The Place where we belong

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or Stargate SG-1. Not making any money…you guys know the drill!

Chapter 1: Starting out

Tokio woke as Hajime got out of bed. She looked at the time and knew she had only been back from LA a few hours. It was still dark and she was feeling a little jetlagged but didn't want Hajime to leave without at least having breakfast with him. He would be gone until Saturday on a follow up visit with the Shevadia. She got up and jumped in the shower with him which cured her of the jetlag. Later, as Hajime put on his uniform she slipped on her blue and white robe and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Hajime came out almost fully dressed and quickly downed his eggs and bacon. He was running late. He had meant to get to the base an hour early this morning so he could have some extra time to review the previous mission reports. Now he was barely going to make it to the pre-mission briefing. He wasn't complaining though because he'd rather be a few minutes late to work because he snuck in some alone time with Tokio than be early and have to wait 3 more days before he could see her again.

"You are gonna make it aren't you?" Tokio asked worriedly. She didn't want him to get in trouble after all. Hajime shrugged obviously unconcerned.

"Sure. I wasn't supposed to be there until 8 anyway," replied Hajime as he finished tucking in his shirt then pulled on his jacket. She looked at the clock on the mantle and realized he had a little less than twenty minutes to get to work.

"Don't worry. I have plenty of time," he insisted giving her his best roguish smirk and pulled her close to him to kiss her. Promising her to do something special together when he returned, he left. Tokio realized as soon as he was gone that she had no desire to go back to sleep or even to be at home. Hajime would be gone until Saturday and all her friends were at work.

"There's plenty to do in the lab. I'm pretty sure they won't mind if I come back to work early," she said to herself as she finished up her breakfast. She went into her bedroom and got dressed for work. It was early enough so if she hurried she would be there by 9am which was her normal work day start time…

-0-

There was a lot of laughing in Janet's living room later that same evening. Tokio had come over to her house straight after work and helped Janet cook dinner. Sam joined them a little later bringing a couple of bottles of wine with her. She helped Cassandra with her homework then played a game of chess with her while Janet and Tokio cooked. Dinner was over now and they had moved to the living room after dessert where Tokio showed them the pictures she had gotten in California. Janet and Sam sipped the dinner wine as they talked.

"You know I actually had a set of Wonder Woman Underoos when I was kid!" Sam laughed as they passed around the picture of five-year old Hajime in his superman underwear and red cowboy boots. And they laughed as they imagined the look on Hajime's face when Tokio told him he had showed them the pictures Emi gave her. Sam promised not to tease him…at least not on the base! To be fair to Hajime, Tokio showed them the pictures Hajime had gotten from Nightraven and they all laughed at Tokio's crazy purple wig.

"I had a wig just like that!" guffawed Janet. She had used it on Halloween as part of an 80's rock star costume a few years ago.

"I can't believe you're friends with Tripp Campbell! I had a huge crush on him back in high school," Sam confessed still chuckling a little. Janet added she had always been a fan of Iron Weasel even before Tripp Campbell revived the band ten years ago.

"You know I think I have some old tapes," said Janet pensively. She started to get up but Tokio stopped her.

"Wait Janet, Tripp made me a CD with some of their new music. I'll go get if you guys want to hear it," Tokio added smiling.

"I want to hear it!" pipped up Cassandra from where she was sitting on the floor petting her dog as she looked at the photos. The girl was a sponge when it came to all things earth related. Art and music were her favorite subjects. Tokio was happy to see how well Cass was adjusting. It put her mind at ease to see how much love and attention she got from Janet, Sam and the rest of SG1.

Tokio went to her car and took the CD out then brought it back to Janet. As they listened Tokio finally told them why she came back early beginning with how she knew Prince Marco of Baharavia and the what happened between them on her last trip to Baharavia. She left out the part about how Lisa and Kelly had set her up to test her loyalties. She hadn't had a chance to discuss it with Hajime yet so she didn't want to bring it up until she'd had a chance to talk to Hajime about it.

