Crimson Skies
Crimson Skies
by Melanie Buckley
TITLE: Crimson Skies
AUTHOR: Melanie Buckley
EMAIL: Meljbuck@aol.com
CATEGORY: Angst, Romance,
SPOILERS: None that I can think off.
SEASON / SEQUEL: After season 4 (assuming they get back!)
RATING: PG-13
CONTENT WARNINGS: Some suggested violence via flashbacks
PAIRING: Sam/Jack, Sam/Daniel
SUMMARY: Daniel leaves SG1 to return to Archaeology.
STATUS: Complete
ARCHIVE: Heliopolis
DISCLAIMER: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. We have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the authors. Not to be archived without permission of the authors.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay some s/j, but will ultimately be s/d. Many many thanks to Tk who has been nagging for the next part while giving me the criticism that I needed - Thanx Hon! Also hi to the Rebels, especially Steph, Beth and Cassie (congratulations again on graduating Cass!). They are a constant source of inspiration!
Part One
"Incoming Traveller!" The sirens echoed their warning down the halls of Stargate Command as the soldiers rushed into the gate room guns at the ready. No-one was due back now, which meant two things, either a team were returning early or this could be an attack.
General Hammond glanced impatiently at the lieutenant who was making sure that the iris was securely in place. Suddenly the computer alerted him to GDO signal being received. "General its SG1, they must be returning early."
"Or just sending us a message, well open the iris then!" George had this feeling in the pit of his stomach. He always hated this. Sending his men off planet, not being able to go with them and always waiting and hoping that they returned safely.
The iris retracted and the soldiers in the gate room all brought their weapons to bear on the shimmering pool of water in front of them, ready for whatever might come through.
The water stirred and suddenly Sam Carter stepped through, looking tired but amused? The soldiers relaxed as General Hammond entered the room his attention solely directed at the Major.
"What's happening Major, why have you returned early?"
Sam, tried not to laugh "Well, Sir .. There was a slight accident..." Sam watched the General's eyebrows rise up. "Dr Jackson" he started. Sam couldn't blame him for that guess, if Daniel had been a cat he would have used up his nine lives plus more. "No Sir, well not really.." she thought the General was going to explode when the water rippled again and out stepped, Daniel Jackson and Teal'c. There were two things that you noticed, one was that Daniel Jackson was sopping wet and dripping water everywhere. The second was that between them Daniel and Teal'c supported one bedraggled Colonel O'Neil, soaked and obviously in pain.
Sam faced the General again and continued to explain "Colonel O'Neil twisted his ankle and fell into a lake sir."
At this Jack's face was becoming more indignant all the time. "Excuse me General, I believe what Major Carter was trying to say, was that while I was attempting to rescue Daniel, I became incapacitated and ...got wet." He ended lamely.
The General stood there and tried to keep his face as neutral as possible. It wasn't working. "Take the Colonel to the infirmary and I suggest the rest of you get cleaned up. Debriefing in one hour." With that he turned on his heal and left before his laughter got the better of him.
Sam turned to see the furious expression on Jack's face "Not a word Carter, not a word" Jack seethed.
"Wouldn't have dreamt of it Sir."
Daniel stormed into his room and almost slammed the door off of its hinges. Okay, so Sam thought it was funny and given different circumstances he would too. They would all be laughing grabbing a cup of coffee after the debriefing. But Jack had pushed him again, blaming him and his "blasted scientific inquisitiveness" for getting them into this mess. Okay so he had gone across that blasted tree to get to that monolith in the middle of the lake, but he was a goddam archaeologist and he had curbed his curiosity once too often and it wasn't working any more. He drifted back to that moment for a second....
"Daniel I don't care if it could be the find of a century, we do not have time for you to investigate that mouldy old stone pillar. Now move it mister! We have a schedule to keep". Jack was anxious. And Daniel knew why. Jack and Sam had a date this weekend to go fishing at Jack's cabin, but only as long as they got back on time and safely.
Daniel watched as Jack marched off with Teal'c following. Sam stood there watching him with that sweet expression on her face, which she only had for Daniel. It was her sympathetic scientist look and it did make him feel better. She had always had a way of making him feel better, with a look or a smile and it was that smile that always filled him with warmth.
"To heck with it" he almost yelled and sprinted as fast as he could across the fallen tree to the monolith. Gently peeling back some of the moss he was impressed at the pictographs that were clearly visible on the stone underneath. "Just a few pictures" he thought to himself and reached for the digital camera that was in his backpack.
Sam stood on the side of the bank smiling as she watched the Archaeologist at work. This was what she really enjoyed watching Daniel do. Okay so in the last few years he had come on leaps and bounds physically and had toned up into quite a well-formed soldier, but in his heart he would always be the scholar. She watched him gently handling the monolith and almost for a moment wondered what those hands would feel like on her ....
"DANIEL!! What the hell do you think you are doing!"
Sam jumped as Jack came storming back down the path and she watched in horror as Daniel pin wheeled as the shock made him loose his balance and plunge into the water.
"Oh for crying out loud" Jack muttered under his breath as he watched Daniel flounder for a second and then surface. Jack jumped onto the tree and inched his way over, determined to give Daniel a lecture. Leaning over he was about to impart his words of wisdom when his ankle slipped out from underneath him, twisting painfully and he too then disappeared underneath the surface of the lake.
Daniel brought himself back to the present as he heard voices outside his door. Not meaning to pry he gently opened it to see Jack and Sam exchanging a gentle embrace, before disappearing of in their civilian clothes. They had obviously decided to go on to the cabin early and despite the fact that he was happy that they had found some happiness in one another, Daniel found himself growing more annoyed.
At the debriefing Jack had all but accused Daniel of falling in on purpose and once again dragged his archaeological background through the mud. Well he had had enough.
He wandered over to the table where a small letter waited for him. It had arrived at his apartment yesterday and he had read it about a hundred times since then.
"Daniel,
I don't know if you will receive this. It has been a long time since you all but disappeared from the face of the earth for us your friends. But I have had word of where you live now and the timing is remarkable. I have found your proof Daniel, and I know that you are probably experiencing it yourself right now. No one disappears that well unless the military are involved and they would only be involved if there was some truth about your wild theories! I need you now, to come here and see what I have found.
If Marcus was here I know that he would want you to come too. Return to your way of life Daniel, even for a short time.
Judith."
There were some more details of where she was right now and he knew that he should think rationally and come back to this in the morning.
However Daniel Jackson didn't feel like being rational and he reached for the other envelope on his desk and left his room to go and see General Hammond.
"Doctor, are you sure about this?" General Hammond was upset, that was understandable but he also could see that Daniel had reached the end of his limit.
Daniel ran his hand through his hair, a habit he hadn't gotten out of despite the now shorter length. "I know that this might seem a little sudden, but for a while now I have needed to get back to what I do best. Archaeology is my love, the life that I would still be living if this hadn't dropped into my life. Don't get me wrong General, it has been a wonderful opportunity, however I am slightly tired of fighting for my life every two or three months!"
The General just nodded, he completely understood where Doctor Jackson was coming from. He took the letter that was on his desk and put it into his drawer "I will grant you two months of leave at the end of this time if you still feel this way I will accept your resignation." He stood up and extended his hand to shake Doctor Jackson's. They both smiled for a second before Daniel turned to leave "Thanks General, for understanding."
"I've been there myself" the General whispered after Daniel had left his office. "I just hope that you come back."
Part Two
Sam looked around the cabin and smiled over at Jack who was busily checking the supplies in the kitchen. She quietly watched him as he moved around, he was the type of guy who always liked to be in charge of himself and yet he quite often surprised her with his compassion and gentleness. There wasn't quite another Colonel like him anywhere.
She turned and headed to her room and unpacked the few items that she had brought with her. Despite her reservations she was determined to give this a go. She knew that this relationship was dangerous to their careers yet she wanted to see if there was something more there than the sparks that had flown around on missions. She needed to find out whether he was worth sacrificing everything for. And then there was Daniel, who had been off limits for so long that she had grown to think of him like her brother and then just recently she had caught herself staring at him and thinking thoughts that she shouldn't. He made her feel warm and that tingle had started in her stomach that always warned her that she was about to fall head over heals. But this time she was determined to fight her feelings. She knew that Daniel had no feelings for her and that to travel that road would only lead to heartache. And the Colonel had most definitely turned her head and she had felt that tingle for him too! She sat down heavily on the bed. "Face it girl, you're confused" she whispered under her breath.
Once again she rallied her determination that this was going to be FUN! She wasn't going to let Jack down. He had been looking forward to this for a long time and he deserved to have a little fun after everything that had happened to him. Banishing all thoughts of Daniel from her mind she turned and went out to Jack.
Daniel quietly finished the last of the packing from his office, glancing around now it felt weird. Empty, like walking around an un-furnished house that you had lived in for years. Now that he had made up his mind he felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He was glad that this had happened while Sam and Jack were gone, he never realised how much it hurt to see them together until yesterday. There was no doubt in his mind the fighting there would have been if they had been here. It was a relief to him that there wouldn't be that to cloud his memories of them. Turning to leave the office he ran straight into Teal'c.
"Damn, sorry Teal'c, I wasn't watching where I was going"
"I am not hurt, do not let it worry you" Teal'c slowly surveyed the empty office in front of him "The General has just informed me of your decision, I see that it was true."
"I was coming to see you to say goodbye, I have to catch the next flight to Egypt if I want to catch up with the group I will be meeting. I'm sorry that things have happened so quickly Teal'c, I'm going to miss you." Daniel found himself unable to keep eye contact with Teal'c so turned and started walking down the corridor towards the lift.
"As I will miss you Daniel Jackson. I am sorry that you have not been able to find peace here, maybe you will find what you seek in the next part of your life."
They stopped by the elevator and Daniel pressed the button. "I hope so too, a dear friend waits for me and it has been far to long since I last saw her." When Daniel saw that questioning look that only Teal'c could use he tried not to smile but continued "Judith and Marcus were two archaeologists who took me under their wings quite a few years back. Marcus was killed by rebels on some dig, oh about 9 years ago. I hadn't really known him that long but we were extremely close. Judith is wonderful and warm and I think that right now I need her as much as she needs me." At that point the elevator arrived, Daniel turned and tried to decide how to say goodbye. But Teal'c made the decision for him, he put his hand on Daniel's shoulder and locked eyes with him "Find peace Daniel Jackson."
"You too Teal'c."
He got onto the elevator and quickly turned and stopped the doors from shutting. "I never thanked you Teal'c". When he noted Teal'c puzzlement he continued "For ending Share's imprisonment. She would never have been returned to me, I know that now and she would never have wanted that existence to continue." Daniel took a deep breath, he had never explained any of this to Teal'c and he felt that now was the only time he would have "I could never have ended it for her, I wasn't strong enough. Thank you for her freedom." Noting the almost surprised look on Teal'c face he released the doors and let them slide shut before the tears ran down his face.
Three days later a rather tired Sam Carter and a very happy Jack returned to the SGC. Sam had to smile at his whistling and then the grin plastered across his face, as she knew that she wasn't responsible for any of it. Oh yes, they had had a fun time, fishing, fishing and more fishing, but Sam had realised that she hated fishing. No, the reason for his happiness was the fish that he had caught. She could still remember him woo-hooing around the forest at the catch and she had to admit that it was a remarkably funny moment. And yes their intimacy had increased but there was something slightly lacking and she was damned if she knew what.
Right now she was aching for a nice hot shower and a bug free environment. She had also had withdrawal symptoms at being away from her lab for so long. Turning to Jack she gently told him thanks and watched as he bounced down the hallway. Shaking her head slightly she walked into her room and collapsed backwards onto a bed.
Jack entered his room and flung his bag across the bed before diving onto it. He was happy, yes but he was also aware that Sam hadn't had the best of times. But that made him happy, because she hadn't shown it and she was trying for him!! He knew that things weren't 100% go and that was also partly his fault, he felt something was lacking but he couldn't work out what. Pulling himself up he started whistling again before heading for the showers. Just wait till he told Teal'c about that fish.
General Hammond waited in his office, his stomach swirling but never showing it on the outside. He was waiting for both Major Carter and Colonel O'Neil to report and he wasn't looking forward to their response to the news of Doctor Jackson's departure.
A knock on the door almost made him jump but years of training held. "Come"
"You wanted to see us General" Jack's head appeared around the door and at the General's nod both he and Sam entered.
"Have a seat Colonel, Major" he gestured towards the chairs.
