his head in his hands, feeling the exhaustion and hopelessness of his life stealing over him. He was barely cognizant of the fact that Jack had taken up residence on his stump until Jack spoke.
"Well, that was... interesting."
Daniel had no answer to that. After a moment, he looked up, rested his elbows on his thighs and said, "This isn't working, is it, Jack?"
"What... what do you mean?"
"Me, the SGC, SG-1, all of it. I thought, I mean... for a while there, it looked promising, it looked as though that old saying about not being able to go home again was wrong, but someone said it for a reason, probably based on experience, you know? And if you can't go home again, you sure as hell can't come back from the dead and expect to pick up where you left off. Whatever I had with you and Sam and Teal'c - well, it sure wasn't based on a whole hell of a lot, because all it took was for--"
"You to die?" Jack said dryly.
"Well, yeah."
"And pardon me for bringing up this sore subject again, but you and Teal'c seem to be doing just peachy, Daniel. You both appear to be making up for lost time, if you know what I mean, and I think you do."
"Jeez, but you're a stubborn SOB. Teal'c is in love with Sam, okay? We were... commiserating with each other, that's all. We kind of," he indicated the lake and surrounding area with one finger, "got carried away with the night, and the whole magical aura and ... and...."
Memories of earlier in the evening came flooding back and Daniel stood, pivoted around, then slapped the side of his head. He stepped close to the edge of the woods and said, "Oberon? What the hell have you done?"
Jack frowned and one word entered his mind: MacKenzie.
Sam paced. Her skin was on fire, her heart was racing, and she had no clue what was wrong. She was full of energy and needed an outlet or she'd blow. She was angry, sure, but this other feeling, this... this... damn, what was it? She wanted to rip Daniel's heart out and have it for breakfast.
"Oh, God," she whispered, horrified. She loved Daniel like a brother, how could she even entertain such thoughts? And after all he'd been through? She dropped down onto the ground and covered her face with her hands.
"Major Samantha Carter?"
Slowly, she lifted her head. "Teal'c?"
He walked over to stand towering above her. "Are you unwell?"
"No, I'm fine."
Lord, his eyes were so... kind, she thought. He was looking at her as if nothing in the world mattered more to him than her happiness and well-being. And that angered her. He should be looking at Daniel the way he was looking at her! She sniffled, wiped her nose on the back of her long sleeved black sweater and rose unsteadily to her feet.
"How dare you stand there looking so... so," she waved her arm in the air, "whatever. You should be with Daniel, you should be looking at him like," she pointed at him, "that. And how could you leave him out there? What's the matter with you?" Her voice rose. "I thought you CARED about him? LOVED HIM?"
In the face of Samantha's anger, Teal'c actually stepped back. Being the warrior that he was, he could easily face down an entire army of Goa'uld, but an angry Samantha?
Arms upraised, Sam lifted her head to the sky and yelled, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH ALL OF US?"
"I do not believe there is anything wrong with us, Samantha."
The rightness of Teal'c's voice, the sudden injection of sanity instantly sobered her. Her arms fell to her side.
"Do you love Daniel?" she asked, heart in throat.
Teal'c took a tentative step toward her. "Do you love O'Neill?"
"What?"
"Do you love O'Neill?"
"I... I... yes, of course, I do. Just as I love... you know, and Janet, and--"
"And me? Do you also love ... me, Samantha?"
"Yes," she murmured. "I love you, Teal'c."
"And what of your feelings for O'Neill?"
"I... have no... I mean, it was... it was--"
"It was painful, Samantha," Teal'c finished for her, his words giving her a truth she'd been missing for two years.
"Painful?"
"For both DanielJackson and myself. He is in love with O'Neill. I believe that love, and the fact that it could not be returned was, in some way, responsible for his decision to ascend."
"Oh, God," Sam said as she brought her hand to her mouth. Fingers covering her lips, she could only stare at Teal'c.
"Are you certain your feelings for O'Neill are not rooted in more than flirtation or in seeking a safeness in something that could go no further?"
Beneath his question, she sensed a need that mirrored her own, and understood that he was asking for himself. Her heart gave a small leap and the heat returned, but this time, the source stood before her, tall, dark, beautiful and all that she could have ever wanted.
"I'm certain, Teal'c. I'm ashamed of how I've behaved, and the last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt... Daniel. Or you."
"It is altogether possible that O'Neill is in the process of fixing that now. As are we?"
"Are we, Teal'c?" she said hopefully.
"I believe so."
She wasn't sure who moved first, and she had to admit, with his mouth on hers, it really didn't matter. Her dream of earlier took on substance as the nameless, faceless being became Teal'c ... strong and protective, dark eyes giving everything away as large hands roamed over her body, claiming her, setting her nerves on fire....
//Journeys end in lovers meeting - William Shakespeare//
"Oberon? I remember everything, so you can come."
Jack was really worried now and he made himself a promise: no padded room for Daniel. If he had to, he'd take him and care for him and love him and... and....
"I am sorry, Daniel," a silky voice said.
Jack blinked, turned. "Wha'?"
"Don't worry, Jack, it's just King Oberon, of the Furlings. Or as Willie Shakespeare called them, the Fairies."
A tall man materialized out of nowhere, although Jack would never, even after all he'd see in the last seven or eight years, admit it. To anyone.
"You understand now why we were so hesitant to show ourselves to you? Human emotions can be very ... draining," the man said softly, his voice like music.
"We're not usually like this, Oberon. You did something to us, something that brought out emotions we don't--"
"I simply removed the constraints or barriers, Daniel. The fragile shell that you humans--"
"Oh, swell, another advanced race that manages to make 'humans' sound like a dirty word," Jack muttered.
"I apologize," Oberon said. "We love you humans, and find you full of energy, ideas, and an indomitable spirit that constantly amazed us. But you often left us drained of our own energy due to your emotions. You are always at war with yourselves, and I simply decided to allow you the freedom tonight to express all that you feel."
"Bull pucky, who ever you are. You had my second acting totally out of character. She was practically burning a hole in my butt, and damn it, she actually pouted. And Teal'c and Daniel? You call what went on between them the total freedom to express what they really felt? Hogwash. This was nothing but a sexual free-for-all, courtesy of God knows what."