"And Davila didn't freak out when you told him you were having dinner with a prince?" Sam asked surprised. Tokio shook her head.

"Why should he? He's the one living with her not Prince Marco!" Janet teased. Sam and Tokio laughed.

"No, he already knew about Marco and he agreed I really did need to clear the air with him and let him know I was no longer available," she explained. She added he had insisted that she go and talk to Marco because their many years of friendship should not be cast aside because of the actions of one overly pampered old lady.

"Besides, it wasn't fair that you had to deal with his crazy hag of a grandmother on your own. He definitely owed you an apology!" Janet began indignant "and before you say it wasn't his fault, I'm sure he knew very well what his grandmother was like and should've at least warned you," she lectured with a frown.

"Oh, I absolutely agree and it is the first thing he did after congratulating me. He said it was the reason he invited me to dinner. He wanted to do apologize face-to-face but just hadn't found had the chance," Tokio replied explaining he had already known when she arrived that she was getting married. He seemed genuinely happy for her which made saying goodbye a whole lot easier this time around.

"And to be honest I should have seen it coming too. I knew what that lady was like but I was so caught up in the magic…being there was like being in another world…" she began talking a little about the palace and the parties and all the adventures they had together every time she went there.

"Made it easy to forget didn't it? Nothing around to remind you of what you lost," Sam put in thoughtfully. She wasn't looking at Tokio though. She watched Cass on the ground with her dog. She bopped her head to the music, patted her dog and rifled through the pictures that she had spread out on the floor, separating the ones she liked best. She looked like a perfectly normal well-adjusted earth child.

"It wasn't the Prince you were in love with, right?" Janet asked catching on to Sam's train of thought. It caught Tokio by surprise. She hadn't thought of it like that before.

"Yes…I think you're right," she replied pensively. In Baharavia she had been physically and mentally removed from all the things that hurt her and made her isolated. So it became very easy to get attached to the prince and his country. She realized that Hajime and the SGC had forced her to face her past and truly let it go. Her choices now were not born out fear and loneliness as they had been then.

"Maybe I should send her a thank you card?" she concluded in a light tone. Sam and Janet laughed. It was getting late; Cass had to go to school tomorrow and they all had to go to work. So after Cass went to bed she said good bye and left Janet and Sam who were still working their way through the wine. Tokio had skipped it so she could drive home. When she arrived there was a message on her answering machine.

"Hi Tokio! It's Lisa, Tori said you went home early, we were hoping to talk to you, can you please call us?" the message said. It had Lisa's cellphone number attached but Tokio didn't bother to take it down as she already had it. She turned on her cellphone and realized she had several missed calls on it; all of them from Lisa and Kelly.

'More than likely they talked to Jesse and now they want to apologize,' thought Tokio. However, she felt that she needed to talk to Hajime first before she spoke to Lisa and Kelly again. She had been so tired last night that she hadn't said anything and this morning she had completely forgotten about it!

So she thought about it and decided to send a text message:

"Hi Lisa! Got your message. Sorry, just got back from work and I'm really tired. Call you soon ok!"

It wasn't a total lie. After all, she had not returned to her apartment after work. Besides, she was having too good of a day to ruin it by dealing with Hajime's guilt stricken friends. So she ignored Lisa's text reply a few minutes later and went to bed. She would stay a few extra hours at work tomorrow and find some way to avoid Lisa for one more day until Hajime returned.

'I'm not dealing with this until Hajime comes back,' she firmly told herself and put it out of her mind. She pondered the fact that though she was at home alone she didn't feel alone. She smiled and as she pulled up the blankets, she grabbed Hajime's pillow and curled herself around it.

