Three men and a baby
Chapter 1
SG-1 was sitting with General Hammond in the briefing room, preparing a new trip to a planet where they just had a successful recon mission.
"The people there are friendly, in extremely good health, apparently due to a .. drink.. water... potion... I'm not sure of the exact translation there, their language must have evolved from Ancient Mesopotamian, which I don't fully master" Daniel informed.
"The point is, Sir, we think we should get a sample of... whatever it is that keeps them that healthy. It could be a major discovery for the people of Earth!" Sam added.
"The problem is that this... whatever it is, is under the control of a... shaman, healer, you name it, and according to the people we met, he leaves at the next village, about 15 miles from the gate. Nine hours there and back, plus the blah blahs of negotiations, we'll need at least three days, and we'll be too far from the gate for radio contact" Jack stressed, apparently not too happy about the mission.
"I understand that Colonel, but I have to agree with Major Carter, we need a sample of that drink. SG-1, you leave in the morning" Hammond concluded.
The next morning, SG-1 stood in full gear in front of the gate, listening to the General's last recommendations.
"You have four days to get back Colonel. If we haven't heard from you then, we'll send an UAV at noon for radio contact. Godspeed SG-1"
"Thank you Sir. OK kids. Let's go!" answered Jack, following his team up the ramp.
On the other side, the village of Ofu was in alert as the gate had opened, which seldom happened. When the inhabitants recognized SG-1, they welcomed them happily.
"We are glad to see you back, Friends" a middle aged man said to Daniel, who could translate to the others. Children came eagerly to meet the visitors from Earth. Their fair skin and hair color were curiosity to them, as their people all had dark skin and black to reddish hair. Daniel's glasses were also extremely intriguing and some of the kids had plaited long dry grass straws to try and copy them. Using smiles and large hand movements, they made it clear to SG-1 that they should follow back to their village, where they were taken to the council.
There, Daniel managed to explain that they wished to go to visit "Eniki", which Daniel was not sure was the next village, the drink itself or the person preparing it. But he was quite confident he had made his point anyway. The council agreed to their request and a young man named Aku volunteered to guide them. But first, SG-1 was invited to share a meal with the council: it was a long walk to the next village and they would arrive late in the afternoon. Aku told Daniel that he would take them to a relative who could put them up for the night. At least, that's what Daniel understood...
"Nice!" uttered Jack when he heard the news. "Perhaps we can avoid MRE for dinner! I wouldn't mind some more of that stew, it was really great! A little spicy perhaps, but great!"
"That was definitely salty!" Sam agreed. "You think they used bacon in it?"
"They certainly used salt meat yeah. Although I don't know what sort of meat it was. I don't see pigs around here..." Daniel commented.
"I hope we find water on our way. It was really salty, I feel like I could drink gallons right now.." Sam complained.
"Easy now Major. We have a long walk ahead, you don't want your stomach to weigh a ton!" Jack said, following Aku who was leading the way out of the village. Dilmunas, the village they were heading for, was on the other side of the mountain, in the valley of Eniki, Aku explained.
"Great.." Jack grimaced. "My knees gonna love that trip.."
The trip went well, although it had been steep with loose rocks as they reached the mountain's crest. From there, they had a wonderful view of the valley, which was green and welcoming, like a little paradise. Sam had been delighted to notice a fresh stream flowing through the village, and she was eager to arrive as her canteen was now empty and she felt bad to drink her companions' water, but she was really thirsty after the meal they had been offered in the first village, and no amount of water seemed to quench it. Jack had of course taken the opportunity to tease her about it, but he did hand her his own canteen now and then so she didn't complain. As they reached the bottom of the valley, they noticed a little temple hidden by trees on the right side of the path. Aku explained that this was the place of Eniki, which they would visit the next morning. However, as they still had several hours before night, Jack insisted they visited the place at once, reasoning that the sooner they started the mission, the sooner they could go home. Aku humored him and they took the path to the temple. They found themselves in a beautiful garden, the temple being a little construction at the end of it. There were trees that seemed to be several hundred year old. Aku introduced them to Kitu, a young woman acting as guardian of the temple. They all bowed and tried to follow the conversation between Kitu and Aku, but it went quite fast and Daniel was struggling with the translation.
"I think this is only ritual salutations so it doesn't really matter anyway" he said.
As things were beginning to drag, Sam discretely left the group to go and fill her canteen at the fountain she had noticed at the entrance of the temple. It was a beautiful fountain in white stone, with statues of cherubs carved all around. The water was wonderfully fresh, with a remarkable silvery shine, and she enjoyed drinking as much as she wished now that they had arrived at destination. She sat down for a minute to rest her legs and feet after the long walk, enjoying the heavenly view.
The keeper of the temple was willing to let SG-1 have a sample of the drink she prepared, but she insisted they'd come back the following day, as one had to use the drink in a certain way to ensure good health and youth, and she refused to let them have it before they had the proper instruction, because it could have side effects if used the wrong way. They agreed to meet again in the morning.
"Where is Major Carter?" asked Teal'c as they left the room. All the men looked around, then they went back to Kitu who had not seen her.
"Carter? This is O'Neill. Respond!" Jack tried in the radio. As he got no answer, he sent Daniel with Aku in one direction and went to the other with Teal'c. Aku had assured them the people were friendly, but Jack was concerned. It was not like Sam to just disappear like that. Even when she had to use the bathroom, she usually notified one of them before leaving. In his concern, Jack nearly stepped on a young baby who was crawling on the grass outside the temple.