Jack moved closer to Oberon, his anger complete, but oddly controlled. "We're teammates and have to work closely with one another every day. We go into situations where our lives rest in the each other's hands, and you want to play God with our emotions? I don't think so, buddy. How are Teal'c and Daniel supposed to look each other in the eye the next time we're facing down the Goa'uld, tell me that? And by the way? I don't see you using your superpowers for the good of the galaxy. I don't see you stepping up to the plate and making the galaxy a safer place for our children. What, do all you high-falutin' aliens have these God complexes? I mean, who the hell do you think you are?"
Daniel stepped between Jack and Oberon. Placing his hand on Jack's chest, he said, "Now, Jack, back down here, okay?"
Jack looked down at the hand on his chest. He stared at the strong slender fingers, felt the incredible warmth they gave off, a warmth that managed to sear through his shirt and burn his skin in the delicious promise of what more of Daniel's flesh pressed to his would bring him. He couldn't lift his gaze from those hands.
"Daniel, I am sorry if what I've done has hurt you and your friends," Oberon said, his eyes gleaming sadly in the night.
"It hasn't, Oberon. Exactly." Daniel remained where he was, hand in place, eyes fixed on Jack as he spoke. "Teal'c and I are all right, and even if we weren't, it would be okay because I'm leaving SG-1."
Eyes glued to what he was now calling, simply, 'the hand', Jack said abstractly, "No, you're not. You're not leaving. You left once, and so help me God, if you leave again, I'll kill you."
"No, you won't," Daniel said softly.
"No, I won't. But I'll think about it. Plan it. Go crazy for the planning of it."
Daniel ducked his head slightly in the hopes of making eye contact, but Jack was still staring at his hand. "You would?" he finally asked.
"Yes."
Daniel, forgetting for a moment that Oberon was even there, tried an experiment. He rubbed his hand in a small circle, and when Jack's lids drifted shut and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, Daniel said, "Is that what's been wrong all this time? You were mad at me for leaving?"
Without opening his eyes, Jack nodded. "Very mad. You should have stayed... with me."
"You should have asked, Jack. You could have asked. I'd have done anything for you. I came for you, at Baal's, begged you to join me, but you're such a stubborn ass, and you left me no choice. I finally had to descend for you."
Jack's eyes shot open. "You... descended for ... me?" he asked, incredulous.
"Yes. I didn't have to, I could have stayed with Oma, but I couldn't keep doing it, Jack. I couldn't keep trying to find ways to be with you, and to change things, to make them better. And you kept getting into trouble, and Oma and I would fight, and she'd reason, and I'd listen, and then... then I'd... you know, see you anyway."
"You remember all that, but you don't remember your life with us?"
Daniel started to remove his hand, but Jack grabbed it and said, "Answer."
"I... it was easier, Jack. Don't you see that? It was easier to not remember, to keep it at a distance by reading about my life instead of remembering it. You've all kept your distance from me, so why shouldn't I? It's been like... like Daniel Jackson was dead, and you were all keeping the ashes, and then along comes this look-a-like, and he's close, and it's easy to make believe, but deep down, you all know he isn't the real thing, so you keep your distance. And I've only just begun to remember my time with Oma."
Neither man was aware of the change in Oberon at Daniel's words.
"We've been afraid, Daniel. You said it was what you wanted. How do we know you won't want it again? So we're afraid of losing you again. It's stupid, when you think about it... actually, it's not so stupid. You don't have the best track record when it comes to living, you know? You die way too often to be normal. So maybe you can understand what we've been going through since you came back."
"Hey, you die a whole hell of a lot too," Daniel tried to reason.
"I'm nothing compared to you. Compared to you, I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to dying."
"Well, technically, ascending isn't dying--"
"Daniel, did you have to die in order to ascend?"
"Well, technically, no, you see--"
"Daniel, did you die in order to ascend?"
"Well, technically, yes, but you see--"
"I win, Daniel. Argument over."
"If I might interrupt you two?"
Both men turned to face King Oberon.
"You were once an ascended being, Daniel?" Oberon asked, his expression one of wonder.
"Uhm, yes, I... I ascended."
Suddenly the night was alive with the small dancing balls of light. They flew about Oberon's head, darting in and out, touching lightly before zipping over to Daniel and swirling about his head, but not touching.
"Daniel...."
Jack said his name the way he always used to say it when something weird was going on and he was certain Daniel was to blame.
"Jack...."
Daniel said Jack's name the way he always used to say it when the something weird was most definitely not his fault.
"There are little balls of light all over the place. I don't suppose you know what--"
"Just don't swat at them, Jack," Daniel said dryly.
Oberon walked over to stand next to Daniel, and now the dancing lights flitted between them. Daniel was positive he could hear... something... something like... music? Music that spoke? He strained to understand, to open his mind to the sweet sounds, and he thought he caught a word... touch?
"You have been with the Ancients, Daniel, you have been one with them. Do you understand what this means to us? I knew what they were going to do, to try, but it was beyond us, and they were so new to it, and we finally chose to come here. But now, now we might have a way of contacting them - through you. Can you even begin to know what this means?"
Jack, suddenly nervous with Oberon so close, stepped between Daniel and the Furling and said, "I know what it means. It means exactly squat. He's Daniel, and he's human. He has very few memories of his time with the Ancients and--"
"Jack, do you mind?" Daniel asked as he tried move the immovable object that was Jack.
"You do not understand: this may be the answer. We may once again be able to contact our friends, to, perhaps, continue what we started so long ago at Heliopolis. We might be able to help in the battle with the Goa'uld."
Puzzled, Daniel said, "I don't understand either. The Ancients could easily contact you and I would have supposed that you could just as easily--"
"No, Daniel," Oberon said gently. "As I told you before, when we found this world, we cut ourselves off from all. Not even the Ancients, with their ascended abilities, could penetrate our defenses and we have no way to contact them otherwise. We have our abilities here but they do not reach any further because we chose to limit ourselves, to protect ourselves by, I'm now ashamed to say, becoming an island onto ourselves. But if you, Daniel, have actually ascended, we have a chance to change that."
Suspicious now, Jack spoke for Daniel. "How can Daniel help you?"
"Look, don't you think we'd better get back to camp and make sure Teal'c and Sam are all right? They're undoubtedly dealing with the fallout of no barriers to emotions, Jack. And whatever seems to have happened between ... us, well, Sam still... you know...."