'It doesn't matter that he's gone right now because I know he's coming back,' she thought cheerfully and fell asleep almost right away…

-0-

Back home it was early Saturday morning - it is late afternoon in the Shevadia's homeworld. But instead of heading home to his Tokio, Hajime waited under the shadows of the forest where the Stargate stood with Martelli and a couple of young locals for the Stargate to open. Their stay had been extended to help the Shevadia solve a crisis. Abu and Nya were days away from having their first baby. None of the SGC doctors had been allowed to touch her because they were male. From what little they were able to glean from the women she was having a perfectly normal and healthy pregnancy. That wasn't the problem though. The first problem was in the form of a desert chief called Chimaka. Nya's original fiancée! The second was that Nya and Abu had been married for less than six months. Not really enough time to give birth to a full term baby.

Now back home this wouldn't have been a big deal. So Abu and Nya were messing around behind their parents' backs; they were not the first teenagers in the universe to do so nor would they be the last. However, to Nya's father Turghan and to Chimaka it was a deep offense. They were on their way to verify whether it was true that Nya was pregnant before she was released to marry Abu or not. If she had been, then Chimaka planned to start a war with Mughal. Turghan would have to choose which side he would fight with. At this point it looked like Chimaka would be the one he'd side with. Mughal though believed that this issue was just a pretext.

Mughal believed Chimaka was using the ancient laws and customs as a cover to start a war and steal his tribe's resources. They had the best horses and medicines and were a rather wealthy tribe without resorting to the usual sackings of tribes like Turghan's and their friendship with the SGC people had been steadily raising his reputation and creating allies among the smaller tribes. Mughal and his people were very savvy businessmen. Mughal, Abu and several of the village's women hustled around now because AC and Dr. Jackson had come back from the SGC with a plan to fool Chimaka. Mongols were an extremely superstitious people and with some high tech know-how and a little Vegas style showmanship they might be able to avert a war.

Hajime was all for trickery over bloodshed. Except in this case the trickery was conceived by none other than his Tokio! She had asked Mughal via Daniel to prepare their usual celebrations for when Turghan and Chimaka arrived then had Daniel and AC go off to do other secret preparations. Her trip with Night to Helmajistan had come to the general's attention. It was enough to convince him she could pull this off. Tokio had not arrived yet. She would be coming soon.

The wormhole opened and out of the stargate first came a locked large rolling trunk. Hajime and Martelli moved up quickly to take control of the trunk carrying Tokio's medical supplies and move it away from the gate. The next part required careful timing. He clicked his radio twice to let Tokio know that the gate was clear for her arrival. Hajime braced himself, they had assurances that the Shevadia would not attack Tokio if she arrived uncovered but there was a hitch in the plan. Turghan had sent two of his sons with Hajime to see who this mystic healer from beyond the Sea of Ogada was who could save his grandchild and prevent a war.

'The show starts now,' he said bracing himself. The two warriors had grumbled the whole way that they did not agree with how the women of the Shevadia were breaking their laws and complained about the women of SGC being given so much power. He exchanged a tense glance with Martelli and turned towards the gate. Sam Carter emerged from the gate she was wearing her usual green uniform with the armored vest and carrying her rifle but on her head was a motorcycle helmet with blue and green flames painted on them with a BMX face protector attached obscuring most of her face. The effect was shocking.

'So far so good,' he thought as Turghan's warriors took a step back and their hands reached for their swords. The spectacular opening of the gate had already put them on edge.

"The healer is a woman of peace. There will be no need for violence," Sam explained to the young men but her voice sounded deep and amplified. In fact, she sounded the same way he sounded when he wore his storm trooper helmet! He hid a smirk catching on now what Tokio meant to do.

"Do not provoke her," Martelli whispered in a serious tone to the younger of the two. The men nodded nervously and took their hands away from their swords. These two still remembered how Carter had beaten their father. Hajime had already heard the tale told from the perspective of the Shevadia. In their version Carter became a powerful creature who could duck and weave faster than lightning and strike harder than a boulder. It was a fantastic tale!

Tokio finally emerged from the stargate wearing a voluminous plain gray robe. The hood was pulled low over her head casting a shadow that obscured most of her face. Her hands were hidden within the long wide sleeves of the robe. Turghan's sons forgot the warnings and pulled out their swords and lunged forward but before he could step in Tokio had a plan. She lifted her left arm and pointed it at the two men and a bright light flashed at them blinding them for a moment and making them drop their swords.

