Title: Mistakes All Around
Author: Pendaren
E-mail: Mistaken identities, miscommunication, misunderstandings and misconceptions
Season: 10, Set after Company of Thieves but before Quest
Spoilers: Company of Thieves, Memento Mori, Uninvited, Insiders, Morpheus, Camelot, Crusade, The Scourge
Category: ficathon prompt, angst
Pairing: S/D UST (unrequited), S/C friendship
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5,313
Disclaimer: The standard - they don't belong to me, not even in my wildest dreams so please don't sue me…
Authors Notes: Written for the S/D ficathon
My prompt was from "settiai" on LJ: mistaken identity, some type of meal, someone asking: "What could possibly go wrong?"
Beta-ed by the lovely Amaranth Traces, without her this would be utter confusion.
"So, tell me again why you think this planet has the Sangraal?" Cam asked Daniel as they walked down the valley towards the village on the outskirts of the city. He appeared to be a bit bored on this little hike from the Stargate. He settled his cap lower to shade his eyes and Sam grinned. Not for the first time, she was glad that her new CO had read the pre-mission brief and followed her instructions about the planet's solar intensity being slightly high. It was a nice change of pace that she didn't have to repeat herself and possibly be ignored, like in the past with General O'Neill.
"I never said this planet might have the Sangraal." Daniel peered over the rims of his glasses, giving Cam a patronizing look. "What I said was that this planet may hold the key to help us find it." He took a deep breath and Sam smiled inwardly, knowing they were in for an impromptu history lesson. "We have always assumed Arthur died in the Battle of Camlann against Mordred and sailed off to Avalon, but after Meurik and Antonius said that he lived and set off to find the Sangraal, I figure he may have a map or something to help him in his search."
"But how can a man live that long? Arthur is human right?" Sam asked, she lifted her head to see the two better from under the brim of her hat, her arm cradling her P90.
"I don't know, Sam. He could be an alien, or, given that his conception was under an enchantment, he could be advanced like Adria, or maybe he was in stasis and that's how he was able to survive all this time." Sam gave Daniel her 'you're rambling' look and he shrugged before continuing. "Whatever it is, he doesn't have to be alive to help us."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, knowing she was opening the floodgates.
"I found that Vagonbrei translated to Verus Gen Bree from a drawing of Sir Gawain's sword. Maybe a clue can be found on a depiction of Arthur's sword. According to the same book that held the drawing of Sir Gawain, Arthur gave Excalibur back to the Lady of the Lake and received one forged specifically to aid his quest." Daniel smiled at Sam. "This new sword has never been mentioned or depicted in any Earth literature given that our legends say he died."
"So why this planet, Daniel?" Vala asked, her voice a bit muffled. Sam saw her try to adjust the curve of her cap while it was still on her head. Sam was really beginning to warm up to the spirited woman and had to admit she looked good with a P90 hanging from her vest. She remembered the way Vala's face had lit up to take a P90 on the hunt for the many clones of Ba'al and the woman's very obvious disappointment when she had been handed a Zat instead. Sam had been proud of Vala when she had shown proficiency with the automatic weapon during the hunt for the mutant beasts, and was happy that Vala had at last been issued her very own P90.
"Well," Daniel answered, "one of the references I found said that Arthur would spend part of his journeys among the people of the slanted eyes."
"And since this planet was abandoned by Yu..." Sam said, seamlessly following his train of thought.
Daniel nodded to Sam and continued. "I'm hoping he took refuge on this planet."
"I don't get it." Vala looked at the pair.
"Asians are generally known to have almond or slanted eyes. The worlds with the highest concentration of people of Asian decent were under Yu's domain," Daniel clarified.
SG-1 reached the village and saw a woman putting up the laundry. When the woman saw the team, she dropped her clothes and shouted.
"Maybe we should have brought Teal'c," Cam remarked. Sam followed his gaze and tensed as she saw what could very well be the rest of the village running towards their position.
"Doctor Lam says he still needs rest to recover from what Vashin did to him," Daniel said over his shoulder as he raised his hands, moving towards the approaching people. Sam sighed at Daniel's propensity to expose himself to danger and fingered her weapon's safety catch nervously as he began his standard 'we-mean-you-no-harm' speech.