They both took a seat but Jack's eyes held a suspicious look "What is it General, why is it that I think that I'm not going to like this? It's not good news is it?"
"No, no I am afraid it's not Colonel O'Neill" Making sure he had both their full attentions he took a deep breath "Doctor Jackson has resigned from the SGC"
"WHAT" Jack exclaimed followed by
"WHAT" from Sam who had actually leapt up from her seat. Realising what she had done she tried to sit down and make eye contact with the two men.
"Sir, this is ridiculous. Was this over that silly little water thing? Where is Daniel now, I'll go talk to him and he'll be fine, you'll see!" Jack knew that he was ranting but he was shocked. Daniel was his best friend and despite the arguing he had never in a million years expected Daniel to go.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible Colonel, Dr Jackson left for Egypt three days ago and is very much incommunicado. He won't be returning any time soon." The General took his voice down a notch and tried to soothe the two upset officers before him. It had been so much easier with Teal'c "I have given him a leave of absence after which if he wants his resignation will be formally accepted. But to be honest he was very much determined." He looked over at Major Carter and was shocked to see tears at her eyes and she had gone pale. Suddenly without warning she jumped to her feet and fled the room. Jack watched her go and suddenly a lot of things inside made some sense. The strange thing was he was more upset about Daniel leaving, looking up at the General he tried to make some sense of everything he was feeling.
"It's alright Colonel, let her be for the moment. Why don't you go get some coffee and then I suggest that you all sleep on this."
After leaving the room Sam stood in the hall tears blinding her as she tried to make sense of the waves of emotions that were suddenly assaulting her. Daniel GONE!! All her previously bottled up feelings came crashing to the surface. She strode past surprised officers and made it to her room only to collapse on the bed. Daniel Gone! Her heart was pounding, she felt her chest tighten with misery and her stomach was twisting, turning. Anger started to burn inside her.
How dare he! How dare he just leave and not give her the chance to ..... to what? She realised that she had never sorted out her feelings for either Jack or Daniel. And now he was gone...and she didn't know where. She had fallen for him, she knew that now. "Oh God I love Daniel" she thought and the tears came then, not a flood, but a trickle, a beginning.
Part Three
The first thing he had noticed upon landing had been the heat when the doors to the plane opened and unlike some passengers who complained he actually welcomed it. It was now two days since had arrived in Egypt and he was meeting a group that was heading out to where Judith was. Standing in the morning sun, Daniel let the heat filter through him, penetrating him to his core. It was almost like a hot shower washing the coldness out of his body. He knew that after a day or two at the dig he would be cursing this, but right now he was enjoying it.
"Daniel! Is that you, my god, she tracked you down then!"
Daniel whirled at the sound of his name and his face broke into a huge grin as Mick approached. "Mick, you old devil, I didn't realise you were going to be here. Judith was less than forthcoming on any details as a matter of fact."
An older gentleman approached, dressed in classic clothing and a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. He was browned from constant exposure to the sun and had an almost colonial quality to his manners.
"She's gathered all her loyal followers, as such. Whatever she's discovered it must be worth it. There's only you, me, Judith and her usual diggers. I've picked up the jeep and hopefully we will be with her by nightfall, you have your stuff ready."
Daniel nodded turned and grabbed the simple bag that he had with him. A couple changes of clothes and two books, that was all he had with him. It felt great to back here doing this. Preparing for the challenges ahead, he almost felt like a child at Christmas, waiting for Santa to come. Jumping up into the jeep, he couldn't wipe away the smile that had invaded his face and soon both him and Mick were in laughter as they made their way through the streets of Cairo.
On the other side of the world a weary Sam Carter had crawled beneath the covers and eventually cried herself to sleep. Her dreams had been haunted by images of Daniel and as she woke she found herself more exhausted than the night before.
After a hot shower and some coffee, she wandered through the corridors at SGC until she was at Daniel's old office and stepped inside. It was barren, empty and the pain welled up again and it took all of her willpower to control the tears.
"Major Carter are you alright" Teal'c's soft voice enquired behind her and his hand gently touched her shoulder. "You miss him?"
Sam turned and found such sympathy in Teal'c expression and she realised how hard it must be for him to have left all his loved ones behind. He had lost everyone dear to him and yet he continued as if it wasn't a burden. "How do you cope with it Teal'c" she turned back to Daniel's office "losing people, knowing that they are out there somewhere and all you want is one more moment?"
Teal'c was surprised by how open the Major was being, as she was usually quite reserved like military personnel tended to be. However, he didn't show this but instead concentrated on the best way to bring comfort to his friend. "Knowing that they are out there is the comfort. Knowing that one day I might see them again and hold them again is what keeps me going. You will see Daniel Jackson again. He must return to you."
"What makes you say that Teal'c" Sam was confused and she turned to face him again. "What makes you certain I will see him again."
Teal'c debated with himself whether this was something that he should be interfering with. He knew that Colonel O'Neil and Major Carter were "dating" (strange human term), but he also could see the bond that existed between Doctor Jackson and Major Carter. His voice was softer as he tried to express what he could see without causing her further hurt "You are the sun to him, and he needs you to thrive, even though he might not have admitted it. He will return to you as he cannot continue without you." Sam found herself lost in Teal'c eyes as what he was saying sank in. She had never considered that her new feelings for Daniel might have been reciprocated. "I need him too Teal'c" her voice barely a whisper but it carried far enough.
Jack was stood in the hallway just outside of Daniel's office. He had never meant to eavesdrop but his fears were confirmed as he heard the conversation between Teal'c and Sam. He heard the desire in her voice when she spoke of having just one more moment with Daniel and he thought his heart would break. But he knew that she needed him more than ever now, not as what he had hoped, no, she needed him as a friend. And Jack wasn't going to let anything that was happening now break the friendship that existed between SG1. He was determined more than ever that he would find Daniel and talk some sense into him, not just for him, not just for SGC but for Sam. Because she needed Daniel.
Jack reached into his pocket and found the key that Daniel had given him for emergency sake. He hoped that Daniel wouldn't mind but right now he didn't actually care if he did as he entered his friends apartment. It was almost as eerie as Daniel's empty office as he walked around his apartment with dust sheets draped here and there. He had asked Sam to meet him there and she hadn't shown yet. He hoped that he had the strength to go through with this as he wasn't sure if he could do it later.
He moved quickly to the desk where Daniel kept most of his personal life stored. He started sorting through papers as gently as he could to see if he could determine where Daniel had gone.
"Jack?" Sam's soft voice called through the doorway.
"In here Sam" he turned as she walked through into the main room. Damn, she was so beautiful, it was eating him up but he knew that he needed to see this through.
"What are you doing here Jack, why did you want to see me." Sam was almost fearful, afraid of what she might have walked into.
"Hey, it's okay" Jack frowned at the fear that momentarily passed across her face. "I'm trying to find out where Daniel has gone, so that I can go out and talk some sense into the blockhead. I mean, just walking off like that..." He stopped as he saw the pain on her face again and before he could stop himself he walked across and held her. Rocking her gently and kissing her on the forehead. "Shhh, it's okay, I'm here and I promise you that I will bring him back.... for you."
Sam started to pull away, questioning in her eyes. "Jack? What ... what are you talking about."
"Please, I maybe older, but that doesn't mean that I'm senile. I can see the attraction between you two and I know that he was crazy about you but that he kept it hidden because of what he felt was developing between us. Fool. I would have swept in and grabbed you but you know Daniel he's too bloody honourable. And I can see the pain that you are in now. It's the same pain that I felt when I realised that everything between me and my wife was gone for good."
"You're not angry? I never meant to hurt you, I do love you but I also love him and it's different." Sam held him now clinging to him trying to understand what she had done to deserve meeting these wonderful men that she worked with.
"No, I'm not angry. I won't pretend that I'm not hurting myself. But I won't sit back and watch everything self destruct around me. If there is a chance for you and Daniel then I need to help you take that chance." Jack stood back for a second and wiped the tears that were streaming down Sam's face away.
"Please Jack, you have to understand, I do love you but I'm not in love with you. I'm so sorry, but I never thought that Daniel ..." She trailed off, took a breath then started again. "There was always Sh'are, out there and I never thought that he would be interested."
He led her to the sofa, sat her down and pulled her back to him, greedy for this moment of closeness to last. Suddenly music filled the apartment and startled them both. Sam shifted giggling slightly as she pulled out the remote that she had sat on. Jack took it away from her and tried in vain to shut the stereo off, but quickly gave up. It was then he noticed that Sam was totally engrossed in what was playing on the C.D.
I didn't hear you leave
I wonder how am I still here
I don't want to move a thing, it might change my memory
Beside him he felt Sam shudder as the haunting music filled the room, and he pulled her back as the tears started to flow again.
Oh I am what I am
I'll do what I want
But I can't hide
I won't go
I won't sleep
I can't breathe
Until you are resting here with me
The sobs started to come then and he held her as hard as he could without hurting her. His heart was breaking all the way then as the woman he had grown to love cried for another man.
I won't leave
I can't hide
I cannot be
Until you are resting here with me
Rocking her gently again he whispered "I'll find him Sam, I'll make this better, I promise." It was the hardest thing he had ever had to say in his life.
Part Four
It was night now and the air was cooling rapidly, and Daniel was glad that ahead he could see the tents that were going to be his home for the next few months.
As they approached a figure left one of the tents and started towards them. As they pulled up she reached out and grabbed Daniel in one huge bear hug. "Daniel, you're here. It feels so good to hold you again." Stepping back, Judith looked him up and down before slapping him hard on the arm.
"Ow! What was that for" Daniel was shocked, Judith was always stern with others but with him she had always had a soft spot.
"That's for disappearing of the face of this planet for the past years. You damn near had everyone believing that you were dead!" Judith expression softened. Whispering so only he could hear "And I mean what I said about disappearing of the face of this planet. I'm not daft" She answered his silent question.
"Come in have a drink. Tell me about your life." Waving to Mick who moved over to the others for a chat Judith lead Daniel into a tent for a more private conversation.
"What would you like?" She reached into the little wooden cabinet that she always had on her digs and produced a small bottle of whisky. "We have whisky, whisky or whisky?"
Daniel smiled as she poured two small glasses and passed one over. He had sat down on her bed and she joined him there. As he took a small sip of the drink Judith reached over and tousled his short hair.
"This is new, I guess the long wavy look may not be exactly regulation where you been. But I like it, short and sexy"
Daniel ignored the last comment, Judith was like a big sister, friend and teacher all rolled together. "So you guessed about the military, I'm not surprised. It's so good to see you again, I've missed you Judith. And I've missed this." He gestured around at the tent and the camp outside. "It's been too long and I am sorry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye properly. I had to go somewhere, it was important and I thought that I would be coming back but things changed." He took another sip and grimaced, "This is pretty rough stuff."
"So I gathered a few bits and pieces but what happened Daniel, why did you disappear." Judith relaxed and brought her legs up beside her and leant partly on Daniel. "I know that you can't be specific with details, and I know you well enough to know that you aren't about to start spilling state secrets. Just give me highlights."
"Well, when we got where we had to go, it should have been routine but as usual with these kinds of things it all went wrong."
Over the next two hours Daniel told Judith what he could, he told her about Sha're and the simple life that they shared. Of losing her and for the first time he could share that pain fully with someone. Judith understood that pain. He told her as much as he could about Jack, Sam and Teal'c and his new life, including the ups and downs.
By now Judith was stretched out on her bed with Daniel sat at the end. "Daniel, there's one thing I don't understand. If you had left when Sha're had died I could of understood that, but when I wrote you that letter I didn't really expect a response. Why have you left now?" Judith swung her legs back over the edge of the bed and looked Daniel straight in the eyes. "I know you Daniel. This argument with Jack is just an excuse. Why did you leave?"
Daniel sat there and tried to think of an answer. Up until this point he really had thought that it was just Jack's constant bullying and the arguing. But after going over everything with Judith in the past few hours something had begun to gnaw at him inside.
Daniel suddenly found himself unable to make eye contact with Judith; he stared at the ground and tried to sort through the barrage of emotions that were storming him.
"I fell in love again but she didn't love me. I couldn't stay there and watch her make a life with someone else" Daniel's voice was hardly above a whisper.
"Sam." It was a simple statement and Judith knew that she might be wrong, but whenever Daniel talked about her it was there to see. If you really knew him you could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice.
Daniel looked up and nodded. Tears started to form in his eyes but disappeared as he took a big sip of the whisky and swallowed his emotions.