"Peace!" her voice rang out amplified in a similar manner as Carter's "I am not here to be your enemy" she intoned solemnly. He relaxed letting his tension go as Tokio handled the situation brilliantly. But as a taste of things to come this did not bode well, he would keep an eye on those two.

'If Nightraven could see her now!' he thought proudly. This was the kind of sleight of hand Night had taught Tokio because she disliked violence. He agreed it suited his Tokio well. Martelli reached the two young men to help them and pull them away from Tokio while Hajime walked over to Carter and Tokio. Her voluminous robe hid her hands again but as he got close to the two women he heard a little click and Tokio spoke softly to him.

"Has Nya gone into labor yet?" she asked her concern for the girl making her forget the two frightened boys. The fact she did not seem concerned by the attack bothered him. Still, he couldn't help but be amused by her cleverness. A soft click sounded from Carter and her voice became normal too (yet slightly muffled by the face protector) as she expressed her concern for Nya.

"No, but Mughal is getting tense," he replied trying not to sound amused at Tokio's cleverness. It was imperative that they all play along for the ruse to work which is why most of Tokio's plans were known only to Carter, Dr. Jackson and AC. The less they knew the more authentic their reactions would be. He found himself thinking of his actor friend Will and the advice he'd given him about how to make a believable performance.

"Let's hurry then!" interjected Carter. Nya was her friend and she was eager to get to her now and help her. She called through her radio for the rest of the equipment. Two ATVs rolled out of the stargate and Hajime allowed himself a smirk. They were sure to make quite an entrance with these! Sam and Hajime hitched up the trunk with the medical equipment to one of the vehicles as Martelli convinced the two local boys to take their horses and go on ahead because the bikes were sure to spook them. They didn't need too much convincing, still blinking hard from Tokio's little light show they climbed back onto their horses and rode away.

"See you guys back at the village!" Carter called out clicking back on her amplified voice. She jumped on her bike motioning for Martelli to jump on the vehicle with her and once he did they sped away.

"If Night could see you now he would be so proud of you!" he commented with a chuckle lightly trying to hide the apprehension he was feeling.

"Pfft! Are you kidding? He'd have a mile long list of things I did wrong!" she countered laughing as she climbed onto Hajime's ATV. He laughed but quickly stopped and reached up to his chest to hold her hand for a moment. He pressed her arm to his chest.

"Tokio, if things go wrong promise me you'll stay close to me…I'll protect you," he said solemnly. This trip promised to be nothing but constant stress for him. Tokio was not a soldier like Carter. In this brutal male dominated place a beautiful young woman like her would be in constant danger.

"I already made that promise. Now and forever I'll be at your side," she replied softly. He turned to her to see her golden smile and smiled back. He kissed her longer than he should have then started his ATV

"Alright, let's get this show on the road," Hajime said and headed back to Mughal's village…

Tokio got off Hajime's ATV quickly. He unhitched the little cart for her and pulled it in for her as she walked purposefully towards Mughal, his son Abu, Col. O'Neill and Col. Reynolds. Mughal and Abu smiled nervously at her and thanked her for coming as she curtsied greeting politely all the men present. They led her inside the tent and Abu's mother immediately came through a partition to greet her. Tokio pulled back the hood of her cloak and smiled at the woman.

"It has started! We cannot delay the child's arrival," the woman announced flustered.

"It's alright I prepared for this," Tokio replied in a soothing tone then turned to her cart. She removed her medical bag and the boxes with the equipment inside and asked the woman to help her carry them inside. She looked at Hajime and asked him to take the cart back outside. He frowned worriedly; her poor fiancée was going to be one very stressed out wolf during this trip.