"He is really going out of his mind, especially since you were put back on rotation so quickly after being shot." Sam said, her attention more focused on the approaching mob than the conversation.
Cam scoffed. "It was one bullet... in the arm... and it was such a small flesh wound that Vala could patch it up without really knowing what she was doing."
"At least it will make a nice manly scar to show off to all the girls," Vala commented.
"Let's hope Jackson hasn't lost his touch," Cam muttered over his shoulder. Sam smiled slightly at the abrupt change of subject and resisted the urge to tease him about the circumstances of the patch-up of his latest bullet wound. This was definitely not the time for that.
Instead of being hostile, however, the villagers seemed to want to touch everyone and everything on them. The men reached for Cam's, Daniel's and Sam's uniforms, and the women were all over Vala. One woman grabbed her team patch too hard and it came off in her hand.
"Hey, I just got that!"
The woman ignored her, dropping it to the ground after only a glance. One man reached up too high and elbowed Sam in the eye, knocking her cap off.
Immediately, the commotion stopped. The villagers backed away so quickly from their tight huddle around SG-1 that Sam fell to the ground. Daniel reached down to help her up, and Cam tossed her hat to her before retrieving Vala's patch and placing it back on her sleeve.
The crowd murmured as Daniel helped Sam to her feet.
Sam looked up at Daniel. "What just happened?"
"I don't think they realized you were a woman until now Sam. And they're saying something about your hair. Apparently, they find the fact that it's 'the color of sand' important."
"I guess they don't see too many blonds." Sam cracked a nervous smile.
The men spoke in apologetic tones as they backed off and Daniel said they were begging a thousand pardons from her. One of the men came through the group, walking towards the team with great bearing and purpose. He introduced himself as Young Soon Yen, an elder, and welcomed them all to his village. He led the way towards his dwelling. Most of his family was inside, his children ranging from eleven to thirty-five.
The oldest son, King Sing, nodded as they entered and then seemed to make an effort to not stare at them. Yee Sing, however blatantly did, especially at Sam. Most of the daughters all hovered around Vala and Sam, politely offering fruit and drink. One of the older daughters, with a toddler strapped to her back, smiled when Sam gave a thank you nod. The youngest daughter placed a plate in front of Daniel and Cameron and giggled as Cam said thank you in Mandarin. They were offered a place to sit on the cushions, and Daniel almost tripped on one as he moved to sit down. He steadied himself with a hand on Sam's shoulder and sat down next to her.
Sam sat back and listened as Daniel talked about Arthur. Surprisingly, the villagers knew of him. He was a part of their historical accounts, and there were even prophecies surrounding his return just like in Camelot. Sam could hear the excitement in his voice as Daniel asked question after question and was just as eager to learn how such a history could occur on a planet ruled by a Goa'uld. When the elder suggested that Daniel visit the sanctuary for more information, Cam rolled his eyes, Sam could tell he didn't want another 'boring' mission looking at dusty books. She nudged Daniel, saying something about artwork. King Sing nodded and walked half the team out to show them sculptures and paintings that depicted the knights. As he left, Cam mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Sam, dragging Vala with him.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Sam followed Daniel as they both were led to the temple. The table and bench in the corner near the only window appeared quite small in comparison to the rest of the room. Candles for offering stood in beautiful yet simple holders at the center altar, the shelf-lined walls were filled with scrolls. Daniel thanked Soon Yen as he gave his leave and headed directly for the nearest wall. Yee Sing stayed behind, saying he was there to provide whatever assistance he could and pulled the bench out for the pair to sit down. At first, Daniel had been glad for the offer, but he found that the man was mostly just getting in the way and attempting to gain Sam's attention. He wasn't quite crossing the threshold of overt flirting, but it annoyed Daniel all the same. Sam seemed to be doing her best to ignore the man, instead sitting very close to Daniel, studying the scrolls that had art within.
A four-year-old with too much curiosity ran in with her mother chasing behind her, the toddler, most likely the sister, still strapped to the mother's back. She didn't heed her mother's call, instead making a beeline towards Sam. She stopped in front of her, pleading to be picked up with her eyes. The mother apologized but Sam said it was okay. She bent over and placed the child on her lap. Daniel grinned and pointed to the writings as the mother left.