"Shit. You're right, we'll deal with," Jack jerked his thumb at Oberon, "him later. Let's go." He took Daniel's arm and added, "Although I don't think an emotional Teal'c is something I want to know about, let alone see."
Head cushioned on Teal'c's chest, Sam gazed sleepily up at the stars. She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt this happy or content. Teal'c was running his hand slowly up and down her arm and she hummed low in her throat in appreciation.
"Do you wish I were O'Neill, Samantha Carter?" he suddenly asked, his voice warm beneath her as his chest thrummed with the vibration.
"I don't. I love you, Teal'c. I think I may have loved you for quite awhile. But there was Shan'auc and then losing Drey'auc last year, and it just seemed impossible, but there was the colonel and it was so easy to slip into that mode again, to find some comfort in the flirtation while counting on you as a friend, if that makes sense?"
"It does, Samantha Carter."
He turned slightly so that he could kiss her temple, but she lifted her head enough to place her lips in proximity to his. He smiled tenderly as they kissed, and thought that they should get dressed... soon.
Jack was extremely cognizant of Oberon's presence. He tried to keep himself between Daniel and the man, but somehow, Oberon continually out-maneuvered him. The guy was really starting to piss Jack off, big time. As the camp came within sight, Jack had to stop for the simple reason that it looked as though... Major Samantha Carter might be sleeping on top of... Teal'c, Jaffa warrior supreme.
"Daniel?"
Again with the 'Daniel' as if what was staring them in the face was his fault.
"Jack?" Take that.
"Tell me I'm not seeing what I'm seeing?"
"You're not seeing what you're seeing. Feel better now?"
Jack turned around and faced Oberon. "You did put the," he turned back to Daniel, "what did he call them, Daniel?"
"Barriers, Jack. It's French for... barriers."
"Yeah, those. You did put them back, right?"
Oberon nodded solemnly.
"Then how do you explain," he twitched his finger at the sight of Teal'c and Carter, "that?"
"How would you explain it, Colonel O'Neill?"
"I'd say some of those barriers failed to fall back into place, that's what I'd say."
"Perhaps they have learned what they needed to know, Colonel O'Neill."
"Then they learned too damn much," Jack snorted.
Daniel looked heavenward, gave a small shake of his head, and said, "Like we learned too damn much? Or maybe you still have feelings for Sam? Is that it, Jack?"
"Oh, fer crying out loud, will you just look at them? We're talking Carter and Teal'c. We're talking ... Carter sleeping on Teal'c."
"And this is bad, why?"
"It's just... wrong, that's all."
"I see. Well, fuck you, Jack." With that, Daniel moved past the man and into camp. "Heads up, guys. You're no longer alone," he said cheerily.
Sam shot up and her hand went immediately to her hair as she fluffed it up in an unconscious and nervous gesture. "Daniel?"
"Et tu, Sam?" he said in disgust.
"Wha'?"
"DanielJackson, I hope you and O'Neill had a good talk."
"Oh, we had a peachy talk, Teal'c. Seems as though you and Sam had a nice... conversation?"
"Very."
Teal'c rose gracefully and stood protectively next to Sam as Jack and Oberon walked into camp.
"Kids, I'd like you to meet King Oberon. Yep, you heard me correctly; King Oberon, as in William Shakespeare's King Oberon."
Sam looked from Jack's face to Daniel's and said, "Don't tell me Shakespeare was a Goa'uld?"
"Nope," Daniel said, "just a Brit who met up with the Furlings and called them fairies, that's all."
Both Teal'c and Sam were straightening up and thanking God that they'd slipped into their clothes minutes before, but at Daniel's explanation, Sam looked up, shocked.
"The Furlings?"
"So it would seem, Carter, and would you please put on your shoes? You too, Teal'c," Jack ordered primly.
Sam hastened to comply, even the buzz of sated love unable to erode her military background. Teal'c moved a bit more languidly, but in moments, both were wearing socks and boots.
Looking at his teammates, Jack said, "Well, aren't we the foursome. Oz would be so proud."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Jack, you do realize that if you continue to work under the illusion that we're following the yellow brick road, you must accept the fact that you're the cowardly lion."
Jack's scarred eyebrow lifted. "Who says?"
"I do. Teal'c is very obviously the tin woodman, Sam is Dorothy and I'm--"
"Toto?"
"Actually, no. I was thinking more along the lines of one of the flying monkeys."
"Oh, I don't think so, Daniel," Sam interjected. "If you're not the scarecrow, then you'd be the male version of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. Or maybe--"
"Glinda? You think Daniel is Glinda?!"
Daniel moved away and over to Oberon, and while Sam and Jack argued the merits, or lack thereof, of Glinda, he said, "How can I help you reach the Ancients?"
"It will take all of us, Daniel. We need to ... touch you."
His eyes widened. "Touch me? Is that all?"
"It is not as simple as it sounds, Daniel. I allowed one of my people to touch you earlier, while you were seated at your campfire. It is a risk for both you and us. But to once again feel beyond our home... it is suddenly very desirable, thanks to you."
"Maybe you'd better define... risk?"
"For us, it will be your emotions. For you, I am not sure. You will be exposed to thousands of us as we all touch your mind, surround you, and try to open the path to the Ancients. The strain could be more than you are able to handle, Daniel."
"I felt no discomfort when the other one touched me. I felt sound, a light sound, almost musical, but nothing else."
"That is a good sign, and what I'd hoped for when I allowed my son to touch you. But still--"
"So what do I have to do?"
"Simply stand where you are and allow us to surround you."
Glancing over his shoulder at his teammates, he grinned and said, "Now might be a pretty good time. Let's do it." He took a few steps away and nodded his permission.
Oberon closed his eyes and a second later, he was no more. Seconds after that, Daniel was surrounded by the small white lights.
"O'Neill."
"...so I stand by my opinion that Daniel is Toto--"
"O'Neill ."
Exasperated, Jack turned to Teal'c and said, "What?"
Teal'c indicated a spot somewhere behind Jack, and he and Sam turned....
"What the--"
Daniel stood several feet away from them, face lifted to the sky, eyes closed. Around him, several small dancing balls of light hovered, and as they all watched, the number grew as more and more joined the originals. The forest seemed to waver and glow and the tiny lights appeared to come from trees, bushes, the sky, the stars, the grass, from every living thing in and around the forest. In mere seconds, thousands had surrounded Daniel, all glittering brightly as they spun around Daniel's body.