"I'm sorry Daniel. I really am. To lose your wife was the most tragic thing that could happen to you. But to bare your soul to another woman and then have her reject you must have been unimaginable." Judith put her arm around him in an attempt to comfort him but felt him stiffen.
"I didn't tell her how I felt, I couldn't."
"But Daniel, if you didn't tell her how do you know that she doesn't feel anything for you. Just because she is exploring a new relationship doesn't give you the right to withhold your feelings. I know that if a dear close friend of mine developed feelings for me I would want to know. Even if I didn't feel the same way I wouldn't want to lose their friendship without having a chance to soothe their feelings. She must have been so confused when you left, what did she say to you?"
Judith watched with a growing horror as Daniel face flamed red and he pulled away from her. He stood up and started to pace the floor.
"Oh Daniel, tell me you didn't. Tell me that you couldn't be so cruel."
"They had gone away for a weekend together, Judith. I couldn't stand it any longer and then your letter arrived and it seemed the perfect opportunity." Daniel knew how lame it sounded the moment the words left his mouth. He could see the anger growing on Judith face.
"Daniel Jackson!! You are the biggest pratt I have ever met! How could you leave without saying goodbye to people who have been your friends."
Judith stood up and started towards him and for a second Daniel thought she was going to thump him but instead she put her arms around him and hugged him as hard as she could.
"You have it bad don't you. You really, really love her with all of your soul?" Judith whispered.
Daniel just nodded and hugged her back.
"You can't leave it like this Daniel. They deserve an answer to why you left and you won't find any peace of mind here until your finish this properly."
Judith stood back and wiped the tears from her own eyes. "You should go back and see them again, just to sort this out. There might be a way for you to come to terms with their new relationship and if they understand they could help you. Don't get me wrong, I want you here so badly Daniel but not like this."
Daniel took her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes. "I know that you are right but I can't leave, not now. I need to do this in my own way. Tomorrow I will send them a letter explaining everything and letting them know how to contact me. A couple of months on a dig is just what I need right now and if they contact me I can always return later."
Judith wasn't happy with this but she knew that Daniel was almost as stubborn as she was. Letting it drop for now she hoped that she would be able to persuade him to change his mind over the next few days.
"Okay Daniel, you're a big boy now and you must make your own decisions." Moving out of her tent Judith strode towards a bigger tent, which Daniel knew would house artefacts recovered from this exploration.
"Judith what is it that you found that you thought might interest me?" Daniel had to admit his curiosity had been killing him.
Inside the tent Judith removed a small wooden box from one of the tables and she handed this over to Daniel. "Inside this is something that changes everything that we know about ancient Egypt. Its proof Daniel of everything you dreamt of."
Daniel opened the box to find a small globe covered in strange writing, but what was very obvious to him was the fact that this artefact was most definitely Goa'uld in origin.
"Now I know that this isn't from our planet Daniel. Every test run on it suggests that. But I thought that you might be able to read that language, since you have a unique perspective in this. Can you?"
Daniel turned it over in his hand and could feel it humming. But although the language was slightly similar to Goa'uld he couldn't read it. He stood there shaking his head trying to figure out just what had Judith uncovered?
Sam walked along one of the many corridors of SGC and decided that she was certainly feeling better. Jack was being amazingly wonderful and she was almost tempted to have Janet run some tests on him. Maybe he was possessed but he was certainly being very understanding, he had kept his word and was trying to track down Daniel. And she knew that from his manner he was close to finding him. He wouldn't say so for fear of getting her hopes up. But three weeks had now passed since Daniel had left and she had this feeling that today was the day.
Entering the gate control room she watched as the M.A.L.P. was deployed through it to the next planet on their list. Pictures of a lush land were beamed back and it still amazed her that she was looking at another world. Suddenly as the M.A.L.P. panned around a man wandered into view and was stood there looking unafraid, straight into the camera. What amazed Sam was that from his dress he looked quite primitive almost Egyptian but showed no fear of the M.A.L.P. He stood there for a second then beckoned, pulling his hand towards him as if to say "come here" and then without warning the gate shut down.
After two hours of arguing with the General and then the Colonel, Sam stood at the base of the ramp preparing herself. She had managed to persuade them that they needed to go through and reassure whoever it was of their intentions. She knew that if Daniel had been there he would have been the first to argue for diplomatic relations with these people.
Colonel O'Neil, Teal'c and Daniel's temporary replacement - a Doctor MacCallum walked through and joined her waiting for the Stargate to finish dialling.
"Carter, calm down for goodness sakes, you're giving me the jitters. Did you drink too much coffee today?" Jack tried to keep the irritation to a minimum. He was relieved to see Sam happier but she was definitely starting to grate on his nerves today. "Scientists" he thought to himself and was happy when he heard the wormhole establish.
Carter was already half way up the ramp in her eagerness to go, when O'Neil tried to call her back.
"Oh for jeepers sake Carter wait until they get telemetry from the M.A.L.P. to make sure it's safe first then you can dive on in!"
Sam was about to give him a witty reply when all of a sudden the gate started to groan. Suddenly, sparks flew from the electrical cables that supplied the power and the wormhole began to distort. In the control room all hell broke lose and the computers shut down as the lights failed. Energy started flowing around the gate room and Jack was yelling for everyone to get out of there, when it happened.
Suddenly silence descended. "Uh, oh. I've got a very bad feeling about this" Jack looked straight at Carter who was still on the ramp near the gate, she seemed fascinated by the energy distortions emanating from it. "Carter, get the hell away from that thing now!"
But it was too late, as she turned, to move back down the ramp the wormhole leapt out and everything disappeared off the ramp as it shut down. The SGC was plunged into total darkness, but before the emergency lighting switched back on Jack knew that she was gone.
Part Five
Daniel removed his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes. Six hours straight of looking at copies of the strange new language and he was still no closer to deciphering the sphere. Yes, he had made progress, found a pattern. Judith and him had spent hours pouring over his notes on the Goa'uld language and yet something was alluding them, alluding him. Shaking his head he stepped back for a moment, trying to clear his head. Thinking back over the past few weeks it was amazing how well he had slotted back into this life, yet something was still missing. Judith never asked about probing questions about how he had all this information, she wasn't daft but this meant that his past had rapidly started fading from his memory. But then there was so much else to think about, the crypt that had been discovered had yielded a lot of finds and keeping this from the governments of Egypt and America was not easy. But everyone knew that as soon as this leaked out that the whole thing would be covered up and disappeared.
They had discovered very little technology but what they had found was most definitely alien and the walls had been covered in huge amounts of script. Daniel loved the feeling of walking in there; it still brought so much emotion to the surface.
Taking a swig of water and readjusting his glasses again he leant back over the papers, he was sure he was onto something. Suddenly, he was gripped by a sudden cold sensation that started at the base of his spine and ran up his spine. He broke out in a cold sweat and staggered backwards.
"Daniel?!" Judith entered the tent and grabbed him before he could fall. Walking him over to a make shift bench she sat him down. Standing with a purpose she made her way back to the table and grabbed the bottle of water. Daniel pushed it away as she tried to make him drink, but she insisted.
"You've been working too hard, damnit have you been drinking regularly?" Suddenly Daniel grabbed her hands and she was shocked at how cold he felt in this extreme heat.
"Something really bad has happened, something terrible, I feel it" Judith looked into his unseeing eyes and realised that he wasn't entirely with her. Rather than dismissing what he was saying she tried to reach him and pull him back to her. "Daniel, what is it that you feel, describe it."
"Cold, alone, separated. I'm not where I want to be, I can't get back.." His eyes focused on her, and Daniel realised what he was saying. "Great, heat stroke and now I'm hallucinating, sorry Judith"
"Don't apologise and don't dismiss what you're feeling like that. Reflect on it, trust your instincts. Remember I have always believed in your instincts, Daniel. Now go rest and we'll talk later"
Daniel nodded and headed to his tent. Sitting on the edge of the bed he reached over and took out a picture from his bag. It had been taken two years ago and was of Jack, Sam, Teal'c and himself. It had been at one of Jack's awful barbecues and they had been caught by Janet and her camera. But the picture was wonderful, an intimate moment between them all captured. Teal'c with his rare smile, Jack and himself engrossed in some discussion and Sam watching them with a wistful look on her face.
Daniel ran his finger over her picture, taking in her beauty, and his heart became heavy again. He knew something was really wrong and he knew he had to be there, but here he was on the other side of the world. Judith was right, he needed to sleep so he lay out and closed his eyes as the stifling heat pressed him into the mattress.
As he slept he dreamt, of holding her, of caressing her, their bodies together. Then she was gone, and she was alone and frightened. He called to her but he couldn't reach her.
He felt her cool hand caress his forehead and could hear her gentle breathing beside him. "Sam?" he opened his eyes and found Judith's worried face staring down at him.
"Daniel are you alright, you were crying out in your sleep?" Judith moved off of the edge of the bed so that Daniel could sit up. He swung his legs over and rubbed his eyes trying to adjust for the grip of sleep to awake fullness. Outside it was dark and after checking his watch he realised that he had been asleep for six hours.
"I'm fine Judith, I think I must have been more tired than I realised. Anything happen while I was out?"
"We found some more carvings, but that will wait. Come get something to eat, I'm sure you could do with some of our exciting, nourishing food!"
Daniel grimaced at the thought of the tinned food they were eating. It was by far the safest thing, but some of it tasted foul. It almost made the rations that they had sometimes endured at SGC seem palatable.
Entering the canteen tent, Daniel headed for the coffee and grabbed some bread. Sitting down with Mick and Judith, Daniel tore off a chunk of bread and chewed thoughtfully.
"Daniel, it's still bothering you isn't it. Do you feel like talking about it?" Judith leaned over and swiped a piece of his bread.
"What's this? Problems Daniel?" Mick asked in his short fashion.
"It started this afternoon and I have had this feeling. You know when you feel that something has gone wrong, that something terrible has happened. But this won't leave me, I keep feeling like there is something I should be doing."
Mick had gathered enough information over the past weeks to gather why Daniel had left. "Could it be worry over this gal you left behind?"
"Sam" As soon as Daniel mentioned her name that feeling of being trapped returned. Trying not to show his fear he took a long swig of coffee.
But Judith had picked up on it, like she always did with him. Looking at Mick she motioned that she wanted some privacy with Daniel and Mick took the hint and moved away.
"Daniel, I think you should go back. You're not going to get any peace here until you settle this with her. She should have received your letter by now and maybe, just maybe you have a chance."
Daniel stood and walked to the flap in the tent and looked out at the night sky. He felt Judith walk up and stand next to him.
"I love her, Judith. But this is so different." He turned and looked at her. "I loved Share and she was my wife, we were happy and yet..." he trailed off not sure of how to say what he was feeling.
"Daniel there are different types of love. There's love at first site, love that builds over time, love that comes from a friendship. There are hundreds of types and they are all different. And they are all equal."
"It's so wonderful and exciting and frightening and I want her so badly" Daniel found that he was gripping Judith by her arms and that she had tears in her eyes. "Judith?"
"Don't worry, it's not that you hurt me but just that you are so lucky. To love once and be happy and then to lose that, is what most of us can expect. But to then find love like that again." She shook her head and wandered out into the cooling air. "It's amazing isn't it? They raw passion that you can feel even without knowing if the person you want feels the same way"
"Cold showers are rapidly becoming annoying" Daniel chuckled "I just don't know what she would say but I just want to grab her and ..." he started to blush and Judith laughed.
"Oh make her breathless?" A wicked gleam was in her eye "To make her yours and no one else's. To .." She was cut off as Daniel swooped and started to tickle her. She quickly fell down, rolling away and trying hard not to laugh. For a moment she did nothing and then she rolled over to look at the stars.
"I have to go Judith, I have to tell her everything and take that chance. Jack will kill me. I wrote him the letter you know, not her."
Judith looked over but decided not to comment on that last remark. "Daniel I'm afraid you're stuck for the moment, the jeep won't be back for a week, but I will try and arrange something for you. You will get back to her, you just have to be a little patient"
Jack sat staring at the ceiling in the debriefing room. He had given up trying to follow the explanations for what had gone wrong, why Sam was dead. He wanted to leave but somehow just couldn't get his body to respond. He felt a hand touch his shoulder and found himself looking into Teal'c face. Looking around he realised that he was alone. "What happened"
"There has been a development in the control room and the others felt it was wise to leave you alone. However, I do not agree O'Neil. I feel that you need to see this."