"Sam, look at this. Apparently Lord Yu has left these people all alone for the past thousand years. The planet's Naquadah mines dried up back then, and Yu apparently decided not to bother moving the small settlement. This explains how Arthur was able to be a part of their recent past without being turned over to Yu." Daniel smiled at the child in Sam's lap.
The little girl seemed fascinated by Sam. She stared into Sam's eyes and grinned. She said a few words in Mandarin. Sam looked up at him. "Daniel?"
"She said 'You are pretty'." Daniel felt the heat of a blush rise in his cheeks and told the child he agreed in her language. He never had the guts to tell Sam, but he had always thought so. He couldn't believe that after ten years he could still be embarrassed at such a simple platonic fact.
The child asked to touch her hair, and Daniel smiled as he translated, wondering what it would be like to run his fingers through the short blond strands. When the little girl spoke of the coloring again Daniel remembered that the villagers had mentioned its importance. He asked Yee Sing for information about it, and the boy went to the far wall to fetch a scroll. As Daniel reached over to take the scroll, he accidentally hit Sam with it. Immediately, he gently touched the point of impact as Sam winced. "I'm so sorry, Sam. Did I hurt you?"
"It's okay, Daniel. My eye's just a little sore from when I got elbowed earlier."
"You sure you don't need anything cold to place on it?"
"I'll be fine," Sam said, smiling. She turned to the little girl, showing her a compass, binoculars, and other items to keep her occupied for hours.
Daniel returned his attention to the scrolls. He didn't even notice Sam rise until she placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned into him.
"I'm going to hand her over to her mother, she's getting sleepy. You stay here. I'll be right back."
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"
"What could possibly go wrong?" She spoke gently into his ear, her breath sending a delightful tingle down his spine. He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation as her hand passed across his back as she moved behind him. He appreciated the human contact and was glad that Sam was one of the few people who didn't mind providing it.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
When Sam arrived back at Soon Yen's house, she saw that Cam and Vala had also returned from their little art tour. Vala raised an eyebrow at the sleepy child in her arms while Cam snickered. The mother, the child no longer strapped to her back, walked up to Sam and took the toddler out of her arms and into another room.
"Looks like someone took a liking to you," Cam commented with obvious amusement.
"Don't you start," Sam retorted. "So how was the art hunt?"
Vala shrugged. "No sculptures or painting of knights or swords. It is a small collection after all, nothing even worth stealing."
When the mother returned, she posed a question to Sam. Cam looked confused, but translated for her. "'When will your child be born?' I think she is asking if you are planning to have any children."
"Oh no, I wasn't planning on any. I think I'm a bit too old for them now."
Cam translated for Sam and the woman spoke again.
"'Your child will be born here, the legend says'," Cam opened his eyes wide. "Sam, I think she thinks you are pregnant."
Vala laughed. "Been there, done that!"
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
After Sam had left, it was hard for Daniel to concentrate on what he was reading. It had been ten whole minutes, and he had gotten nowhere. He went outside to clear his head and look for the rest of the team, feeling a little lonely, despite the presence of Yee Sing. He reached the house, and as he entered, nearly fell over when he heard Sam say 'Why would she think I'm pregnant?' The word pregnant coming out of Sam's mouth was enough to make him off balance. He never expected Sam to want children of her own since she was such a career woman. He thought she was more the adopting type like him.
"Hey guys, find anything good?" Daniel announced his presence loudly, hoping to spare Sam any embarrassing situations by changing the subject.
"Nothing yet, but we only skimmed it," said Mitchell. "This village has a decent art collection for its size. The city's center is five clicks away and has a more extensive collection. I figure you can go there tomorrow while I stay behind and keep looking."
"So what was that I heard about a pregnancy?" Daniel asked Mitchell after Vala and Sam had walked out of hearing range.
"The woman asked Sam when her child would be born. I didn't get it at the time. I thought she was just asking if Sam wanted to have children, given Sam had just handed the little girl off to her. When Sam said something about not planning on any, the woman seemed confused and said that this legend/prophecy/whatever thingy says she would give birth here."
"Guess I have to get back to reading." Daniel walked back around the corner to the sanctuary trying to get the image of Sam with a child out of his mind. The thought bothered him a bit. He always wanted her by his side on SG-1. Maybe he was being a bit selfish, but he didn't want her to have to leave the team.