Jack's breath caught at the unbelievable sight, and he knew, intellectually, that the small twinkling lights were the Furlings, and yet, the only word that came to mind was the same word used by William Shakespeare; Fairies.
Daniel was surrounded by small, winged fairies.
And Jack could see the wings now, could see the delicate, transparent fluttering of honest-to-God wings. And if he looked closely, it seemed he could almost make out their features....
"What's happening?" an awe-struck Sam whispered.
Without taking his eyes from the sight before him, Jack whispered back, "They wanted to touch... him, to... help them...."
Jack stopped as the fairies suddenly seemed to melt together, turning into a shimmering golden aura that enveloped itself around Daniel. It pulsed brightly as it seemed to stroke and caress Daniel almost musically. A breeze that didn't exist ruffled the younger man's hair, and Jack watched as Daniel smiled dreamily.
All thought left Jack as he stared, the sight before him too incredibly beautiful, too magical and spiritual to ruin with questions, answers, or anything else.
Suddenly Daniel stretched his arms out from his side and tilted his head even further back. His lips parted slightly as the golden glow that was now as much a part of his body as his skin, brightened to the point where Jack almost reached for his sunglasses. The only thing that stopped him was the awareness that he didn't want to even remotely dim what he was seeing.
Daniel's skin was radiant, every muscle highlighted as he flexed his arms and stretched them high, and it seemed to Jack that nothing in any world could be as beautiful as what they were now a witness to. Sam and Teal'c moved closer to him and didn't stop until all three were touching.
They were seeing a communion the likes of which could only be dreamt of. A magic that once had been fiction, but was now so real that Jack felt tears of joy fill his eyes. And that this should be happening to Daniel... that it should be Daniel they'd be able to commune with, seemed so right.
Within the circle of power, of touch, Oberon and Titania floated in the beauty as their souls touched that of Daniel Jackson.
"My Wife...."
"It's so beautiful, my Husband," Titania said, her tone hushed and almost worshipful. "Dare we touch longer?"
Oberon closed his eyes and nodded.
Energy pulsed as Daniel's memories and emotions filled them slowly, easily, and without discomfort. They found themselves, all of them, experiencing great pain and sorrow, joy and hilarity, loneliness and loss, adventure and challenge, and all that was Daniel Jackson. Emotions that should have torn them apart, rested lightly, yet powerfully.
Oberon did not understand how what they were feeling could be from one human. He knew that most mortals would have folded under far less than this man had experienced, and in such a short time. His own people should have been writhing under the pain of Daniel's life - yet they were not. Instead, the energy that was Daniel called to them, beckoned them closer and deeper, welcomed them. It was if all that Daniel had lived through was so ingrained in him, so much a part of him, of who he was, that he'd become the emotions and thus, they were able to experience it without pain for themselves.
Oberon let it in, and just when he could get no closer to Daniel, Oma was there, a white burst of energy among the golden being that was now Daniel.
Oberon? the voice said softly.
It is I, Oma, dear friend.
We have believed you lost to us.
And so we were. We have expended great energy to hide ourselves from all. A fact that now, I am most ashamed. You battle Anubis, do you not?
He has become a very dangerous force, yes.
Yet you do not help these humans in their fight?
We are bound by rules, Oberon. Surely you must remember our talks?
I remember, and say to you now, do not try and fool your old friend.
A small laugh filled the golden warmth.
We do what we can, old friend.
And so now, shall we. It will be right to once again work toward a greater good.
Will you contact the Nox, or shall I? she said.
Oberon did not miss the silvery laugh in her voice.
You may have the Asgard while I shall attempt to contact the Nox, he said with a smile in his voice. It would appear that the four races shall try once again, dear Oma? With the possibility of a fifth race?
It would appear so, Oberon.
Why do I think none of this is a surprise to you?
The silvery laugh came again and Oberon smiled in response.
Why, what do you mean, Oberon?
Should I thank you for bringing Daniel to us?
Not all that goes on is known to us, Oberon.
Naturally, but I repeat; should I thank you for bringing Daniel to us?
Not at all. We do not govern the movements of the humans.
Ah, but he is not - simply - a human, is he?
Perhaps not.
We are sharing his emotions, Oma. He has been through much and has survived the impossible; the crossing of the River of Death - and more than once.
So wise, so young, they say do never live long.
Oma, you know better than to cite those ridiculous Shakespearian quotes to me.
A laugh came to him again, this one lighthearted and full of youth and daring.
Oberon sobered and noted, Yet, he is alive, and has somehow retained an undaunted spirit and an energy he should not have.
You see too much, old friend. And now that we have been successful in connecting, will it remain so? For all time?
We would have it no other way, Oma. He has taught me much this night. We will hide no more.
Then it truly begins. Would it not be wise for you to have a liaison among the humans? They could have use of your abilities, Oberon.
Do I sense an ulterior motive, Oma?
We can not always be there to protect our... bridge.
Can he hear us, Oma?
No.
So he is--
The opposite of Anubis. Daniel represents the one individual who can defeat him. Is it not ironic that for all our great powers and the powers and technology of three other great races, the defeat of Anubis may come down to one single individual?
Oberon digested that news, news he'd already half suspected, and he made a decision.
I shall send my son.
I believe that now is the time for each race to be represented with the humans. With one of you, and a member of the Nox, and the Asgard, SG-1 shall have some degree of protection, and thus Daniel shall be protected.
We are agreed then. This is almost like old times, is it not?
It is. But these are new times, and they will test us, Oberon. Test us all, and the fate of the galaxy as we know it, hangs in the balance.
Oberon allowed his mind to touch Daniel's again, and he nodded.
Yes. And so much depends on one young mortal and three other humans known as SG-1.
As, perhaps, it should. For now, I say farewell, dear King Oberon.
Good-bye, my friend.
Slowly, and it appeared to Jack, reluctantly, the aura separated once more into thousands of individual bouncing lights. They moved away from Daniel, to disappear once again into all that was the forest, leaving only three behind.
"Colonel?"
"I don't know, Major," Jack said as he took a tentative step toward Daniel.
Two of the three lights continued to flutter almost protectively about Daniel, but the third grew slowly larger, and brighter, until... Oberon stood before them.