Despite his grief Jack realised that he still needed some answers. Following Teal'c to the control room he stood by the door and watched the conversation that was in progress. He could see behind the technicians that the computers had come back on line but were displaying a completely foreign language. Nothing was making sense or working. But one thing they all seemed to be agreeing on. It was a message from someone and it needed deciphering. "Daniel" he thought and his mind wandered to his friend, how was he going to tell him that Sam was dead.
"She's not dead!" He jumped at the statement that contradicted the very thoughts he was having. The voice had cut through the conversations like a knife and now everyone turned to see Walter besides one of the gate computers. "Look, I'm telling you that despite all this interference, these waves don't indicate the usual backwash when the gate opens. That's deadly - yes but this indicates the normal energy of matter being converted." He was pointing to the frequency indicator that could just be made out on the screen behind the floating symbols. The General was striding towards the technician and was ready to admonish him when one of the other technicians joined in the debate. "My god, you're right look this peak is all wrong."
"Will somebody, please tell me what the hell is going on!" Jack almost bellowed in his frustration. "In English folks!"
"Look Colonel, this indicates that her matter was converted to energy, in all probability she was transported to the other side of the wormhole. But at present there isn't a way for her to return or for us to get to her. We need to get this language translated first, we've tried rebooting and that's just not doing it. We've even experimented with purging some systems with the same results. It's infected everything and no matter what we do, nothing is going to sort this out fast"
The General looked over to Jack "I can have some of the best linguists from the Pentagon here within a day."
"You know that they aren't the best General, we need Daniel. And I know where he is." He pulled the letter out of his pocket that he had received this morning. He had wanted to tell Sam but hadn't been able to bring himself to do it and now she wasn't here.
The General nodded and reached for the phone "General Hammond here. Yes I need a private plane and I need it yesterday!"
Part Six
The excitement in the tent was growing. Mick and Judith had put the rubbings of scripts from the walls all over the floor. Daniel was sat on the edge of a table looking down at them and the paper, a smile plastered over his face. "Mick, move that sequence of symbols back to there, that's it stop right there. Now you two, come up here and look at what I see."
Mick and Judith joined him up on the table and looked down at the symbols spread out on the floor. "This is how the crypt writings would be viewed if we could get the room in there to flatten them out."
"Oh my god Daniel." Mick exclaimed. "It's not read horizontally or vertically. But a spherical pattern, now that is complex."
Daniel picked up the Goa'uld basic symbol sheet he had created for the groups to use as a reference point. Some symbols had looked familiar but because no sentences could be made they had assumed that the languages hadn't been related. But they were, the words, as such, were the same but the way of assembling sentences was incredibly complex. The way to read the script was to flatten it out from any curved surfaces and then read it in a counter clockwise pattern. A computer programme could be set up and would be able to translate this language quite quickly but for the moment it was a matter of painstakingly doing this by hand.
For the next few hours they managed to translate two sentences! An impressive amount considering this was an unknown language on this planet.
Daniel now sat on a bench studying the sphere that Judith had first discovered. As far he could tell it was some sort of key, but he was too tired to focus on it for much longer. Judith nudged him and laughed "Well at least you didn't fall off the bench. Daniel, I'm sorry you've been stuck here but you really are a genius."
"I try my best!" he joked staring at the sphere frowning; sure that he should be seeing something.
Judith reached over and took the sphere from him and concentrated on one particular set of symbols, "Key to wisdom" she murmured and then pressed on one symbol. A loud click sounded and the sphere fell apart like a segmented orange. A holographic image of an old man appeared and a voice could be heard "Tooya, tooya" before the whole thing died.
Judith and Daniel both sat there staring at it dumbstruck. Daniel picked it up and clicked it back into a sphere and tried to operate it again but the sphere stayed stuck together. "Judith, how the hell did you do that?"
"I noticed that these symbols seemed to mention a key and then I realised that this symbol here meant wisdom" Daniel groaned as he realised that that was what he had been seeing but he hadn't caught on. He turned it over and followed the counter clockwise sentence and found the symbol that Judith had pressed on which denoted another key. But the sphere stayed firmly stuck.
"Judith, you are one smart linguist. I've been trying to work this out for the past hour and I've been stuck. Now we just have to figure out what "Tooya" means. It's not like anything we've translated so far."
"Not now Daniel, food then rest. We've made big leaps for today, but as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day. And we need to come back at this later, with fresh minds." As they walked towards the next tent Judith apologised again for the delay in Daniel returning to his friends. "The jeep will be here in two days and despite all kinds of bribes, no-one is willing to take you across this desert to Cairo."
Daniel waved away her apologies and was about to reply when he stopped dead in his tracks. Judith nearly walked into him and was about to give him a piece of her mind when she recognised that look in his eyes. "What is it Daniel?"
"Tooya, I've heard that before." Daniel was lost in thought as he remembered a planet they had been on about six months before. A young girl was playing with her friends and was hiding behind some rocks. "Tooya, meena" she called before ducking down.
"What Daniel, what does it mean." Judith was trying not to get impatient.
"Find me or Find us." Daniel murmured before turning round and heading back into the tent. Judith sighed. It was going to be a long night.
Jack sighed as he waited at the airport. It was late, dark and he was in a foreign country. He was not happy. This was why he liked having Daniel on his team; he was in his element in places like this.
Suddenly a loud voice called him and he saw that the Lieutenant that the General insisted he bring (something about him speaking basic Egyptian) had managed to get the jeep that had been arranged for them. Striding over there he frowned at the almost excited way that the Lieutenant bounced around him. "You don't get out much do you?" Jack said in that droll voice of his before he settled into the jeep for what he assumed was to be a very uncomfortable ride. He was right.
Daniel stepped out of the tent and winced at the early morning light that spilled across the landscape. He stretched and tried to get some of the cramp out of his back. Judith nearly crawled out beside him. "I'd forgotten how bad these all night brainstorming sessions are for my back" she moaned. "Yes, but it was worth it" Daniel nearly crooned with victory "We did it, a basic key for this language!" "Yes, woo hoo, Daniel but we still haven't managed to unlock that bloody sphere again..." She stopped and frowned looking over Daniel's shoulder "Who the hell is that and what is he doing at my site".
Daniel turned round to see what she was talking about but before he could make any sense of it, a punch caught him on the jaw and he fell backwards onto the sand.
Looking up he saw Jack standing over him, fury on his face. "Oh my god, he got my letter" was all Daniel could think.
"Hello Danny boy" Jack drawled, "That was for pissing off without a word and worrying us all. If you would like to stand up I will then slug you again for Sam" Jack was just getting into his stride when all of a sudden a sharp pain hit him across the back of his legs and the world tilted as he fell backwards onto the desert floor beside Daniel, facing his feet. Daniel tried hard not to laugh at Jack's face as his legs were swept out from under him and instead focused his attention on Judith who stood above them both holding a long ceremonial staff. She had this staff presently dug into Jack's chest holding him pinned on the floor.
"Now I have no idea who the hell you are or what you are doing here but no-one, and I mean NO-ONE walks onto one of my sites and attacks a member of my dig. Now unless you want me to show you the finer points of using a weapon like this staff I suggest you calm down - NOW!!!" And on that word Judith slammed the end of the staff right between Jack's legs only just missing his groin and pushing the staff itself several inches into the ground.
"Okay lady whatever you say." Jack winced trying not to think about how close that had been. Judith leant forward and helped Daniel up, who in turn removed the staff and then helped Jack up.
"Judith meet Jack, Jack meet Judith." Daniel thought introductions might be wise.Judith looked at Jack and sighed "I should have known, you're Colonel O'Neil."
"I see my reputation precedes me" Jack glared at Daniel. "Enough with the niceties, we have a huge problem and we need your help Daniel. Sam's in big trouble."
"What do you mean trouble?" Daniel, felt his heart race at this one simple sentence and he felt light headed.
Jack handed over a piece of paper with the strange symbols that had taken over the computer systems back home. He briefly explained what had happened, but he didn't mention any details of how Sam had been feeling. He was still too angry to discuss it.
Daniel listened intently as Jack explained everything. He felt like his heart had stopped when Jack described the backwash from the wormhole engulfing Sam. The familiar feelings of being isolated and trapped came flooding back and he realised that somehow they were connected. It was something that he couldn't explain to anyone, he just knew that Sam and him had this link. He couldn't bear the thought of her being alone, he knew that this was what Sam and Jack trained for and that she would never admit to being scared. But it terrified him that she was out there, somewhere without her friends.
He felt a hand on his arm and looked up into Jack's concerned eyes. There was no more anger there, just the usual friendly concern that you expected from Jack. Judith soft voice interrupted them "I'm so sorry Daniel, Colonel O'Neil why are you here, what do you need?" Her worry for Daniel radiated from her but Jack felt uncomfortable with her so he focussed his attention back onto Daniel.
"We need you to come back and help translate that crap so we can get it out of the computer. We can't get her back until that happens, and despite the fact that we are supposed to have the best computer geeks in the goddam world, they can't do a thing until that happens."
Daniel looked at the piece of paper before coming to a decision and then handed it over to Judith. He looked Jack square in the eyes "You mean you need us" he indicated Judith who muttered "I don't believe it" under her breath. "Daniel, it's our language, it's what we've been working on." Judith stressed the word our and glared at Jack her pride in their work overriding her concern for the moment.
Daniel handed the paper back to Jack and explained "we discovered this language, well Judith did, in a crypt. We've been working on deciphering it and we have a key to help us."
"Fine, great, however, I'm only taking you back. I have a plane standing by for us at Cairo and the sooner we get going the better. I've got to get you back to the SGC as soon as possible." Jack gestured to Daniel to get into the jeep. It was then that Judith noticed the poor Lieutenant stuck behind the wheel who looked exhausted.
"Oh, you poor thing" she exclaimed and took him over some water and glared back over at Jack who was trying hard to ignore her. "You are unbelievable, Colonel. You order Daniel around even though he isn't a member of your 'organisation' anymore. Your lieutenant here is suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. No wonder Daniel felt he had to leave if this is how you treat everyone who works under you."
Jack opened his mouth to reply but caught himself and decided that the ignoring tactic was still the best. None of this was lost on Daniel who could tell that Jack was forming a dislike for Judith. Jack turned back to Daniel and he raised his eyebrows in despair and gestured again towards the jeep.
Daniel looked back over to Judith and once again thoughts of Sam ran through his mind "Jack we need the best for this and that's not going to be just me. Judith is coming too."
"No way Daniel." Jack glanced over to where Judith was now mothering the poor lieutenant. "Not her, no way! General Hammond would have a fit if we bring in a civilian."
"Jack, it's quite simple. If we're going to get Sam back then we need her, no discussions. End of story".
Jack looked into Daniel's eyes and saw that he was telling the truth.
As they started towards the tent to pack up the essentials, Jack glanced over his shoulder to see Judith following them. "This is why they issue us with cyanide pills" he hissed under his breath.
An equally quiet voice shot back "Feel free to take them at any time, I won't stop you" as Judith swept past him to catch up with Daniel.
"Great, just great! This day just keeps getting better and better." Jack muttered.
Part Seven
Daniel glanced over to where Judith sat at the back of the jeep. The four of them continued to ride in silence as they bounced over the soft sand. It hadn't taken them long to pack up their belongings, the essentials and as much of the artefacts and papers that they could carry. Jack now drove the jeep and the exhausted Lieutenant had fallen asleep in the back of the jeep, his head resting on Judith's shoulder. She glanced up from the papers she was managing to study and caught Daniel's look, she smiled that soft sympathetic smile and he wished that he could talk to her. He wished he could talk to Jack, but after climbing in and revving up the engine, he had silenced Daniel with a stare and headed off across the dunes.
Daniel knew that he was mad, angry, scared. Scared of what had happened to Sam. But Daniel wanted to explain his letter, talk to Jack of his feelings. Explain that he didn't want to threaten his relationship with Sam, that he just needed to be honest with them both so that they could all get on with their lives. He knew from what little Jack had explained that Sam had vanished before knowing about his letter, and that filled him with a deeper sense of regret. He should have talked to her face to face, she deserved that much.
Trying to shake himself out of the mood that he was rapidly descending into he again tried to focus on his notes that were in front of him. Translating this language was the best hope for getting Sam home and he was determined that they would succeed. His attention was diverted as he noticed the satellite communications system stowed in the jeep and he wondered why Jack hadn't attempted to contact the General to explain what was happening. But thinking about it more clearly he understood, if Jack contacted the General he would be obliged to tell him that he was bringing Judith back with them. Daniel half smiled as the General's voice sounded clearly in his head for a second, "Now wait a damn minute Colonel, under no circumstances are you to bring any civilians back to the SGC."