"I'll be fine," she insisted with a reassuring smile. She nodded to Mughal and Abu and excused herself from the colonels then followed Mughal's wife. She found Nya in the middle of a contraction with Sam at her side. The contraction was mild though. Sam quickly introduced Nya to Tokio. The girl looked frightened and her immediate concern was the safety of her baby and her relatively new family.

"It's gonna be ok Nya…I'm here to help you," Tokio added reassuringly kneeling next to Nya opposite Sam.

"I think the contractions are still pretty far apart," Sam put in providing Tokio with the exact time this contraction had started.

"Good, we have time to set up then," she agreed as she began unpacking her equipment and giving instructions to the women around her…

Mughal frowned as Tokio disappeared with his wife.

"She looks very young," he commented the doubt on his face creeping into his voice.

"But Carter has great faith in her!" Abu insisted but he looked rather scared right now. Hajime reminded himself he was just a boy.

"Dr. Takagi has spent most of her life training for this. Her youth is an advantage Mughal, trust us," Col. Reynolds put in right away. Col. O'Neill stepped in talking about Tokio's experience in these situations and that they had nothing to worry about. And while Mughal was starting to look reassured none of it seemed to be reaching Abu. He stared at the partition looking desperate and afraid. Hajime pulled the young man aside.

"I know you feel helpless," Hajime began softly "but what she needs from you is faith and trust. Show Nya that you believe in her. You can do that right?" he added. Abu stared at Hajime the struggle inside him easy to see on his face but the confidence that Hajime exuded reached him.

"Yes…yes I can do that," he finally answered taking a deep breath and forcing himself to relax. He excused himself to continue the preparations for the big party later on to celebrate the arrival of his child.

'It's better if he keeps himself busy,' thought Hajime as he rejoined the other men in the room and they all followed Abu outside. They talked mostly about the preparations for the party and Mughal hoped they would be able to stay and celebrate with them. A long time passed, Abu disappeared after a while with Daniel and AC. Turghan and his people finally made their noisy arrival close to nightfall. Chimaka and his people were yet to be seen.

"Mughal! I will see my daughter now!" he demanded crossly without a greeting. Mughal frowned.

"The Healer is with her right now. The child comes too soon and it cannot be stopped," Mughal began reminding Turghan that men were not allowed in the birthing room.

"You have been allowing your women to run amok with their faces uncovered ignoring our most ancient laws and you would be a hypocrite now? I will see my daughter and…" but Turghan's angry rant was cut short by Carter. She came running out of the main tent calling Mughal. She pushed her way through the crowd towards Mughal and Turghan.

"Mughal! Tokio wants to see him! She wants you both there," Carter called out looking very tense.

"You…" Turghan sneered at Carter as she finally reached them. Every SGC man tensed and held on a little tighter to their weapons. Hajime noticed Col. O'Neill had already undone the safety on his rifle.

"Mughal, you insult me by bringing this one here!?" Turghan roared at him.

"She wants to meet you Turghan and show you that violence is not the answer," Carter interrupted again. "You need to come now!" she retorted angrily. Her concerns for Nya's well-being – coupled with her bad history with Turghan – making her abandon any attempts at diplomacy.

"You may have won your freedom but you do not have the right to order me around woman!" Turghan fired at her seething. Carter's hackles were raised instantly.

"She's going to save your grandchild's life and prevent a war! Isn't that more important?" she challenged back angrily. Turghan turned to Mughal with murder in his eyes and ignored Carter. Hajime sighed in frustration. Carter's defiant stance was not the right approach and he knew that it was only going to damage what Tokio, Daniel and AC were trying to do. Since none of them were here at the moment he decided to step in.

"Lord Turghan, a moment please," he spoke his tone authoritative as he stepped in between Carter and Turghan. He held up a hand in a gesture of peace.

"There is no need for quarrel here. I know Tokio and she would've only issued an invitation, one you had already demanded," Hajime countered trying to ease the tension. For effect he removed his rifle and handed it to Col. Reynolds as he introduced himself.