After about an hour, Sam arrived at the sanctuary with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Thought you could use this."
"Thanks, Sam." Daniel took the cup gladly.
"So what have you managed to piece together?"
"Well, evidently there IS a prophecy that 'a woman with hair the color of sand will one day come to this planet through the "Stargate" and give birth on this world'. It seems that the child will grow up to change this world forever."
"I don't suppose it says who the father is, so I won't tell him to get lost when I meet him?" Sam grinned as Daniel recognized the butchered Terminator quote.
Daniel laughed. "Well, apparently he's one of the knights she travels with. He's destined to die and that's why the child will be born and raised here."
"And the plot thickens," said Sam, her eyes twinkling.
Daniel grinned. "The prophecy says that the woman will marry one of the villagers after her mourning period is over, which is probably why Yee Sing has been hounding you. He is a widower without children and, in all likelihood, was hoping he'd be the one to help raise this messiah."
"Wow." Sam laughed. "Sounds complicated, I guess..." Sam broke off her sentence as she heard Vala and some women shouting outside.
"What now?" Daniel muttered as he stepped outside with Sam.
All eyes appeared to be on Vala and another woman; the crowd was of a decent size, though not as large as the mob that manhandled the team when they arrived. The villagers were gathered in a crescent moon around the pair. Daniel couldn't see Mitchell and suspected him to be stuck behind someone.
"What's going on?" Sam asked Vala. Vala for the most part looked okay, though her hair was a mess as if she had been in a fight. The other woman had a few strands of Vala's hair hanging from her hand and her tunic had a tear in it.
"Apparently this woman is King Sing's wife." Mitchell explained as he reached their side, having pushed his way through the people to be visible. "It seems she's taken offense that Vala didn't ask her permission as first wife before offering to become his concubine."
"I wasn't offering anything of the sort!" Vala huffed loudly in obvious indignation. "All I did was tap him on the shoulder and offer him a cup of tea, that he himself requested a taste of by the way. That's all. I swear I wasn't trying anything." She crossed her arms over her chest and thrust her chin out defiantly.
Daniel took a deep breath and explained they were visitors who didn't understand all their customs yet, and he apologized for any misunderstandings. King Sing's offended wife was clearly in a foul mood and didn't want to hear it, but luckily the rest of the villagers were able to convince her to back off.
Once the incident was cleared up, the crowd began to dissipate. Nightfall was fast approaching, and the locals began preparing for bed. One of the villagers was kind enough to offer a large room for the members of SG-1 to sleep in, and they all settled down for the night.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
At sunrise the next morning, Daniel went with Vala to the city to look at the library there, with the hope of finding some clue as to Arthur's whereabouts. Cam stayed with Sam to chat up the locals and return to the artwork display. Although the people knew about the legends and the prophecy, no one could shed any light to the current whereabouts of Arthur. Sam didn't even notice the sun had climbed so high until midday, after General Landry dialed them for their scheduled check-in. Having been reminded of the time, Sam and Cam took a break to grab a bite. Sam radioed Daniel to remind him to eat as she settled down, knowing that if she didn't, he wouldn't realize the time. If she hadn't noticed the time, he definitely wouldn't have.
Cam tossed an MRE to Sam but apparently his aim was off, and it hit Sam in the head.
"I guess this just isn't my week." Sam rubbed her head.
"Sorry Sam, here let me get that." Cam visibly winced as Sam drew her hand away from her head. Sam was surprised to see a little bit of blood on her palm. He grabbed the first aid kit and wiped away the blood from her forehead before he placed some disinfectant on the scratch.
Sam gritted her teeth as the medicine stung. Before Cam could apply the band-aid, she heard Yee Sing shout and saw him grab Cam. Two other men helped bring him to his feet, and two women grabbed Sam's arms before she could protest. Everyone was shouting so loudly, she couldn't hear if Cam had determined what was wrong or not.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Daniel was browsing over the last section of the library; it wasn't really as big as Cam had said it would be. The building itself was big but the walls of the gallery were lined with statues, scrolls, books and drawings of all mediums, the art taking up most of the space. Despite spending the better part of the morning hunting through the collection, he had found nothing about Arthur or the Sangraal. He would have considered the trip to the city a total loss if he hadn't found the book that was currently in his pack. He had managed to find a reference to the prophecy of the messiah. However, Daniel wasn't sure if he was sad or relieved to find it. As he pulled a pair of books and a few scrolls off a shelf, he heard his radio crackle. Daniel smiled inwardly, preparing to tell Sam she was a mother hen, and that yes, he was going to go eat soon, when he heard Mitchell instead.