Daniel thought about how they were going to introduce Judith to General George Hammond and realised that things were about to get interesting.
Judith had lost track of how long they had been on the move now, all she felt was the exhaustion seeping through her. They sat on the chartered military plane and it was comfortable, but she couldn't sleep. She saw the worry in both Colonel O'Neill and Daniel's faces and so despite her ever growing weariness she kept on trying to translate the printouts Jack had brought.
Jack sat there feeling helpless, utterly helpless as he watched the other two working away on both computer and paper. At least they could do something but what use was he to anyone. Sam was in danger and here he was sat about letting everyone else work on the problem. Standing from his seat he strode down the plane to get something to drink from the galley.
Daniel looked up as Jack suddenly rose and left, striding down the plane. The realisation of what Jack must be feeling suddenly became clear and he realised that he'd done nothing to help Jack with what he was going through. Daniel didn't notice Judith's imperceptible nod of approval when he rose to follow Jack.
"Jack" Daniel hesitantly enquired, "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry that I have these feelings for Sam and I don't intend to come between you and her. I just needed to let you know."
Jack stood there listening to Daniel try to apologise for leaving and he realised that his own guilt was what was probably eating him up inside. He had his own confession for Daniel and he realised that part of him didn't want to do this. If he didn't tell about Sam's feelings for Daniel then maybe she would stay with him. But he knew that this wasn't fair to Sam. She needed to settle her feelings for both himself and Daniel and she couldn't do that until they were all back together again.
"Daniel - shut up" Jack took a breath "There's something I need to tell you."
Judith stood discretely out of view and watched as the men started to build bridges back towards the friendship they once held so dear to themselves. She wiped a tear away as she realised that this was Daniel's family now.
Moving quietly back down the plane she sat down, took a deep breath "Right, lets crack this sod." She now had even more motivation to spur her on.
General Hammond knew that the plane had landed and that Dr Jackson and Colonel O'Neill should be back by now yet they hadn't appeared. The telephone beside him started ringing and almost made him jump. "Hammond. Yes - what did you say."
The Lieutenant on the other end of the phone sounded extremely nervous as he repeated his earlier statement "Dr Jackson and Colonel O'Neill are here but they have a female civilian with them and she doesn't have clearance."
Before the General could respond he heard a female voice in the background say "Take me to your leader! - Hey I've always wanted to say that!" followed by an annoyed Dr Jackson "Judith!! Be serious for once. He's going to flip as it is."
The General smiled at that then wiped the laughter out of his voice before he responded "Put Colonel O'Neill on the phone, Lieutenant."
"Sir, before you raise you blood pressure.." Jack started but was cut off before he could get any further.
"Colonel, before I demote you back down the chain of command do you want to tell me why you just brought a civilian to SGC without clearance, permission, a telephone call or even a goddam telegram! What the hell are you thinking bringing her to a top secret, classified, underground, undisclosed facility? Wanted to see how red you could get me - well how does the rank Private sound!!"
Jack covered the telephone and looked over to where Daniel and Judith were, who could hear every word the General had shouted. "He's taking it better than I expected."
Daniel stood as still as he could as General Hammond tore strips of both him and Jack. Judith was seated in the corner and was now being as quiet as a mouse. In the end though Daniel decided that a frontal assault was probably the way to go. Walking over to Judith he picked up her bag that held the sphere and walked back over to General Hammond who was now speechless. Daniel tossed the bag so it landed on the desk with a thump.
"That's why she's here General. We need her, if you want Sam .. I mean Major Carter back then you need her. I can do this on my own if you want but it will be a damn sight quicker with Judith assisting me. She's probably a better linguist than me in some areas, though she will deny it."
General Hammond leant forward and withdrew the sphere from the bag and looked up at Daniel "Okay, you've got my attention, now you have it I suggest you talk quickly."
"Yes sir." Daniel sat down and started to explain the events of the past weeks, while the General gave him his full attention.
After two hours of de-briefing Judith was lying on a hard military bed and she didn't care. Sleep, she thought, please just let me sleep. The General had given permission for her to stay (well she knew now what more could he do) and had ordered them all to get at least four hours sleep before returning to duty. Daniel and Jack and accepted this as a form of punishment and had duly accepted. After a light meal they had gone to bed and she knew that they would both be up in four hours ready to start again. "God I'm too old for this" and with that she pulled the pillow over her head.
Four hours later Judith wandered into Daniel's lab and found Jack, Daniel and a tall dark man with a gold emblem on his head. They were already deeply engrossed in work.
Daniel looked up and smiled as a very bleary eyed Judith wandered in dressed in military fatigues. "Well, you look good, that colour suits you!" Judith wandered over and grabbed some coffee from the machine and just threw a look at Daniel before wandering back over to Teal'c. "Hi, you must be Teal'c, Daniel's told me a lot about you but I don't think that I know everything. You're not from around here are you?"
"You are correct Dr...." And at that Teal'c floundered as he realised that in the past Daniel had only called her Judith.
"It's just Judith, Teal'c I don't use my last name any more. Daniel bring me up to date on where on earth we'd got too."
"Right, Okay see this group of symbols here this talks about a key again. This phrase seems to crop up a lot in both the rubbings and the virus that has infected the computer." Daniel activated the laptop that he had been using and showed it to Judith, it now showed the same symbols and was completely useless.
"Did you connect to the system Daniel?"
"Nope, that's the weirdest part. As far as I can tell as soon as we entered the base the computer became infected. This is very smart and clever technology. Teal'c doesn't recognise the language any more than we do and the sphere is now not responding at all. We're hitting a brick wall."
Jack wandered over and picked up the sphere and examined it closely. He noticed that the same symbol was repeated more than once on it and when he examined the papers on the table there it was again. "What is it Jack?" Daniel walked up and looked at what he was examining. "What's this symbol mean Daniel?"
"That's the one for key or the approximate translation of it, why?"
"It's repeated several, no, it's repeated more than that." Jack turned it over and over trying to count how many times is showed up.
"36 times O'Neill" Teal'c said
"Well we had noticed that, but the Sphere doesn't make sense, the symbols seem to be grouped together but they don't make much sense. Most sentences appear fragmented."
He suddenly looked over to Jack who was scribbling down some numbers. Daniel realised that they were a gate address. "Jack where did you get that from?"
Judith suddenly started laughing "Oh boy, you're good Colonel. We didn't see it Daniel, we were looking linguistically at this but those key symbols are grouped together. Just count them up and you get 14 groups of numbers."
Daniel started shaking his head in disbelief. "14 groups of numbers two per gate symbol, gives you seven numbers which is a gate address. How could I not have seen this. More importantly, Jack did." Daniel looked up at him "You translated the sphere."
"Whoa hang on Danny boy all I did was notice some pattern. Don't go getting too excited on me, I'm no scientist."
"But you're not daft either, Colonel" Judith said "You don't get to be a Colonel in today's military by being dumb. You may try that routine with some but it doesn't play out with me. Teal'c in your culture who becomes the top dog in your military."
"She means First Prime Teal'c" Daniel said helpfully.
"It's not only strength that determines it is it?" Judith continued
"Indeed, you need intelligence, cunning as well as the ability to fight." Teal'c answered.
Jack was waving his arms about trying to dismiss this unwanted attention. "So I can figure out a code or two. Can we get back to the point, this is a gate address."
Teal'c looked at the numbers closely "In fact it would appear to be the address we were travelling to when Major Carter disappeared."
Daniel fumbled about with some papers nodding "Hmm that's right, now this is just pure luck that we found this sphere but I'm assuming that whoever's on the planet assumed that since we had the gate that we understood this language and that we already had these artefacts. They don't know about the diversions on this planet or the fact that most civilisations here have been destroyed a hundred times over." Daniel stopped fumbling and pulled out one piece of paper which had the message that had been cropping up again and again on all screens in the base "Now this asks for some sort of key and something else that we're not sure of and this" he reached over and took the sphere "talks about nothing but keys and unlocking and has a gate address. Now some how these two go together. If we could just get this thing working again." He rubbed his eyes and sat down heavily staring at the message from the computers and the sphere trying to see a connection.
Judith reached over and took the sphere from Daniel "Why don't you and Jack go get something to eat. I bet neither of you got any sleep did you." Both of them had that innocent expression that a child caught stealing candy has. "Hmmm that's what I thought. I need to start over with this and I think that Teal'c is a lot more refreshed than you two"
"Indeed, I do not require rest again for another 36 hours."
"Well, I could use your opinions on this Teal'c and these two should leave us alone for a while so that we can get to it."
Daniel and Jack both started to protest, stopped and looked at one another. "Forget it she's worse than General Hammond sometimes" Daniel said starting towards the door, Jack following.
Once they had gone Judith breathed more easily and turned back to Teal'c "Tell me Teal'c, how do you cope with those two?"
"It is indeed difficult, but being First Prime to Apophis taught me restraint and patience."
Both Jack and Daniel sat in the mess hall trying to make something of today's offerings from the chef. Jack was worried about Sam, confused about how he was supposed to be reacting and frightened about so many things but he refused to let any of this show. Years of military training were being put to good use right now.
Trying to find something else to occupy his thoughts he asked about something that had intrigued him back in the lab. "Daniel, what's Judith's last name and why doesn't she use it anymore?"
"It's a long story." Daniel said quite abruptly trying to think of something else to talk about.
"So you and her are just friends, nothing more?" Jack asked.
"Just friends, we used to be extremely close" Daniel's expression showed he was lost in his thoughts "For a long time after Marcus died we spent a lot of time together. Odd weekends, dinners, she'd ask me to be her 'date' if some function required it. We were really close. But then something changed and we drifted apart."
"And you don't know what changed?"
"No, after what she went through I suppose I just put it down to delayed shock." Daniel looked up and saw that look on Jack's face and realised that he was curious as hell about Daniel and Judith and Daniel felt he had to explain his relationship with her. He knew to others it sometimes seemed more than friends but there was a reason.
Daniel stopped eating and stared through Jack while his mind was lost in the past. He started talking trying to explain what had happened in their lives that had changed them all.
Several years earlier...
Daniel was browsing in one of the bazaars trying to find something a bit different. Something to thank both Marcus and Judith for everything that they had done for him. Six months with them had taught him a lot and their love for one another was amazing. It was the strongest he had ever seen and yet it never made them exclude anyone. The expedition was complete and everything was being packed up ready to be shipped. He was very sad that it was all over but also excited about getting back to western civilisation where he could begin the process of writing and cataloguing using proper equipment. Both Marcus and Judith believed in the old fashioned methods of excavations and it had rubbed off on him yet he still loved the ability of modern day technologies.
He spotted a beautiful sculpture of an Egyptian cat symbolising protection and while not rare it had the most beautiful eyes and he knew that Judith would love it. It was then he heard laughter from outside and a part of the conversation gripped him around his heart. His understanding of the local dialect was not perfect but he could make out most of the conversation.
"Stupid foreigners, they say the man fought well but the woman stood by and did nothing, she gave them everything. The treasures won't leave their homeland now they are safe. It is as it should be, foreigners robbing our land being punished by those living on it."
It could have been about someone else but he knew that it wasn't. He stared at the cat in his hands - for protection. He put it back.
He drove as fast as he could but it still took over an hour to get back to the dig. He spent the whole time telling himself that it couldn't be them. That it was a mistake, that he had misunderstood what was being said. But after a while he could see the smoke over the horizon billowing up into the sky and he knew that they had set fire to the tents. He stopped at the top of the hill and looked down at the chaos below. The tents had all but burnt themselves out and several of the team had gathered below. Like him they had gone to town earlier for supplies for the last few days.
Driving down he was met by Tom who looked totally devastated.
"What happened, where are they?" Daniel dared to ask.
Tom couldn't meet his eyes. "It's all gone Daniel, everything was stolen or destroyed. They attacked soon after we left this morning and... he's dead Daniel. Marcus is dead. "
Daniel felt the world start to spin and sat down into the desert sand. Tom knelt down beside him "Judith's alive. She's been taken to the city. We only know bits and pieces from one of the diggers who hid but it's a mess."
"Why?" Daniel gasped "How did it happen?"
"They attacked with basic fire bombs and drove them out of the tents. From what we know, they had beaten Marcus while they loaded everything onto two trucks. Judith begged them to let him be, she showed them where everything was. You know what she's like. They were leaving Daniel. They had what they wanted and they were leaving." Tom stopped his voice catching in his throat, tears tracking down his cheeks.