"Tokio is a gentle person and simply wishes you to witness how she will save your daughter and her child," Hajime insisted pouring every ounce of confidence he possessed into his voice and posture. Turghan looked Hajime up and down, and then satisfied that Hajime conformed to whatever standard for men was in his head he began to relax and opened his mouth to respond when one of his boys stepped in.

"Don't do it father! That woman is a witch! She blinded us with some evil spell!" accused one of the boys that had been at the Stargate with him and Martelli. Hajime was ready for him though.

"You attacked her without reason! She defended herself!" Hajime growled back at him glaring at him. Hajime grabbed the younger man by the front of his jacket, shook him roughly and pulled him to within a few inches of his face practically lifting him off the ground. He knew that a show of force from him would not be out of place in Turghan's way of thinking… besides it made him feel better.

"And you were lucky! If I had reached you first the damage would've been far more permanent!" Hajime growled at him then shoved him hard back at his brother who caught him before he fell. Turghan now rounded on his sons.

"Is this the truth?" he growled between gritted teeth. The two young men recoiled and couldn't find their voices for a minute as they looked from their frightening father to the now frightening foreign warrior and back.

"She melted out of the water! A grey formless mass with no face! It is no woman!" the boy insisted now finding enough courage to defend himself in the face of his intimidating father's rage. Hajime didn't know whether to laugh or punch him. The boy's account was just too ridiculous! Yet just this was the kind of "shock and awe" imagery Tokio was likely going for.

"That is a lie! I saw her with my own eyes!" roared Mughal suddenly before Hajime could say anything. He limped forward quickly and glared at Turghan.

"She covered her face as a sign of respect! She has since shown nothing but the deepest respect for our traditions and this is how we would respond! With lies!" he challenged shaking with rage. His defense surprised Hajime and it seemed to have an immediate effect on the crowd who had been gasping in horror at the boy's description of Tokio.

"Even Carter arrived with her face covered as a sign of respect!" Mughal added stabbing the ground with his walking stick in emphasis. Turghan rounded on his son and struck the boy in the face sending him and his brother crashing to the ground.

"Stupid boy! If it had been an evil spell you would still be blind now or worse you would be dead!" Turghan yelled at him "I will deal with you later" he growled angrily. He turned to face the others as Carter addressed him now.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude. I'm just worried about Nya as I'm sure you are," Carter put in soothingly. Turghan gave her the tiniest nod in acknowledgement of her apology and turned to Hajime. Haji almost sighed with relief.

"I will see this healer and my daughter," Turghan commanded more calmly. Hajime threw a threatening glare at the two young men (but mostly for show) and gestured politely for Turghan to go on ahead. Mughal led him to the main tent. He paused as Carter patted him in the back.

"Nice save Superman," she whispered with a teasing smirk on her face as she passed him. He heaved a sigh of annoyance and wondered how long it would be before Carter and Dr. Frasier would stop teasing him about that picture.

'Probably never! Well, at least they'll stop calling me Zuko,' he thought resignedly. He turned to take his rifle back from Col. Reynolds.

"Superman?" the colonel asked looking amused. Col. O'Neill and Teal'c watched him obviously wanting to be in on the joke. However, this gave him a chance to turn the teasing in his favor!

"You'll have to ask Tokio," he began solemnly then smirked just a little "I can't control what she tells her best friends about me," he added in an amused tone then hurried away hoping Tokio had sworn Sam and Janet to secrecy. The colonels laughed and Teal'c began asking questions about Superman but Hajime didn't stay to hear. He wanted to make sure his little act would help his Tokio with whatever ruse she was working on.

When he arrived at the main tent Mughal and Turghan were being greeted by Daniel and AC. They allowed Mughal and Turghan to enter but not Hajime. This part he would have to sit out. He gritted his teeth deciding to stand right outside the partition with Daniel and AC. He hoped that Tokio would not need him…

-0-

"Good Evening Lord Turghan. I am glad to finally meet you," Tokio greeted with a smile in a soothing tone. Only Tokio, Abu and Mughal's wife were present at the moment. Turghan replied with barely a nod. He was busy looking around the room blinking hard against the bright lights Tokio had placed around the room. There was a 32 inch screen and a small laptop computer sitting next to Tokio. Next to that were the heart monitor screen and the portable ultrasound machine. They were all connected to the laptop. She had the walls and floor covered with a cream colored tarp concealing the cables that connected her devices.