"Daniel, we need you to get back here right away. It seems they're going to put me in prison and lock Sam up. They think she is pulling a Guinevere. They want to protect your honor or something." Muffled sounds came from the radio. " Hey!" Cam's voice was cut off as the radio went dead.
"Vala, we have to go, NOW!" Daniel dropped everything he had just taken off the shelves and raced out of the building at top speed. He didn't even look back to see if Vala was following him or ask permission to borrow the book that was tucked in his pack.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Daniel ran the whole way, making it to the village in record time. When he arrived, several people came up to him all at once. Once he caught his breath and was able to get them to talk one at the time, he groaned at the situation. "Can I see him please? And could you bring Sam?"
He was led to a pit that was covered by a grate made out of bamboo-like material. Daniel leaned over the edge and saw Cam at the bottom. "Can you get him out of there, please?" Daniel asked. The crowd started to argue that he didn't deserve to come out but Daniel pleaded and they acquiesced. Sam was brought out just as Cam was lifting himself out of the pit.
"Daniel, what's going on?" Sam asked.
"They think you and I are married. When Cam touched you to fix your cut it was perceived as a gesture that he was interested in you. That's why they all apologized profusely when they realized you were female, why only the youngest girl, who hasn't reached puberty yet, was allowed to serve me and Cam, and why they thought Vala was interested in King Sing. In this culture, it's forbidden for members of the opposite sex to touch each other unless they're family, in the final stages of courting or married."
"And why did they think we were married?"
"Because they think you're the woman who was prophesized to bear the child of one of the knights you traveled with."
Sam nodded slowly. "That still doesn't explain you."
"Right, but think of it. You and I have been touching this whole time. I helped you up, I used you to steady myself, you touched my shoulder several times, and we've been in each other's personal space more times than I can count."
Mitchell groaned. "So how do we get out of this mess, Jackson?"
"Well, I hope that they won't feel so outraged when I tell them that Sam isn't the mother of their messiah. If not, we can tell them that you're my brother and hope a brother-in-law has more leeway."
"Okay, but how are we going to prove that I'm not the woman from their prophecy?"
"This book has a picture of her." Daniel opened up the book so that Sam and Mitchell could clearly see the woman depicted in the drawing he had found.
Mitchell pointed at the picture. "Isn't that…?"
"Yup, I think so." Daniel turned to the crowd and spoke in Mandarin, holding the book for them to see. "THIS is a drawing of the 'blond' from your prophecy. See, she is younger than Sam. She has longer hair; in fact, if I'm not mistaken, her name is Valencia." He pointed to part of the drawing. "See the sword she carries? She is the one who pulled it out of the stone heralding the return of Arthur and his knights. Valencia, not Sam, is the woman you've been waiting for. She is the one destined to be the mother of your messiah."
Daniel handed the book to the nearest villager. They passed it around to get a better look. Daniel was relieved to hear most of them agreeing with him that Sam wasn't the woman in the picture.
King Sing's wife, obviously still bitter that she had to back down earlier, pointed out that Sam still had to rectify the problem that she had two men seriously courting her in front of children. The crowd murmured in agreement, some talking about punishing her, others talking about keeping her there, but the youngest son of Soon Yen pointed out that all she had to do was marry one of the men and the requirements of their customs would be fulfilled.
The little girl that had taken a liking to Sam reached over and placed Daniel's hand in Sam's as she spoke. Daniel smiled at Sam as he translated. "She thinks you would be happier with me. Evidently Mitchell's Chinese is too funny, and she likes me better." One of the villagers offered to have a joint ceremony right away since she was getting married that week anyways and the food was already prepared.