"Hey you!" he said softly, kneeling to the ground. "What are you doing here? Where's your mummy?"
The baby looked up at him with big blue eyes and Jack smiled to her, picking her up as he was afraid she would hurt herself if left without an adult supervision. Kitu would know who the child was, he thought, turning back to the temple. As he entered the room, he found out that the priestess had left.
"Hello?! Hello?" he tried. After a moment, Kitu was back and he handed her the baby. But the young woman looked at him, confused, and didn't seem interested in taking the child from him.
"Hey, I have to find Carter, come on, take that kid! You tell the mother to take better care of her next time, she was just running away on her own!"
His long tirade didn't make any sense to Kitu and Jack grew impatient.
"Teal'c, get Daniel back here!"
"Daniel Jackson" Teal'c said in the radio. "Your presence is required at the temple immediately"
Five minutes later, Daniel and Aku were back.
"You found Sam?" Daniel asked as soon as they came in.
"No we didn't. We stepped on that kid and I have tried to give her to this woman so she could find the mother, but for some reason she refuses to take her" Jack explained, frustrated.
Daniel tried to translate and explain the situation to Kitu, but she looked very surprised by Daniel's request. At her answer, Daniel looked even more surprised and glared at the child.
"What she said?" Jack wanted to know.
"She... she says the child must be ours. That no child was ever born here with blue eyes or a skin as fair as ours"
"What?" Jack said, shocked. "She must be kidding, right?! Like the US Air Force would send people on mission to other planets with kids in our backpacks?! Oh come on!? I can't baby sit that kid, we have to find Carter!" he said, growing impatient. Daniel translated his words to Kitu and Aku, who were worried by Jack's obvious irritation. Suddenly, Kitu seemed to fear something, and she rushed out of the room. The men followed her to the entrance of the temple, where a white fountain was standing.
She stopped and uttered a shocked cry, pointing toward the floor. There was a bunch of green clothes, with a vest and a P90.
"That's Carter's gear! Why are all her clothes here?! Where is she?" Jack demanded, afraid they could be in the situation they had encountered on the Shavadai planet, where Carter had been dressed up, kidnapped and sold to a vicious warrior.
Kitu began to speak rather fast and Daniel got very confused, trying to make sense of her body language together with the words he understood. He slowly froze on the spot, gaping in shock as he was looking alternatively from the bunch of clothes to Jack.
"What?" Jack asked. "Daniel! What?"
"She... I mean.. Kitu says that Sam must have been drinking from the fountain. This is Sam" he said, his trembling finger pointing toward Jack.
"What you mean this is Sam?!" Jack repeated, annoyed now, turning to see if Sam was behind him.
"No Jack. The baby is Sam. This is apparently a fountain of Youth"
"You're kidding right?" Jack smiled, looking nonetheless at the baby with a scrutinizing eye.
"He is not, O'Neill" Teal'c confirmed. "This baby must in fact be Major Carter"
"Oh come on Teal'c! That's not possible. She can't just... shrink to a baby like that! ... can she?"
After some explanation from both Aku and Kitu, Daniel explained:
"Sam was thirsty right? It makes sense that she might have come here and taken some water. Well, according to Kitu, quite much water actually, as she regressed to such a young age. The water has to be mixed with other components and used in very small amounts to keep people young and healthy, but Kitu believes that drinking the water pure and in large quantity would have this effect"
"She believes?" Jack pointed, dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, apparently, everyone here knows they shouldn't drink the water directly from the fountain, so this has never happened..." Daniel said sheepishly. Aku continued to talk to him so Daniel could precise "It happened only once, a very long time ago"
"So?" Jack cried. "How do we undo it?" Daniel translated, and got an answer which he translated back to his friends.
"They... they don't know..."
"WHAT?" Jack spouted on the rand of panic, now holding the baby at arm's length. The little face frowned, her body tensed, and she began to wail. Jack's brows went up to his hair line, Daniel took three steps back.
"OK, that's it. Take that baby away from here, we must find Carter now" Jack tried, stepping toward Kitu to force the kid on her. But she stepped back and refused to touch the child. Jack turned to the others, who had the same reaction. "Oh come on now! DO SOMETHING!" Jack yelled. The baby cried louder.
"Jack. We have to believe that this is Sam. I mean... everything points to that.." Daniel attempted.
"I believe Daniel Jackson is correct, O'Neill" Teal'c said, stepping to the bunch of clothes and picking Sam's t-shirt up, holding it to Jack. Giving in, Jack wrapped the baby in the piece of cotton and took her back in his arms to calm her. She settled there and stopped crying, two big tears still hanging on her cheeks as she sniffed swiftly. Still not believing this was what was left of his 2IC and the best Major of the USAF, Jack ordered Daniel to pack Sam's clothes in her backpack, and they headed to the village where Aku would introduce them to his relatives.
"How old do you think she is?" Daniel asked.
"She can sit so more than 6-7 months, but she can not walk so less than one year... Maybe 10 months?" Jack said. "Look, you really think that water could do that?"
"Actually I didn't make the connection before because there are some differences with the Mesopotamian initial names" Daniel started. "But Eniki relates to Enki, God of the Waters, and the name Dilmunas must come from the city of Dilmun, which was viewed as a paradise without sickness or old age. I can't remember if the myth of the fountain of Youth is associated to this city but it would make sense"
"Right... Whatever you say..."