Nya now lay on a large white mat. She groaned as the contractions became stronger and closer together. Tokio hoped that the lack of color and brightness of the flood lights had disoriented the men sufficiently for her next trick to work. The belt from the portable heart monitor was wrapped around Nya's waist and she had muted the volume of the speaker so the baby's heartbeat could not be heard right now.

"Father, thank you for coming," Nya groaned with a weak smile. Abu was sitting next to her stroking her head gently. Turghan now took a closer look at his daughter. She was covered from neck to ankle in a blue blanket that exposed her abdomen and her feet only. Tokio had placed a curtain in front of her face to shade her from the bright lights all around. He moved closer to where her face was and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Save your strength. You will need it soon, you are too small your child will not survive," Turghan replied with a tone that was a mix of anger and relief. Tokio turned quietly to her laptop and turned on the program that would link the larger screen to the ultrasound machine. She turned on the ultrasound machine and squeezing the ultrasound gel on Nya's stomach she placed the transducer on Nya's belly and moved it around until she had the baby centered properly on her screen. She tapped a few commands and the image appeared on the larger screen. The show was starting now!

"Perhaps it might be too soon to make such a dire pronouncement, milord" Tokio countered confidently and as Turghan turned again to look at Tokio he jumped back in surprise. Tokio turned on the volume on the baby's heart monitor. Her laptop synched the sound to the hidden speakers and the lights began to dim and brighten in time with the heart beats. Turghan, Mughal and Abu looked around in astonishment.

"How is that possible? How can she grow like that?" he exclaimed in shock. Tokio had called a friend who did special effects and asked him how she could fake a belly shrinking and growing. He had told her how to do it. The effect was low budget but he instructed her how to use other effects to cover up the trick especially if the subject was lying down. This is where Tokio added the last bit of flourish. Stealing some dialogue from her favorite book series "Lord of The Rings" she tapped commands on her laptop with one hand and the image on the screen began to grow as she chanted softly in Elvish.

Mughal and Turghan pulled away from Nya looking confused and surprised. Turghan gritted his teeth in a big show of machismo doing a bad job of pretending he was not afraid or shocked while Mughal looked around fascinated. They stared at Tokio's monitor and asked what that was that resembled a baby. Abu answered by explaining that healers beyond the Sea of Ogada could see inside the body with magical devices. They had done so with Mughal's leg. Tokio ignored them and concentrated on the screen while remembering the line she was chanting softly over and over. The effect was accented with Nya's groans as her contractions were now closer and closer together.

"It's our baby you see there," Abu added a smile of awe on his face. They watched in fascination as the little wiggling baby on the screen grew larger in time with Nya's own growth. The screen finally stopped enlarging and Tokio stopped chanting. The music and the lights went back to their highest brightness and stayed there. Taking a deep dramatic breath and affecting a pained and tired look, Tokio finally put down the transducer probe from the ultrasound machine and turned off her machines. She turned to the men in the room.

"Lord Mughal, Lord Turghan, I know how much you both wish to be here to support your children but now I must ask you to leave," Tokio announced in an elegant yet authoritative tone. Turghan and Mughal looked at each other for a moment then back at Nya. Nya moaned in pain and as if on cue came in Sam, Mughal's wife and several of the village women.

"I have seen enough," Turghan announced and pushed past the women. He stood at the entrance to the room then looked again at Tokio and looked around at the room pensively. He nodded to Tokio who bowed back at him.

"It was an honor to meet you Lord Turghan," added Tokio in a very regal tone. Turghan smirked just a little.

"Speak to me before you leave sorceress. I should like to know you better," he replied looking around the room pensively again with a little smile on his face.