The ceremony was quick and no special clothing was required. A pair of red ribbons, red for celebration and good fortune and common at a traditional Chinese wedding, was used to tie their hands together, right in right and left in left. Daniel translated the explanation. In Chinese legend, at birth, the gods tie a red string around the hands of the man and woman who will one day be husband and wife. As the years pass, the string gets shorter and shorter until the two are united. Destiny fulfilled. At the end of the ceremony, Daniel leaned in and gave Sam a chaste kiss. Sam smiled and whispered in his ear, "Thanks."
The ribbons were untied and each of them kept one. Vala, having traveled much slower than Daniel, arrived just in time to see the crowd break up. Her arms filled with scrolls and books sticking out at all angles. She dropped her armload onto a nearby table and looked around. "What'd I miss?"
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Mitchell reached over for yet another plate. When the team gave him a look, he shrugged, "What? I can't find a decent Chinese restaurant in Colorado Springs. I adore Chinese food and this is even better than the stuff I can find in a US Chinatown. Besides after that dirty pit I deserve these." He pointed to the wedding banquet, a plethora of dim sum. "These are my favorite, Char Siu Bao." Daniel and Sam laughed as he took a bite of the steamed pork bun equivalent. Daniel shook his head at Mitchell's murmur of bliss and laughed again as his team leader's eyes rolled into his head in obvious enjoyment.
Daniel ate as he read the last handful of books and scrolls that Vala had been smart enough to bring back with her. Sam kept looking over his shoulder, handing him the next document as he finished.
"We better get through these quickly, I don't want to see what they would do if we don't have a honeymoon to their satisfaction," she whispered. He accepted many congratulations, wishing he could drop the books and join in the festivities of his own wedding. Daniel paused to look around and saw the other bride feed her groom and the guests giving Sam a displeased look.
"Sam, I think I better stop or we may offend someone."
"Daniel, we have to get out of here soon."
"Then at least feed me, I think that is what they expect anyways, plus I'm still a bit hungry. That way I can finish the mission and we can please these people."
Sam raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Feed you?"
"It's part of their custom." He pointed to the other couple.
Sam reached over and shoved a shrimp dim sum into his mouth, laughing as he tried to grin around it.
Once the party was over and Daniel had given the books a second glance to make sure he hadn't missed anything, they said their goodbyes and headed for the Stargate.
Vala had grumbled all the way that they had found nothing about the Sangraal, though Daniel was still excited that he had learned another key to Arthur's return. Mitchell also seemed happy about having found more information on Valencia, and he was obviously very happy that his pack was full. Daniel shook his head, remembering the sight of Mitchell trading almost every extra thing in his pack for as much leftover food, recipes and seasonings he could carry and then some. Sam and Daniel had both agreed to let him to use whatever space they had in their packs, and he had used every inch. Mitchell couldn't seem to stop talking about how his socks had the highest value in trade.
Daniel watched Sam out of the corner of his eye as she quietly toyed with her ribbon. She dialed home when they reached the gate and sent the IDC.
"I don't remember the last mission we've been on that had so many misunderstandings!" Daniel said to Mitchell as Sam and Vala stepped through the event horizon.
"Yeah, it was pretty crazy, I'll admit. Lets see." Mitchell started counting off on his fingers. "They mistook Sam for Valencia, in fact they thought she was to give birth on their planet. They thought you and Sam were married which, according to them you are now. They thought I was trying to steal Sam away from you, and, oh yeah, they thought Vala wanted to be a concubine. Am I missing anything?"
"Well, they kind of thought you and I were Knights of the Round Table."
"That mistake I can handle." Mitchell grinned. "At least I'm glad they believed the drawing and didn't try to keep Sam there until she gave birth to your child."
"Yeah, could you imagine me a father?" Daniel scoffed. He knew he didn't want kids when the foster care system needed all the help it could get. "Especially of Sam's child." He visualized a blue-eyed baby for a second before shaking the image out of his head.
"Don't be disappointed, look on the bright side, at least you don't die."
"I'm not disappointed," Daniel replied with a little indignation. He was actually a bit glad that Sam wouldn't have to raise a child alone.
Daniel watched Mitchell chuckle, turn around and walk through the gate. He fingered his ribbon as he stepped up to the event horizon and couldn't help but ask himself, 'If he wasn't disappointed about not being the father of Sam's child, why did it hurt so much?'