Daniel paused in his re-telling of this story, his voice betraying how much this cut him up but he felt relieved to share this part of his past with his best friend.
But there were parts he couldn't relive right now, parts that were better left unsaid. Fast forwarding in his mind he drifted back to the past once again.
He headed back to the city to try and find Judith, he needed to see her himself to make sure she was alive.
Two days later and Daniel was going out of his mind with worry. At the hospital they had refused to let him see her and he knew nothing about her condition. But that day when he arrived there he was surprised to see the Doctor waiting for him. He lead him down the corridor trying to explain in broken English until Daniel explained that he could speak his language.
"She's refused to eat or drink and won't let the nurses near her to change her dressings or to bathe her. She's stopped talking except to scream at the nurses. We're worried about her, unless you can get through to her..." The doctor stopped and turned to Daniel "This is not a place to be ill Dr Jackson, usually someone with her mental state would be in a very bad situation here. You need to get through to her or this is going to get a lot worse."
Daniel nodded understanding why. Services were primitive here and the hospital was shabby at best.
Walking through to her room he followed the doctor. He stopped his breath catching in his throat at the sight before him. The bed was empty and she was in the corner of the room on the floor. Covered in a blanket she hid from them but she had at least left the drip in place that they had set up. Daniel hoped that everything was sterile but he knew that it probably wasn't.
The Doctor moved forward "Dr Leone you have a visitor." At the sound of her name she started to cry violently and Daniel shook his head at the Doctor and whispered "That was her husband's name too."
"Judith" Daniel gently called and moved over to her and removed the blanket so that she could see him. She stopped weeping and her hand came up shaking to touch his face "Daniel?"
Daniel looked at how dirty she was and the tears on her face and without thinking he scooped her up and placed her on the bed never letting her go.
Two days on and Judith panicked if he even left her side. He had helped bathe her and feed her and eventually she started to come back from where her mind had been. A week later he was with her on the private plane that the group had hired to get her back to America and to a private hospital. He stayed with her constantly for two weeks worried about her state of mind until eventually she told him to leave. He worried that she might not cope but a month on and she was finally back at home. She invited him to dinner the first night and they sat there and talked about Marcus non stop. Tears came but she was finally getting to a place where she could grieve properly. As he left that night he was scared about her being on her own for the first time. She held him at the door "I'm not alone Daniel, Marcus is here with me, I feel him watching over me." She looked into his eyes "Thank you for my life, but don't let me stop you getting on with yours."
Daniel pulled himself back to the present day and looked into Jack's eyes again. "She never went by her married name again. It's always been Judith. We were so close after that. I can't believe that we drifted apart and that I haven't seen her for nearly five years."
"Jesus Daniel, I didn't mean for you to have to go through that again."
"No Jack, I think you needed to understand why Judith is so protective towards me and why she can be cold towards people. She doesn't let many too close any more."
Jack nodded knowing that feeling and was about to offer his support when the lights went out and the emergency red lighting came on. Klaxons sounded and the General's voice came over the speaker. "Colonel O'Neill, Dr Jackson and all emergency welcome committee to the Gate Room."
"Emergency welcome committee, oh boy trouble!" Jack said as they both raced out the door.
Part Eight
The wind rustled through her hair as the children's laughter brought her back to where she was. It had been 6 days since she had stood on that ramp and watched the wormhole jump forward. Then the familiar feeling of gate travel and Major Sam Carter fell out the other side. She stumbled and managed to get her footing before falling over the M.A.L.P. The gate shut down behind her and the sudden silence made her jump and that's when she realised that she was alone. Running down the steps she made her way to the DHD only to find it totally inactive and then the sound of someone behind her made her turn.
She found herself staring into the dark brown eyes of the native who had appeared on the M.A.L.P. Sam stared as he held his hand out to her gesturing that she should come with him. Sam turned back to the DHD but he walked around the other side keeping eye contact. He shook his head, drawing his hand over the device and Sam knew that he was telling her that it wasn't going to work. The scientist inside her demanded her to get down and open the DHD up, find a way to make it work. But as she looked into those brown eyes she knew that this wasn't part of the plan.
"I don't suppose you speak my language do you." Sam gently enquired almost shocked by how loud her voice sounded in the silence around her.
The man just smiled, a huge grin and gestured for her to follow him again and then he gently took her hand and led her down a worn path.
Now 6 days on she had been back and examined the gate and DHD but they were both useless. Some sort of dampening field was her best guess but she couldn't understand where it could be coming from. The people who lived nearby seemed primitive and she was sure that it wasn't them, though they seemed to have known that she was coming. A room had been prepared in one of the basic dwellings and no one had seemed surprised to see her walk into the village that day.
The children ran round her as she watched them play and Sam laughed as she walked away and up the hill back towards the gate. She wanted to have another look, just one more look. The fact that no one had come for her, that Jack hadn't come for her let her know that she was unlikely to leave here anytime soon.
Striding up the last part of the hill Sam had to hitch up the edge of the native dress she was wearing. The villagers had provided her with a range of clothing all basic yet comfortable and despite the fact that she always wore some sort of make-up she enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her bare face. Getting back to basics had done her the world of good. These past few days although she knew that she should be worried sick, she hadn't been. She knew that she was safe and for the first time in a long time she felt free of worries. She spent much of her time sat contemplating what had happened between them all, how she had got her emotions in such a mess. She knew that she loved Jack but that she was in love with Daniel. If she got back to SGC (which she knew was unlikely) she would take a leave of absence to go find Daniel. She needed to confront him with her feelings and to make peace with her soul on this issue.
As Sam approached the gate she noticed that Ayesh was already there watching the gate intently. He turned as she approached and smiled that huge grin of his and grabbed her hand.
"Ssamm" he said rasping slightly over her name. He had taken great pride in being able to pick up a few words from her and now he gestured towards the gate making a circular movement with his hand.
Sam turned back realising that he was telling her that the Gate was about to come active. How he knew she could only guess but suddenly the chevron's starting lighting up and within seconds the wormhole established. Sam waited with breathless anticipation at who might come through, but despite the M.A.L.P. activating for a few seconds there was nothing. Then the whole thing shut down.
Sam tried not to look disappointed but Ayesh seemed to know. However, he was the picture of excitement and rabbited away in his language. Almost dragging her back to the village the only words she could guess at were him telling her that someone was coming. Sam realised that this was just the beginning.
Jack and Daniel rounded the corner into the Gate room to find the Gate active and a wormhole established. Both Judith and Teal'c stood there in the blue glow while several armed men surrounded the Stargate their weapons pointing at it. General Hammond was there worried but trying not to show it.
"General" Jack made his way towards him "Did we get it active again sir?"
"Colonel, don't ask me. The thing just lit up and they" he gestured towards the control room "can't tell me if it is an incoming or outgoing wormhole. All I can tell you is that we can't get the iris to operate. I suggest that you have words with those two there because it was them who started this whole mess off." Hammond was gesturing towards Judith and Teal'c who were engaged in deep conversation over the sphere.
Suddenly the wormhole died and the lights of the base came back on and the computers re-booted free from the alien symbols.
"Okay now would somebody mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" Jack shouted, his frustrations boiling over again.
Judith came over to explain but Jack silenced her with a wave of his hand and marched out of the gate room leaving an angry woman behind him. Daniel came over and placed a hand on her shoulder "Not here, somewhere more private."
Gathered around the debriefing table General Hammond and Colonel O'Neil were both turning slight shades of red waiting for an explanation of what had just happened.
Judith waited until they had all seated themselves before passing the sphere back to Daniel.
"It was Teal'c who spotted it. Amongst the messages cropping up on the base computers was a code but it had been hidden. Every third message held another apparently meaningless symbol. Teal'c"
Judith gestured for him to take over the conversation.
"I noticed what I thought was a number, very similar again to Goa'uld but it made no sense. After watching the messages again, I noticed that either this symbol or another turned up every third message until they repeated again. It became obvious it was a code."
Judith took over again "Look we knew that this sphere was a key, possibly a key to the language but it was also a key to re-opening your Stargate. We found the same numerical type symbols on the sphere again hidden amongst groupings of the symbol for key. We took the code hidden in the message and entered it on the sphere and voila!"
"Voila?!" Jack nearly exploded "You had no idea what you were doing by entering that code. You could have been giving access to this world to our enemy."
Daniel now stepped in "Jack - this civilisation that we're dealing with maybe related to the Goa'uld somewhere along the line but from what we unearthed at the dig they're a peaceful people who came here to escape the system lords. Unfortunately when this world was subjected to Ra they decided that it was too dangerous to hide here anymore. The message in the sphere said "Find us" and gave a series of Gate co-ordinates and a code, quite possibly to de-activate their own version of an iris. It was a tremendous risk to take Jack. Leaving that information here hoping that one day we might find it."
Daniel continued now that he had their attention, his face coming alive as he slipped back into the mode of SG1 archaeologist and scientist. "When you dialled that gate address and managed to send a M.A.L.P. through they must have been waiting for a person to come through and were surprised at our technology. Quite probably they let the visitors come through then send this programme back to the source to test whether the people are friend or foe. When you dialled again they must have decided to take more forceful action and take someone from this end to ensure our co-operation. They're defending their home Jack. They needed us to have something at stake and to see if we would care enough about one of our own to try and rescue them."
Daniel was beginning to wonder if he was getting through to them when suddenly one of the Lieutenants rushed into the room. Going over to the General he handed over a disc. "The telemetry we received from the M.A.L.P. sir!" and turned on his heel and left.
General Hammond turned round and entered the disc into the computer behind him and activated the screen. The screen resolved into three parts, one showing the scientific data, one showing audio volumes and the other a video image.
Daniel's heart leapt at the sight of Sam stood there dressed in a native outfit and looking so beautiful it took his breath away. There was no sign of trouble or violence, just her standing there quietly with a native man stood next to her.
Then the image disappeared as the gate shut down. Daniel heard a annoyed sigh from Jack and realised that he must be feeling the same feelings too.
Daniel was about to speak when Jack beat him to it. "Look General however this has come about Sam is on the other side of that gate waiting for someone to come through. She obviously can't dial home or doesn't know that she can. We have to go through and find out what they want."
"I totally agree Colonel. I want you, Dr Jackson and Teal'c ready to go in an hour."
Daniel looked over to where Judith was sitting and was surprised to see not a trace of annoyance on her face. She looked over and gently smiled but he could tell she was disappointed that this adventure wasn't going to include her. Daniel turned to say something to the General when again he was beaten to it by Jack.
"General if you don't mind I'd also like Judith to accompany SG1 as she's as good a linguist as Dr Jackson and we need as many of them as we can take."
The General was frowning trying to decide what was best. Judith and Daniel were shocked to say the least and Teal'c sat there with slightly raised eyebrows. No-one had foreseen Jack asking this.
"What!" Jack blustered "what did I say?!"
"Nothing Colonel, permission granted" said General Hammond with a slight trace of a smile.
An hour later an extremely nervous Judith stood at the base of the ramp in the full military kit fidgeting like crazy. She kept looking between her watch, the gate and the control room and pacing back and forth.
Daniel walked over to her and put an arm round her and she leant into him gratefully.
"You must be very excited about seeing Sam again" she said trying to distract herself.
"Yes and no." Daniel replied "I'm scared too. I'm not sure what I'm going to say or how." Judith wrapped her arms around him and held him. "You'll know once you see her, it will come naturally. It always does when it's with someone you truly love. The words will flow like the river does from the mountain to the sea, because that's as natural as your love is."
"Don't let us interrupt." Jack called out as him and Teal'c entered the room. He smiled over at Judith and Daniel and watched with some amusement as Judith flushed and pulled away from Daniel who seemed surprised by her reaction.
Their attention was all drawn to the gate as it suddenly came into motion as the dialling sequence began. Daniel watched Judith's face as the wormhole engaged and the blue glow settled around the room. "It's beautiful isn't it?"
She turned and looked at him fright showing in her face "It maybe when you're looking at it but knowing that I'm going to step through that and be zipped across the galaxy molecule by molecule. I don't fancy that one bit."
Jack came to stand by them, putting his hand gently on her shoulder he drew her attention to himself. "It's not that bad, you know. It sort of tingles a little, and it is a bit cold. But it's not as bad as when we first started using it, boy that was rough. Come on, it's unbelievable really."
Judith nodded and walked up with them all and watched as Teal'c stepped through. It was like watching someone walk through a curtain of water. She wanted to walk around the back and look to see if he was there. Jack and Daniel stood either side of her and all three of them were as nervous as one another. They all had things to confront. Moving forward they stepped through the gate.