"Of course Lord Turghan, in the meantime if you speak with a warrior by the name of Davila he would be able to tell you anything you need to know about me," Tokio replied diplomatically.

"I've met him already. I will speak to him too," he replied with a smirk and exited the room. Mughal doubled back for a moment and took Tokio's hand.

"Thank you!" he exclaimed then left after Turghan. It took some doing but Abu soon left the room as well. He did not want to leave but Nya insisted in having him wait outside with the other men. Tokio heaved a deep sigh of relief and smiled at the women in the room.

"Well done everyone!" she congratulated with a smile. There were giggles all around and a little applause. Tokio turned to Nya.

"Ok Nya, now it looks like it's time to welcome your baby," she added smiling at Nya who looked exhausted already but happy…

-0-

Turghan and Mughal left the tent with Hajime close at their heels Abu caught up with them not long afterwards though his mind was not at all in the conversation. He had heard Tokio say his name and wondered what Turghan would ask him about her.

"If Chimaka comes looking for trouble he will regret it!" declared Turghan proudly to all present.

'I couldn't agree more,' Hajime thought to himself as he gripped his rifle a little tighter. The Colonels joined them wanting to know where Daniel and AC had disappeared to. Hajime was sure they were off helping Tokio run the little magic act she'd pulled on Turghan and Mughal inside the tent. They had left without a word as soon as the men were both inside.

"Davila, walk with me," Turghan said to Hajime once they were outside. Hajime nodded to his superiors who kept their eyes on him as Turghan pulled Hajime away from Mughal and the others. They headed towards where his people had set up camp. Once they were out of earshot Turghan began speaking again.

"You must beware. Chimaka prefers deceit and thievery to open confrontation," Turghan began solemnly.

"Thank you for the warning," Hajime began diplomatically.

"The Sorceress is wise and powerful but she is also young and beautiful. And has excellent manners I might add," Turghan said a tad amused. He turned to Hajime and his smirk disappeared.

"A prize worth stealing," he added in an ominous tone. He signaled one of his men to bring his horse and checked his saddle and his bags while they spoke.

"Yes and you should pity the poor fool who thinks they will take her by force," agreed Hajime equally solemn.

"Carter was taken by force and sold quite easily," Turghan pointed out. Hajime was ready for this though.

"Carter is a warrior and like any warrior she can be taken by surprise when asleep. Sorcerers like Tokio have defenses that never sleep," Haji countered confidently.

"You mean like spells to ward off intruders?" Turghan asked.

"Exactly," Hajime replied solemnly. If Turghan believed Tokio had mystical powers half the battle was won. He could help Tokio with some high tech bobby traps that could move that myth along nicely. Turghan nodded solemnly and mounted his horse.

'That's if she and Carter haven't been working on that already,' Hajime thought. After all, he hadn't seen Daniel and AC much so he wondered what tricks they were up to. Turghan whistled towards his men and they all mounted their horses and cantered toward Turghan.

"I will ride ahead and meet with Chimaka. You should come with us. The sorceress said you would speak for her," Turghan invited but as he did he called for more horses. Hajime nodded, obviously refusing was not going to be an option.

"Sure, as long as I can bring some of my men with me," he agreed. Turghan agreed and told him where to meet him. Hajime ran back to his C.O. The colonels were not crazy about him leaving but agreed it was probably better if someone went ahead and helped introduce Tokio. And it was obvious that Turghan liked Hajime. They insisted he take Teal'c and Martelli with him. He ducked into the main tent hoping to speak to Tokio before leaving but all he could manage to get was a quick message relayed by one of the village women. Tokio was far too busy helping Nya deliver her baby.

"I trust your judgment," was all Tokio had said. So without further delay he gathered his men and rode away to join Turghan's party…

-0-

Alright! First chapter up and I hope to update the rest soon! Fic reader I thank you for your assistance! I hope you get a chance to check this one out too! Thanks for reading and all your wonderful reviews!