"We have been able to contact the Ancients through Daniel--"
Jack found himself immediately bristling at the possessive tone in Oberon's voice. "Fine, great, I'm thrilled. So why isn't Daniel... awake? Why is he still--"
"My queen, Titania, and my son, Puckton, are still... touching... him. Puck is fascinated by him, as well he should be."
Somewhat mollified, Jack immediately latched onto one word in particular. "Did you just say... Puck?"
Oberon grinned. "Willie took quite a few liberties."
"Apparently. Look, I'm all for you and the Ancients getting it on, but I'd really like my teammate back, you know?"
Even as Jack spoke, the two small balls of lights danced away and it seemed the spell was finally broken. Daniel lowered his arms and opened his eyes.
"Wow," he said, grinning.
Jack walked over and said, "Yeah, yeah, wow. You okay?"
"Oh, yeah. That was... that was... unbelievable."
The forest was quiet, with dawn only an hour away. SG-1 sat around the campfire, coffee cups in their hands. They should have been exhausted, but they weren't. Teal'c sat close to Sam, their shoulders touching. Jack sat just as close to Daniel. Oberon had shared much of the discussion he'd had with Oma, and had filled them in on the plan to unite the four races again. He'd then startled them all by sharing the idea that one emissary from three of the races would be sent to work with the SGC, SG-1 in particular.
For the first time in years, Jack felt as though the end of the tunnel was truly in sight, and that the light blinding them was definitely not a train. For once, he and SG-1 would return home with something real, not to mention returning with a very real hope that Earth would indeed be safe, as would so many other worlds. Hope was a very good thing.
But in spite of all that had been shared and planned, Jack did have one worry. He would be returning to the SGC with a Furling named ... Puck.
Hammond was going to have a fit.
And if the jarheads had trouble with civilians working in the SGC? How were they going to react to ... fairies?
"So... when we leave in a few hours, the Furlings will actually... what, materialize? In the daylight? For the first time in centuries?" Sam suddenly asked, breaking the lengthy silence.
Daniel nodded. "Apparently."
"I shall be most interested to see how General Hammond receives... Puck," Teal'c offered with a smile.
"Funny you should mention that, Teal'c, old buddy. I was just wondering about that myself. A fairy--"
"Furling, Jack," Daniel corrected automatically.
"A fairy by any other name, Daniel."
"Yeah, well... I'm sure Puck will be fine. Although... it would be nice if he had another... name, you know?"
"Yeah," Jack agreed, getting into with Daniel. "Like... Sylvester, maybe?"
"Or Howard," Daniel offered with a lighthearted grin.
"Or maybe... Chester. Yeah, Chester. Chester the Furling."
"Fredrick the Furling," Sam offered with a mischievous grin.
"No," Jack said, "Farquar the Furling."
"My choice would be... Fubar the Furling," Teal'c offered with a straight face.
Daniel took a sip of his barely warm coffee, then said dryly, "Sure hope he isn't listening right now...."
"Oops," Jack said with a wink at Teal'c.
"So... alone at last," Jack commented nonchalantly.
"So it would appear."
"I don't think Carter and Teal'c really wanted to give us time to talk, do you?"
Arms resting on his knees and hands clasped in front of him, Daniel shook his head. "No, I suspect their motives were a bit more selfish."
"Yeah, that's the way I'm leaning. Not an altruistic bone in Teal'c's body right now."
"No, suspect not."
"Right."
Jack drummed his fingers on his thigh. "So."
"Uh-huh."
"Alone at last."
"You said that, Jack."
"So I did, but it bears repeating. We are alone."
"So?"
"So... maybe we should pick up where we left off before Oberon got his knickers in a twist when he found out you'd ascended. And Daniel, don't say any thing about my choice of 'knickers', okay? It fits."
A doubting eyebrow rose over the rim of Daniel's glasses, but all he said was, "Where did we leave off?"
"With me telling you that you're death prone."
"Okay, I'll make this easy for you - I agree. So now what do you want to talk about?"
Jack stared at Daniel. "You agree with me?"
"Yes. I have died a lot. So what? I might die again. I might die one day and that will really be it. No miracles, no sarcophagus nearby, no healing device, no ascensions of any kind, just... flat line. Bye-bye, Daniel Jackson, and sayonara, don't let the door hit you on your way to ... wherever. Some day, it might happen to you, or Sam, or Teal'c. It's what we live with everyday, every time we go through that gate, Jack. Or it could happen at home, in the street. We could be driving home and get hit by a drunk driver... well, you and Carter could be driving home. Not me and Teal'c. No drunk drivers in the halls of the SGC. But I could be killed by a dust bunny under my bed, I suppose, or by a herd of rampaging SF's, who bump into me, throw me against the wall, and I go splat. Or we could both die in another fifty years, in our beds, teeth in a blue container on the bathroom sink. I'll be bald, according to Cassie. Dead and bald. Yep, dead and ba--"
Jack had been listening with growing amazement and a mouth that kept opening and closing, but the moment Daniel brought up Cassie and being bald, he jumped straight up, almost at attention, and interrupting Daniel, yelled out, "MY GOD!"
Daniel's mouth dropped open, then he closed it quickly, only to open it long enough to say, "Ja-ck?"
"MY GOD," he yelled again. He pivoted, making a complete circle, then slapped his hand to his head. "Cassie," he whispered. "Cassie," he said more loudly.
Daniel got up slowly, the way you'd get up when facing down a wild and clearly insane beast. "Jack, now just calm down and tell me what you're talking about, okay?"
He started to place his hand on Jack's chest again, and was shocked when Jack pushed his hand away and said, "No. No, don't touch me, I need to think, and when you touch me, I can't do that, so just ... back off."
Blinking rapidly, Daniel backed away. Jack reached out and brought him close, then closer still as he crushed him to his chest, all thought of not letting Daniel touch him flying out the window.
Jack held tightly, ducked his head and turned his face into Daniel, burying it in the younger man's neck. His lips brushed Daniel's skin as he murmured, "Don't you get it? Don't you see? The sun spots, Danny. Thrown back in time, then forward? Remember? And Cassie coming out to meet us? Don't you remember what she said?"
Daniel's eyes were closed, his body swaying slightly, but at Jack's words, he tried to gather his thoughts and finally said, "We ... solar flare, far into the future--"
"She said, 'I hardly recognized you with hair,' Daniel. Get it?"