Part Nine
"Cinnamon" was the first thought through Daniel's mind as he stepped out of the gate. The one thing that the M.A.L.P. couldn't tell you was how the air would smell when you came through. He doubted that the others even noticed but he always did, no world smelt like earth did. It was a unique scent that was reassuring when you came back through the gate; it signalled you were home.
Looking around at Judith and Jack to make sure they were okay he noticed that Judith seemed to be a little unsteady. "Hey you alright?" Daniel enquired.
"No problem, just a little disorientated. Quite a rush!" Judith exclaimed a little breathlessly.
"Yup, that gate has that affect on people the first time" Jack said moving forward to scan the area in front of them. Coming towards them were a group of people.
"Colonel" Teal'c intoned "someone approaches."
"Yep, I see them Teal'c, I see.." his voice drifted off as he noticed Sam walking beside the group of villagers. He turned to see Daniel and noticed that this wasn't lost on him.
Daniel stood there feeling oddly out of place, what was he to say? How would she react? What was taking them so damn long? His mind whirled around and he tried to remember that Jack was standing right next to him. But he could feel the flush on his face and he could see Sam's eyes locking with his. He wanted to run over, scoop her up and hug her forever. Never let her go.
As Sam walked she expected to see Jack but never Daniel. Her head felt light and a rush filled her, her heart pounding furiously. Daniel was here! Her eyes were locked on his and she saw something in his eyes that made her legs tremble.
Judith looked at Daniel and saw his face. She felt happy that he had this opportunity that he had a second chance. She also gently looked to see how the Colonel was taking it all in but for some reason he looked quite relaxed about the whole thing. And there was Major Carter, Sam, coming towards them with some villager. Aliens! How bizarre that this wasn't affecting her more. Her mind whirring she suddenly realised that the dizziness was intensifying. Trying to steady her breathing and get her emotions back under control it was then she realised that the air was thick and heavy.
Daniel heard a small gasp next to him but his mind was firmly locked into the sight of Sam. It was Jack who noticed it first "Judith?" he enquired sharply as he realised that her breathing was rapid. Daniel turned to look at her and the villagers increased their pace as they realised something was amiss.
"Judith?" Daniel enquired stepping towards her as her eyes rolled back and she collapsed under her own weight. Instantly Daniel and Jack were there, Teal'c glancing over but holding guard over them. Sam and one of the villagers pushed forward and approached them as Daniel rolled Judith over.
Sam was suddenly beside him and Jack. Her sweet voice filling him "Daniel, Jack what wrong." 'Who is this?' was the silent thought that ran through her mind. Looking at the beautiful older woman lying there she began to wonder what she had missed out on. She realised that both Jack and Daniel were looking at her intently and she started to blush. "What's wrong with her?" she said trying to draw their attention back to the unconscious woman. Daniel suddenly looked guilty and his attention immediately turned back to Judith.
"I don't think she's breathing." Daniel said and suddenly panic gripped him. One of the villagers, possibly the leader stepped forward and knelt beside Judith. His usually happy complexion was stern and worried. Reaching into one of the many hiding places in his attire he withdrew a small device and slipped it over his palm of his hand. Running his hand over her chest it started to glow.
Jack immediately reached for his gun, an instinct that both Sam and Daniel wished he could curb. "He won't hurt her" Sam's cry reached his ears and Jack looked up at her waiting for an explanation. "They're friendly Colonel. They revere life Ayesh wouldn't hurt her."
Daniel watched the concentrated face in front of him as Ayesh ran his hand up and down. "What does that do Sam, it looks a little like the healing device but more complex"
Sam shook her head "I don't know. In the whole time that I've been here I haven't seen any signs of Technology."
Jack had nearly had enough. He watched as Judith's complexion grew paler and a blue tinge appeared on her lips. "She can't breath goddam it, we can't just sit here. Why doesn't he do something." Jack made as if to push Ayesh away but at that precise moment the device that he wore changed tone and the glow changed from yellow to red. Ayesh concentrated at the energy that he had to expend to help Judith. Her complexion improved and her breathing started again, but she remained unconscious.
Daniel looked up relief showing on his face while he gently rubbed the side of Judith's face. "What's wrong with her?" He asked Ayesh knowing full well he probably wouldn't understand him. Ayesh looked up and smiled gently his voice almost song like as he answered Daniel.
Jack looked at Daniel "Do you understand him?", Daniel frowned concentrating. "Sort of but it's like when we first arrived on Abydos. It's alright being able to read a language but speaking it is another thing." He shook his head at Ayesh, trying to make him understand that he didn't understand him fully. Daniel suddenly felt overwhelmed by a flood of emotions. Sam was here, right next to him, Judith needed his help, he had to translate this language, he needed Judith to help him translate the language. His anger grew, slamming his fist into the ground he swore "Why can't things just go smoothly for once."
Ayesh reached out and touched him - to try and gain his attention. Reaching in to his clothes again, he pulled out a small round disc that he attached to Daniel throat and then a smaller one just behind his ear. Daniel reached around to touch them but stopped at the last moment, understanding spreading across his face.
"Can you understand me now." He quietly said to the older man, who started grinning and nodding "Yes my friend yes". Daniel tried hard not to laugh as Jack and Sam both started with the same comment "I don't believe it."
Sam was annoyed, she had been here a week and they had the technology to talk to one another but they had decided not to share it. Why not? She turned to interrogate Ayesh but realised that he wouldn't understand her. Ayesh passed out the small objects to them all before gesturing for some of the villagers to come over and help move Judith to one of the huts in the village. As they walked Ayesh spoke to them all for the first time.
"Your friend, I'm sorry, the air is bad for her here, I not know why, something poisoned her breathing. I have altered her for the moment to help but she can't stay here more than a day."
"Altered" Daniel started "what did you do to her. She will be alright won't she?"
"When you go home yes. But here she can't stay, the alteration won't last long and cannot be done often. We take you somewhere comfortable and see that she is safe then we celebrate your coming."
As they approached the village, others came out cheering and yelling. Cries of "They made it, they found us" could be heard. And preparations could be seen for a big fire and smells of food wafted around.
Once Judith had been made comfortable, they moved to another hut. They all took in the primitive surroundings yet these people had technology very advanced. Sitting down on the floor Ayesh started to talk again.
"You will have many questions my friends, but let me tell you a story then you can ask what you do not understand. We tested you for a reason, the first thing you should know is that if you hadn't answered we would have sent your friend back. But we wait first to see if you answer and you did!"
"My people have been around for a long time. Around before your people were born from your planet. An evil spread throughout the system started from our own people." Ayesh explained the story.
Ayesh's race were known as the Mazo and had been around for millions of years. They started off like all races. Primitive and warlike but evolved slowly until they reached an age where they thought themselves fully evolved. They tampered with science and technology and their race expanded. They took to the stars and found other ways of travelling. Along the way they met a race that were older than themselves. Ancients who built a system of travel which the Mazo called the Cha'apperi. Using this means of travel the Mazo started to encounter other races and gain more technology. And they discovered that the universe was a peaceful place to be.
Until a plague started affecting their people. It wasn't a bad plague, it didn't kill millions. But it frightened the Mazo who had eradicated most diseases. The plague resisted all forms of treatment including new ones they discovered off world. Eventually a scientist named Rasu discovered a parasite with some healing properties and using genetic engineering he started manipulating it's healing abilities. Eventually he discovered that by placing this parasite into a person they were healed of the plague. It was a truly remarkable discovery until that discovery turned around and started killing them.
Eventually it was discovered that the parasite that had been used to cure them had intelligence and had actually taken over the bodies of the plague victims and the scientists who worked on the project. The Goa'uld had been born. Over years without anyone knowing they co-ordinated their efforts until they had control of nearly ever major technology they needed. Then they struck killing millions and what Mazos could fled through the gate to hundreds of different planets to hide.
"Wait a minute" Daniel interrupted "You had all that technology and you didn't detect them, you couldn't eradicate them?"
Ayesh shook his head "We knew they were there, we had no understanding that they had knowledge, that they could think. Only once they had control did we know and they made sure that we could not pass our knowledge of them along."
The Goa'uld destroyed all evidence of how they had been created and began working their way into worlds. Manipulating and taking what they needed until they had control over a frightening amount of technology. Then Rasu the scientist, controlled by his own parasite discovered that on some planets they were now known as evil Gods. The parasite inside him already thought of himself as superior to all life forms but this proved it to him. And the God Ra was born. Breeding pools were set up on planets and when the original hosts ran out they resorted to animal like hosts, bred for the strength and ability to survive most attacks. These hosts were used for the fighting, for the initial war that erupted through the galaxy.
"What happened to your people?" Daniel asked trying hard to control what he was feeling. Here in the room with the race that had brought about the worst enemy in the galaxy. The enemy that was responsible for so much pain in his life, that had killed his wife.
"Most were hunted and found. The parasites wanted no-one alive to tell the tale of their existence. Some of them had settled on your world of course. On every world we went to we tried to leave reminders of our language, our lifestyles. When my people discovered that Ra was coming to Earth they tried to warn your people but were seen as mad people. It was at the same time that my people had discovered this planet and had started to re-locate here. We managed to acquire the shielding that made it safe so that the Goa'uld could not follow and sent messages out for the others to come. On certain planets messages were left for the people there to find. And when they were ready and had the ability to translate the spheres, they would come. And you did, you are the first!"
"How many of your people are there now" Daniel said looking around at the small village.
Ayesh's smile faded "10 Villages like this." Daniel realised that there was only about a 1,000 people left on this planet. "No more made it?" Daniel asked
Ayesh shook his head. "Dear God" Jack mumbled. "Your numbers aren't growing?"
Again Ayesh shook his head "Since our past we have no medical technology beyond the simple healing devices. We don't know why the number of children has slowed, but most scientific methods are now not allowed. We need to pass our knowledge onto another soon, that is why it was so important that you came and you have. We must prepare a celebration, we will pass on what knowledge we have and what technology we have to you and you will keep our race alive."
"Err, you're going to give us technology?" Jack was stunned "They never do that. We meet aliens, they say hi, we say nice technology, they say no way!"
"We can arrange for teams to come through and stay with your people. We have some scientists who might be able to help with your medical problem without resorting to methods that are prohibited." Daniel looked over to where Sam was sitting watching him intently. Ayesh noticed a look pass between them and realised that this was the distraction that had played on her mind during her week with them. When she spent all her time on the hills thinking, daydreaming. Instead of spending time with the people she had needed time alone and they had given that to her. They had decided against the translators and given her space to breath and be free. She had relaxed and come to a decision and now here she was tense again. Waiting to deliver her verdict to this young man, her distraction. Ayesh decided that some tact was needed.
"We will accept all you have to offer us, but now is a time to celebrate, my friends" he motioned to Jack and Teal'c "come join me." and he led them out of the hut. Jack noticed what Ayesh was doing and his heart was breaking as he watched Daniel move over to where Sam was sitting. The last he saw before leaving was Daniel's hand on her face and Sam's look of love.
Turning back to Ayesh Jack willed the tears from his eyes and let the Colonel take control. "Alright Ayesh my buddy, what do you need of us." Ayesh was not fooled by this display but realised that this man was strong and would survive. "Jack is it?" Ayesh asked and waited for him to nod "Please go with Yana here to check on your friend Judith. I believe she is awake and needs to see a friendly face right now."
"Friendly face - huh? Hmm well I'll give it a shot" Jack followed a young girl over to one of the huts and disappeared inside.
Ayesh turned to face Teal'c "You are a servant of the ones we created? Yet you are free, we heard tales of the First Prime that turned away from darkness. Tell me of those we created, I need to know what you know."
"I will try" Said Teal'c and they headed over to one of the fires as the night started to draw in.
As Ayesh and the others left the hut, Sam turned away from Daniel, afraid to look into his eyes. Here she was, in love with this man and yet the anger she felt when he left was resurfacing. She couldn't meet his eyes and control these emotions. Suddenly his cool hand was holding her cheek, turning her face so he could see her eyes. That touch cooled her anger and sent new emotions tumbling through her. She met his eyes and couldn't help but drown in those depths and she could see emotions playing out across his face.
Daniel sat there his hand holding onto Sam's face. "Sam" he started "I need to explain why I left."
Sam shook her head freeing herself from Daniel's touch, trying to regain some emotional control, "I know that you might think I'm angry and I was, I am. But now I have had time to think about everything and I'm ready to listen to what you have to say."
Daniel took a breath.