"Of course I get it, I just told you--"
"No, Daniel, you don't get it," Jack said as he brushed his lips up to Daniel's temple. "She said--"
Daniel turned his head and came face to face with Jack's lips. He stared at them as he said, "I know what she said, I was there, remember?"
Laughing freely, Jack said, "If you remember so well, than what did she mean?"
"She meant that I'd gone bald, like, haven't I been saying that all along?"
"She meant," Jack said as he ran a finger over Daniel's lower lip, "that you were alive . You were living in that time, Danny. You were alive . Bald, but alive," he finished with a satisfied grin.
"Well, ye-ah--"
"Danny, Danny, Danny. You were alive. Why didn't I remember that last year? How could I have forgotten? You were always going to come back to me - always."
They were staring at each other now, lips slightly parted, as the full import of their journey to the past and future hit.
"I... I--"
Jack smiled knowingly. "Yeah."
Daniel found the focus of his eyes straying south... to Jack's lips again. He watched as they bobbed up and down as Jack nodded and said, "Oh, yeah, I know what you want, Danny boy."
Eyes still glued to Jack's lips, Daniel said, "Do you now, Jackie boy?"
"Oh, yeah."
Jack cocked his head and dipped in halfway, paused, waited, and was rewarded as Daniel brought his hand up, cupped the back of his head, said, "Fer crying out loud..." and kissed him.
'Bout damn time, he thought just before the veil of sexual unreason scrolled down and blocked all but Daniel.
Heat spread through their bodies as clothing somehow found its way to the ground. A small kernel of reason allowed Jack to think that the tent might be the best place for what they were in the process of doing, so he stumbled backward, one arm around Daniel, the other reaching out to open the flap. They fell in and Daniel managed to twist them around so he hit the sleeping bags first, thus providing Jack with a cushion for his knees.
Once down, Jack attacked Daniel's neck, causing the younger man to start laughing. The sound only spurred Jack on until Daniel tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Hey, let me get in on this, flyboy."
Jack lifted his lips from skin that tantalized with the scent of musk and aftershave, and murmured, "You like your throat,too?"
Daniel rapped Jack's head with his knuckles. "I don't think so, but I would like to get in on the 'kissing the flesh of Jack O'Neill' but you're holding me down, you forceful brute," he said with a mischievous laugh.
"God, you sound good, Daniel. So damn good," Jack said as he rested his forehead on Jack's chin. "I love your laugh and I want nothing more than to listen to it for the rest of my life."
Smiling, Daniel guided Jack's hand to his dick and said, "Love that you love my laugh, but you could love this instead?"
"That I can do."
And he did.
The late morning brought forth an experience Daniel had pretty much accepted would never be his to experience; waking up wrapped around Jack O'Neill. Daniel didn't move, choosing instead to enjoy the sensation of Jack's strong back pressed against his chest, of the hair on Jack's left leg mixing with his, and of Jack's butt fitting so nicely into his groin. He smoothed his hand up the front of Jack's body until he reached Jack's chest and the smattering of hair. He rubbed his fingers into them, teased a bit, then grinned when Jack muttered, "You tryin' to curl it, or what?"
"Or what," Daniel breathed into Jack's neck.
"Blow drying?"
"You're facing the wrong direction, but with a little maneuvering, it could be managed."
Jack turned over, slung an arm and a leg over Daniel, and kissed him. Grinning into the kiss, Daniel found that he was now smoothing his hand down Jack's back... and backside. Jack moaned into his mouth and thrust forward. Their cocks bumped and Jack and Daniel traded moans.
"O'Neill, King Oberon and his son are here."
Moans turned to groans as Jack pulled slightly back. "Teal'c has incredibly poor timing."
Dropping his head back and sighing loudly, Daniel said, "Couldn't agree with you more."
Jack rolled over, grabbed his tee shirt, slipped it on, then stood up. "You see my boxers anywhere?"
"I think I'm hurt here," Daniel said disgustedly. "We're in the throes of starting up a rather passionate bit of lovemaking, Teal'c whistles, and bam, you're up and at 'em, leaving me in the dust with this," he waved at his still nicely sized erection.
Spotting his boxers hanging limply over one boot, he snatched them up, slipped into them, poked his head out the tent, and said, "Teal'c, we'll be with you shortly. Tell Oberon to have a seat, give him a cup of coffee and one of Daniel's power bars, and keep him entertained for me, okay?"
He didn't give Teal'c a chance to answer as he let the flap drop back into place. He turned around and leered at his archaeologist. "So, you have a problem, Doctor Jackson? Need my help, do you?"
Daniel, grinning, pointed down.
Giving him a small salute, Jack said smartly, "I'm your man, then."
He dropped down and crawled between Daniel's legs. He licked his lips and Daniel's laughter erupted. A moment later, as Jack's mouth closed over the head of his cock, his laughter caught in his throat.
Oberon and Titania looked at their son, who was sitting complacently on Daniel's shoulder, small wings fluttering in the late morning sun. "Are you certain about this, Son?" Oberon finally asked.
Watching the three Furlings, Jack wondered how they were going to communicate with the one called Puck. If he was indeed going to remain in his present form, well, they couldn't hear him. He was the size of a small gecko, all golden and radiant, his features just discernible if you looked real hard. Jack figured the Air Force and the Marines would look - real hard - right before laughing themselves into hernias. On the other hand, if Puck stayed with Daniel, perched on his shoulder the way he was now, no one would even blink.
"Oh, yeah, Doctor Jackson has a fairy on his shoulder."
"Figures."
No, no one would even pause in the going about of their SGC business if Puck stayed put with Daniel.
Oberon, responding to what only he and Titania could hear, said, "Evidently he feels his present form will be more conducive to aiding all of you, and perhaps he is right."
Jack, ever the curious child, asked, "Do we get to see him - full size?"
Oberon turned back to his son and Daniel's shoulder. "Puck, what say you?"
Delicate wings flapped and Puck rose, flew a few feet away, then glowing brightly, morphed into a full-fledged person. He blushed and said, "This is me, more or less."
Red hair, green eyes, freckles, pointed ears, a big wide grin, and pale green silk pants and billowing shirt. Jack blinked. "Uhm, you still look like a fair--"
"Jack," Daniel warned.
"Okay, maybe not. But come on, he does look like everyone's version of a leprechaun, doesn't he?"
Puck clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh, we've been to the Emerald Isle, haven't we, Father?"
"Yes, we have, Son. Which is, I believe, how the legends of leprechauns came about."
Being a good Irishman, Jack was indignant at the very idea that the Furlings were not only responsible for the creation of fairies (nor did he care) but that apparently they were the reason for leprechauns! Huffing and puffing, he sputtered out, "No way. Just... no way. The wee people are real, everyone knows that."
He ignored the stares of his three teammates.
"We are real, are we not, Colonel O'Neill? Whether we're called Furlings, fairies or leprechauns, we are real."
"Jack," Daniel said as he placed a hand on Jack's arm. "At least some myths and legends can't be laid at the doorstep of the Goa'uld, okay?"
"But... but... leprechauns?"
"Let it go, Jack. Just let it go."
"I have upset the colonel?" Puck asked, worried.
"No, not at all," Daniel hastened to reassure the young Furling. "Don't worry about it, Puck."
Oberon led Titania over to his son and the three of them hugged. With tears in her eyes, she brushed her fingers over Puck's cheek and said, "Take care, my Son. And behave yourself."
"Mother ," Puck whined, causing all four members of SG-1 to smile. "I'm a grown man and--"
"You're my son, and you're not all that grown up yet, Puckton, and don't you forget it," Titania admonished.
Rolling his eyes, Puck morphed back into... whatever the winged form was actually called and fluttered his way back to Daniel's shoulder.
"Yes, well," Sam said, "I guess we should pack up my rocks and head back to the 'Gate."
"Indeed," Teal'c added with his usual enigmatic smile.
"Yeah, well, I can't wait to see what race is responsible for the Indomitable Snowman, the Loch Ness monster, and Big Foot," Jack said with a sniff.
Grinning, Daniel said, "I can't wait for the day we walk through the 'Gate and onto a planet with a big... yellow... brick road. You'd better watch out when we do, Jack."
"And why is that, Daniel?"
Whistling shrilly and making a funnel shape with his finger, Daniel said, "Falling houses, Jack."
"You just want my ruby red shoes," Jack said as they headed out, a puzzled Oberon and Titania following.
"You know, I bet you have a pair," Daniel muttered behind his back.
"I heard that, Daniel."
"What are they talking about, my Husband?"
"I don't know, but I think Puckton has his work cut out for him," Oberon observed with a smile.
Daniel wisely decided that Puck should travel through the 'Gate via his pocket, hence upon stepping down onto the ramp, everything looked completely normal - for SG-1.
"Sir, we have arrived bearing excellent news from the Wizard," Jack declared jauntily.
"Let me guess, Colonel. Major Carter's rocks are exactly what we were looking for."
"Well, yes, there's that," Jack responded with a grin. "But there's so very much more."
At that moment, Puck decided to let the world know that he wanted out of Daniel's pocket. He did this by simply ... glowing. Brightly. And blinking. Brightly. The general cocked his head as if by doing so, Daniel's pocket would stop... blinking. Brightly. When it didn't, he said, with one eye closed, "Doctor Jackson, it would appear that your pocket is ... blinking. Would anyone care to explain?"
"I don't suppose you'd believe that Daniel picked up Tinker Bell on our latest travels, sir?" Jack asked, a mischievous gleam in his eye.
Hammond tore his eyes from Daniel's pocket and focused on Daniel as he said, "Actually, Colonel, I would believe that Doctor Jackson has Tinker Bell in his pocket."
"Well, he doesn't. He has... Puck," Jack said with a smug grin. With that, he marched out of the 'Gate room, his team following, heads down in order to hid their smiles.
Hammond stared at the ...glowy... thing... on Doctor Jackson's shoulder. He drummed his fingers on the table in an effort to hide the fact that he was speechless.
"So, if all goes well, sir, we should soon be hearing from both the Asgard and the Nox. Personally, my fingers are crossed that we get Thor--"
"That's hardly likely, is it, Jack?" Daniel asked. "After all, he's the commander of their entire fleet. Aren't they more likely to send--"
"I want Thor," Jack said stubbornly.
"Sir," Carter said, "I think Daniel's right--"
"I want Thor," Jack repeated, looking for all the world like a small boy about to throw a tantrum.
"If I were the Asgard," Daniel said thoughtfully, "I'd send Tyr." At the blank looks, he immediately added, "The God of War, and supposedly the bravest and fiercest of the Norse gods." He grinned sheepishly and added, "It would seem fitting."
Jack looked around the room and asked, "Have we met this... Tire?"
Daniel's face scrunched up and his glasses slid down his nose as he said, "Tyr, Jack, not tire."
"Oh, like... tea for?" the older man said with a wicked smile.
"Yes, Jack," Daniel answered while rolling his eyes. "Two." A devilish twinkle made an appearance in his eyes as he added, "But Tyr is also known as 'Ziu', as in your birthplace."
"I think my cage was right next to yours, right, Daniel?" Jack asked nonchalantly.
Hammond, voice finally restored, leaned forward and said, "It's nice to see things back to normal with SG-1, but this is a debriefing and it would be nice if we... debriefed." He gave a sharp look at Jack and said, "When can we expect--"
He got no further as the 'Gate began to vibrate and Sergeant Davis' voice announced, "Unauthorized activation.Everyone was up and heading down to the control room before anyone could say, "Tyr."
"Sergeant?" Hammond asked as he walked up behind the man.
"No one is due back, sir, and no code as of yet."
They waited, and a moment later the iris opened and two Nox stepped through the 'Gate.
"Lya," Daniel said with a smile.
"We agree with the Furlings that now is the time to unite with the Tau'ri in this battle against Anubis," Lya said from her place next to Daniel. She smiled at Puck, whose wings fluttered excitedly from his perch on Daniel. Lya placed her arm on the man next to her and said, "Opaq is very excited to be a part of this."
The small man Lya had introduced earlier smiled and nodded. "We understand that it is time to move from the old ways and to once again embrace life beyond our world." He held up his hand and added, "But do not think that our philosophy has changed. I will not lift a hand to violence, but will protect to the best of my abilities."
"We understand, Opaq," General Hammond said. "And we're grateful for your participation in our current struggle in finding a way to defeat Anubis."
Both Opaq and Lya dipped their heads, then Lya asked, "Have you heard from the Asgard yet?"