Part Ten
Daniel watched as Sam removed his hand from her face, as she explained that she was ready to listen. His heart was pounding and all the well rehearsed statements flew straight from his brain. For a moment he sat there opening and closing his mouth trying to find the perfect words to describe his feelings.
Suddenly Sam was laughing, startling him out of his thoughts.
"What?!" he spluttered trying to find a reason why the woman he loved was laughing, when he was about to make the most important statement of his life.
"I'm sorry Daniel, but you were sat there with this look of dread, opening and closing you mouth and it suddenly hit me. You looked like a fish out of water." Sam tried to control her chuckles which she realised were partly due to her nerves.
Daniel started smiling "Why thank you Major Carter!" he tried to sound indignant but it wasn't working. Sam managed to bring her laughter under control and tried to keep eye contact with Daniel without resorting to more giggles. The look of dread on his face had passed and he was smiling too. He reached out to take her hand and a heat passed through her body at that simple contact.
"Sam, the reason I left was simple. I couldn't stay and watch you fall in love with another man, when I had fallen so madly in love with you." Daniel kept his eyes locked with hers the whole time he made this simple, yet life altering statement. He waited for her reaction with a cold dread in his heart. He was sure that rejection was only a moment away.
Jack walked into the hut coughing, hoping that Judith was decent. She was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling but she sat up when Jack came in.
"What happened? The last thing I remember was standing by the gate." Judith shook her head wondering where everyone was.
"You had some sort of reaction to the air. You couldn't breathe, so the locals had to treat you. Apparently you won't be able to stay here that long." Jack put his hand on her arm trying to offer reassurance. "We're taking you back in the morning, you'll be okay till then."
"Reaction to the air?" Judith frowned "Like anaphylactic shock?"
"Err, you've lost me" said Jack.
"I'm allergic to nuts, very badly. I go into anaphylactic shock if I eat one, that means that I can't breathe. It must be something similar in the air and I just happen to be allergic to it. Great, just great!" Judith exclaimed "I come all this way to help and I pass out!"
"Don't worry about it" Jack tried to reassure her. "It turns out that these people have a little technology, even makes Daniel redundant! Though I'm sure he doesn't feel that way!" Jack joked.
Judith stood up and found her legs slightly wobbly. Suddenly Jack was there his arms around her, holding her up. "I'm fine Colonel" she snapped trying to push him away.
"No you're not Judith, just accept my help Okay?" Jack shook his head at her stubbornness but refused to let go of her, holding her tight.
Judith relaxed slightly but the feeling of someone holding her like this was bothering her. Memories of Marcus and the day of his death rushed back. She tried to push them away but she suddenly found herself assaulted by the memories of that day.
Jack suddenly realised that Judith was trembling. Worried that she was about to collapse he helped her back onto the bed and it was then he noticed the fear in her eyes. Not just a little fear but the terror someone lives with when they've seen something that they can't forget. He knew that look because he had seen it in the mirror a thousand times after the day a shot rang out in his house and he found his son dead on the floor.
Trying to bring Judith back from wherever her mind had gone, Jack knelt in front of her and gently spoke her name, stroking the back of her hand.
Her eyes suddenly focused on his and Judith found herself horrified at the fact that she had let her guard down in front of this man. Tears poured down her face.
"Judith, it's okay. You're safe." Jack reassured her. He could see the mortification in her face at being caught with her well built up defences down.
Judith tried to push him away, but she saw the stubborn look in his face and realised that he was going to stay with her whether she liked it or not. "I'm sorry, that brought back some memories for me, that's all. Don't let it worry you."
Jack realised that she was probably remembering the day her husband died, but he decided that this wasn't the time to discuss it and that he wasn't the person she needed.
"I'm sorry Daniel's not here." he said, "he's finally talking things over with Sam." His voice betrayed some of the emotions he was feeling.
"I'm sorry Jack" Judith said trying not to stumble over his name. "I know that you have feelings for Sam."
"Hey, it's okay" he said trying to brush things off, but not quite succeeding. "Look, come outside and see this village. Here you are an archaeologist in the middle of this place and we're both inside."
Sam sat there as she waited for Daniel to speak, she was sure he was going to tell her that he had met someone and that was why he had left. When he spoke those words and told her that he had fallen for her, her heart raced and time seemed to stand still. Silence sat between them and neither of them seemed to want to break it.
Her thoughts were chaotic as her mind tried to be sensible and come up with a response that wasn't dictated by her heart and soul. Daniel still sat there patiently holding her hand, giving her time to absorb what he had said. She looked into his eyes and saw the sad look deep inside and realised that he was waiting for her to reject him. Her heart swelled and she reached out and took his other hand. Holding on to his hands, she closed her eyes and savoured that sweet contact for a second, a smile spreading on her face.
"Daniel, you have no idea how that makes me feel. You idiot! I love you!" Sam shifted her weight and moved closer to him so that they were sat inches from one another. "I had never imagined that you were interested in me." Her hand caressed his face, feeling the stubble that was there and she watched as Daniel closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Jack had told him that Sam had feelings for him but he never imagined this. He felt her hand caress his face and his heart was racing so much, he had to take a deep breath to keep himself from grabbing her and kissing her senseless.
When he opened his eyes again, she was barely inches away from him, that beautiful face staring at him, concern and love mixed in her eyes. "I never realised how you felt Sam, I thought that you and Jack.."
Sam stopped him with a gentle finger placed on his lips. "I can't deny that I have had feelings for Jack but then those developed not that long ago. I do love him, but it's not the same as this. I've loved you for a long time Daniel, since I thought we'd lost you when Marchello took your body. I sat there watching you slowly slip away and I thought that my heart had broken for good." Tears filled her eyes as she remembered that moment.
Daniel took hold of her, his hands running through her hair and he pulled her into a slow tender kiss. All he wanted to do was take that pain away from her. He sat there holding, kissing her and took in all the sensations that were her. Her scent, her taste, the feel of her against him, of her hands on his back, running up into his hair, holding him as close as they could get.
Sam sat there savouring Daniel as he kissed her first on her mouth, then on her eyes. She couldn't believe how sweet he tasted and how good his body felt under her hands. Then Daniel pulled her into an embrace and just sat there holding her against him. Part of her was disappointed, as she wanted so much more than kisses. Yet she knew that this was what she needed. Slow and tender care, there was plenty of time for more later. Much, much more. But that voice was there whispering thoughts that she shouldn't even be thinking yet.
"What are you thinking?" Daniel asked his voice more than a little husky. His hands stroking her gently.
"Do you think there will be objections to us having shared quarters on base?" Sam asked leaning back against Daniel.
"Samantha Carter!" Daniel tried to sound shocked "Don't you think that that is a little fast?" his voice filled with amusement.
"No." She turned round and kissed him hard on the mouth pushing him slightly to the floor. "I've waited long enough already Daniel Jackson. Stop playing hard to get!"
"Yes Major!"
Judith smiled and stood up again, holding onto Jack's arm. Slowly they made their way outside. Judith stopped and gasped at the village around them and the people walking about. Yana who had waited outside came up to Judith and attached one of the translating devices to her before running off to help with the celebrations.
"Wow, this place is amazing" Judith gasped, as Ayesh approached them "Hello, Judith, Jack, the others are gathering for the celebration. Come join us!"
"In a minute Ayesh buddy. We're going to walk around the village first" Jack took Judith's arm again and they slowly started to walk across to a nearby river. Judith kept stopping, looking around wanting so much to get her hands dirty. There was so much to do here and she had to leave in the morning. But some how her heart just wasn't in it. She suddenly found it a little difficult to breathe again, Jack noticed and helped her sit down on a rock by the river. Sitting next to her he found it difficult to know what to say, he noticed that she was engrossed in thought and so he decided that this was one of those times when Daniel would tell him to "shut up".
Daniel and Sam emerged from the hut hand in hand. Daniel had a permanent smile on his face and didn't know when he was going to come down from the cloud that he was on. Looking across he noticed Jack and Judith sat by the river watching a setting sun. He started to go over when Sam put her hand out and stopped him.
"What?" he asked looking from Sam back to Jack and Judith.
"I don't know, I've just got a feeling that they need to be alone right now." Sam noticed his worried look "Hey, Jack will take care of her Daniel, he wouldn't hurt her"
"Hurt her" Daniel murmured, his mind suddenly stuck in a quick flash of an unpleasant memory.
"They were leaving Daniel. They had what they wanted and they were leaving." Tom stopped his voice catching in his throat, tears tracking down his cheeks.
"What is it? Why Tom, why did they kill him?" Daniel's voice was thick and heavy.
Tom looked up and shook his head, anger filling his head. "Judith's a pretty woman Daniel. One of the leaders decided that a western woman was just what he needed." Daniel lowered his head into his hands "They raped her." It was a statement not a question, his voice was breaking now.
"When Marcus realised what they were doing he went berserk. He was always so peaceful but he just went mad trying to get to her and that's when they shot him."
Daniel suddenly stood and strode back to the jeep. Jumping in he started the engine and leant out to speak to Tom "The main hospital in the city? That's where they took her?"
Tom nodded and watched as Daniel raced away back across the desert.
Daniel shook off the memory as quick as it had taken hold. He realised that he was gripping Sam's hand a bit too tightly. Releasing her hand he ran his hand through his hair. Turning to meet Sam's gaze "I just guess I'm a little protective about Judith, she needs gentle care."
Sam knew instinctively not to push Daniel on this "He'll tell me about it sometime, when he's ready" she thought and she gently took his arm and led him across to where the villagers were starting to gather.
Judith found herself lost in the brilliant evening sky. The sun was setting and the sky had turned an amazing shade of red. Her thoughts were of Marcus, unpleasant memories mixing with the happy times that they shared. Jack sat there holding her arm gently to help keep her balance when he realised just how beautiful she looked with her face lit by the setting sun. "Crimson skies" she whispered. She turned to look at Jack and noticed how deep his eyes seemed to be looking at her. Like he was seeing to her soul, and it shook her. She hardly knew this man yet she felt like she could tell him everything.
"Err what?" Jack said slightly confused, jolting Judith out of her observation of him.
"Crimson skies" she said trying to pull herself back together "in most mythologies crimson skies are a sign or warning of things to come. Sometimes it's a bad sign but mostly it's a good one." She looked back over the river to the setting sun again.
"You mean, Red Sky at night, Shepherds Delight!" Jack rhymed looking pleased with himself.
Judith sighed and shook her head, she turned to look at him "Well, I wouldn't have put it that simply, but yes, that's one example. Look at this sky, this surely must be counted as a sign of good things to come."
"Let's hope so" Jack said "We could do with some good luck for a change!" Jack stood helping Judith stand and he looked at the river, taking a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air when he noticed several of the villagers returning from a fishing trip on the river. Nets full they waved excitedly as they passed.
"Now that I admire." Judith said.
"What's that" Jack asked.
"Well I find fishing with a pole hard enough but net fishing is much harder. Some people think that it's easier and in some conditions it maybe but here in these waters it will be a tricky way of catching fish."
It was then Judith noticed that Jack was staring at her amazed. But she misread it as a lack of understanding on his part.
"Look" she said gesturing back at the river "The river is narrow and casting a net and then pulling it back without falling out takes skill. Now fly fishing that would be much easier but it would take far too long to catch the amount needed."
"So..." Jack asked slightly stunned "you like fishing?"
"Oh yes I love it. Nothing more relaxing than quietly sitting by the river and trying hard to catch that ever elusive fish!" Judith laughed gently, memories of her and Marcus fishing surfacing. Turning her attention back to Jack she frowned "Let me guess Colonel, the idea of fishing is disgusting to you and I bet you've never tried."
"Well you could show me how I suppose" Jack lied "I might like it."
Sam and Daniel sat near the fire watching the others interact with the natives. Daniel couldn't believe it, but Judith was actually joking with Jack! The food had been wonderful and the stories plenty around the fire and now the dancing had begun.
Daniel watched as Teal'c was dragged by two of the women from the village and they began twirling with him in the middle, that stoic look still on his face.
Sam was laughing so hard beside him and she hadn't let go of his hand once. Daniel couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy.
Daniel put his arms around Sam and she leant back against his chest, her forehead against his chin. Daniel never wanted this moment to end as he sat there with the woman he loved.
Looking over he saw Jack watching them, without a negative emotion on his face. Jack raised his clay mug of drink in a toast and Daniel returned the gesture.
No, he couldn't remember a time when he had been happier.
The End - perhaps?
If you enjoyed this story, please send feedback to Melanie Buckley
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