"No, but we're hopeful," the General responded. He glanced over at Jack and suggested, "Colonel, why don't you show Opaq to his quarters." He looked back at the newest addition to the SGC and added, "Please, let Colonel O'Neil know if there is anything we can do to ensure that your living quarters are everything you need. And again, welcome."
Jack rose, as did the rest of SG-1. He wiggled his hand, indicating that Opaq and Lya should follow him. All six exited, leaving the General alone. He sat back in his chair and smiled.
For the first time in longer than he could remember, hope was once again a part of his vocabulary.
"I've been doing some research, and I'm thinking we need Aegir," Jack said from his spot on the edge of Daniel's work table.
"Sir?" Carter said in disbelief from where she sat next to Teal'c on Daniel's sofa.
"What?" "Aegir?"
Jack picked up something that looked suspiciously like an old bone, flipped it easily in his hand, ignored the pained and worried expression on Daniel's face, and said, "He's the Norse god of ... of...."
Daniel plucked the relic from Jack's fingers and said, "Sea. He's the god of the sea. A pretty powerful guy too."
Jack made a little "so there" gesture, and said, "Yeah, yeah, and we need someone who can toss off a few storms and what not. So my vote, if I can't have Thor, is Aegir."
A couple of hours had elapsed since showing Opaq to his room and having it pronounced adequate, and then saying good-bye to Lya after escorting her back to the 'Gate. SG-1, along with one of their newest members, Puck, had decided to meet in Daniel's office after report writing. Now Sam stood, stretched, and asked in an innocent tone, "What about ... Balder?"
"Let me guess," Daniel said. "Instead of writing reports, you all studied Norse gods?"
"I do not believe SG-1 needs Balder, as we already have his equal," Teal'c said enigmatically.
Puck flew up and circled Daniel's head, then zipped over to Teal'c and dropped down to rest on his shoulder, his small body glowing even more brightly, an indication of his approval of Teal'c's words.
"So Balder is the Norse equivalent of a geek?" Jack said with a playful punch at Daniel.
"Not at all," Teal'c said. "Balder was the god of--"
"I think we've had enough Norse god lessons, Teal'c, don't you?" Daniel asked, his voice strongly suggesting that Teal'c should shut up.
"Oh, I don't think we've had enough, Daniel, do you, Carter?"
"Why, no sir, I don't. So tell us--"
She got no further, as for the second time that night, the warning of "Unauthorized 'Gate activation" sounded again.
"This could be it, kids. Let's go," Jack said as he stood and headed for the door.
"Someone should get Opaq," Daniel suggested.
"I will bring him, DanielJackson," Teal'c offered.
Jack nodded and they all hurried out, with Puck choosing to ride with Jack this time. An action that only slightly unnerved Jack.
Hammond stood behind Davis, watching as, once again, the iris closed. He wondered who'd open it this time.
"Sir?" Jack asked as he and the others lined up next to Hammond.
"Repeat of earlier, Colonel. Let's hope it's the Asgard--"
A beam of light flashed in the 'Gate room, and in its wake, stood two Asgard.
Smiling happily, Jack hurried down to the 'Gate room, and as before, everyone followed.
Striding into the room, he spread his arms out wide, and said, "Thor, buddy, am I glad to see you."
"O'Neill. It is good to see you as well." He faced General Hammond, nodded slightly, and said, "General, I have come to offer an ambassador to the Tauri. We join the Furlings, the Nox, and the Tauri in the battle against Anubis." He turned to his partner and said, "May I introduce Tyr."
Grinning, Daniel said, "God, I love being right."
The final meeting for the day was over. Tyr was in his quarters, as was Opaq. Carter and Teal'c had left... together, a fact that Hammond hadn't failed to notice, and now, only Jack, Daniel, the general, and Puck remained. Hammond thought it odd that having a small,winged man sitting on the edge of his briefing table was no longer strange. After all, he had a small, gray man in a VIP suite, and a small man with colored leaves and branches in his hair, in another VIP suite. All in a day's work at the SGC.
"I think the President will be very happy with today's events," Hammond commented as he picked up his coffee cup.
"'Bout time," Jack commented. "I'd love to see Kinsey's face when the President tells him. This ought to shut him up."
"For about 24 hours," Daniel said dryly.
Standing up, Hammond said, "I'll take twenty-four hours, Doctor Jackson." He smiled and added, "Good job, both of you. Now go home, get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
Hammond walked into his office and the two men watched him sit down before reaching for the red phone. Finally Jack said, "So. Don't you think it's time you got a place out of the mountain, Daniel?"
Surprised by the topic, all things considered, Daniel said, "Uhm, well, I haven't really given it any thought. Why?"
"I'm just thinking, you've hardly been out of here since your return, so maybe... well, you could always stay with me ... until, you know... you find your own place?"
"I could?" Daniel asked with suppressed grin. "Does the offer apply to Puck here, too?"
"I'm thinking... no. Puck, no offense, but you'll be much happier, and easier to explain, if you stay here."
Small wings fluttered his approval of that decision, and he lifted off the table and buzzed out.
"Where do you suppose he's going?"
Daniel grinned, shrugged, and said, "Wherever he wants?"
"Good point. So, my place?"
"Don't see why not, do you?"
"Not really. And of course, there's no real hurry... you finding a place, I mean."
"No, no real hurry. We're going to be pretty busy in the upcoming days. Probably won't have a lot of time or energy for any serious ... looking."
"Probably not. Well, then," he said as he pushed himself back from the table. "what say we go... home?"
"I say... yes."
Smiling, Jack and Daniel left the briefing room.
Ten minutes later, Hammond came out of his office, his own smile firmly in place. The President had indeed been happy.
Standing at the observation window, hands clasped behind his back, he contemplated the marvel below him. He wondered if Doctor Jackson had a clue as to what he'd really done when he'd unlocked the secrets of the 'Gate. He also wondered if the rest of the SGC truly understood.
Would Doctor Jackson go down in history as a hero, or the devil?
George Hammond was betting on hero.
A small tinkling sound alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone. He watched as Puck flew in and hovered over him. Smiling, Hammond nodded to the small creature, and slowly, Puck lowered himself to Hammond's shoulder.
Eyes back on the 'Gate, he said, "So it begins, Puck. So it begins."
The End