"Selmak"
The soft shhft-click of the door as it closed echoed in the silent room. Brown eyes stared down blue, searching for answers the other would readily give. There was something final about the sound of the door; something that said, 'You are past the point of no return'. From now on, what would happen was inevitable: as unavoidable as an avalanche and perhaps twice as disastrous.
Finally, Selmak acknowledged, "Thoth."
Thoth replied, solemn, "Selmak."
Silence reigned.
It was not a good silence. It was filled with desperate, unanswered (and perhaps unanswerable) questions, worry, pain, and thousands of years' worth of heartache.
"It wasn't my choice," Thoth whispered finally. Selmak nodded. Then, "What happened to Jeshure?"
"An operative brought her while fleeing. She…was already dead." The words were heavy, forced out through the large lump in Selmak's throat.
Thoth lowered his eyes, mourning his last host. He'd been with her for hundreds of years. "I'm sorry," Daniel offered. Thoth sent a tendril of thanks to his host's consciousness, and turned his attention back to Selmak.
The following silence was tense. The air was laden with something else, something indescribable. Selmak reached out and touched Thoth's cheek, slowly sliding his fingers down in a fluttering caress. Thoth leaned into the fleeting contact.
"It's been so long," Selmak said, voice low and rough.
"Not for me," Thoth replied, just as softly.
"Thousands of years," the other continued. "I had given up hope of ever seeing you again."
"I'm here. I won't be leaving."
"Can you be sure?"
"Daniel?" Thoth asked.
"I don't know. I…maybe. Can we talk about this later?"
"As you wish."
Thoth's silence was enough for Selmak. "If Daniel doesn't wish to be a host, then you'll have to wait. None have approached the Tok'ra for a long time."
Thoth nodded in understanding.
Then suddenly Selmak was kissing him, and Thoth didn't care if he could stay in Daniel's body or not. But the distressed feeling from his host distracted him.
Again, he asked, "Daniel?"
"I don't want to, ah, interrupt you, but I know where this is going and I—I really don't want to be privy. It's private between you two and I'd feel like an intruder…"
Thoth could also sense that anything intimate with Selmak—who was in control of Jacob's body—made him slightly queasy.
"Very well," Thoth said, and promptly erected a mental shield between his consciousness and that of his host.
It was just him and Selmak now. Selmak, with his dark eyes and flat, masculine body. So different from the one Thoth had seen him in last, yet so similar. Older, but toned and hard.
Then again, his own host body was just as different.
"Thoth…" Selmak began, but stopped when Thoth put a finger to his lips. He leaned his forehead against Selmak's.
"I'm sorry I was stupid and careless enough to get caught. I'm sorry you had to see Jeshure dead. I'm sorry, so, so sorry, for all the time we've lost," he whispered sorrowfully. "Let me make it up to you. Please."
Selmak crushed Thoth to him, attacking his lips, savoring the velvety softness and warmth. He put everything into that heart-stopping kiss: his agony, his loneliness, his love, and his joy that Thoth was back, no matter the form. Thoth returned the kiss just as fiercely, though if he was a little overwhelmed, Selmak couldn't blame him.
Eventually, their kisses tapered off, and they gazed at each other, breathing heavily. Selmak led Thoth over to the bed, throwing his jacket over the security camera as he went. Thoth looked at him questioningly.
"So people don't see and wonder why Major Carter's father and their esteemed Head of Archeology are sleeping together," Selmak said dryly.
"They watch you through those contraptions?" Thoth asked incredulously.
"Security—do not worry, it is normal," Selmak assured his lover. "But we can talk more about Earth's accomplishments later."
Selmak nodded, and they tangled together eagerly, managing to fall in the direction of the bed when they overbalanced.
And for a long time, there was no talking.
"Sir, have you seen Daniel?"
Carter's head popped into Jack's office, and he looked up from the paper he was supposed to be filling out. Requisition forms; he hated paperwork.
"No, Carter. Why?" Jack replied.
"Thoth promised he'd take a look at some things for me, that's all," Carter said, the rest of her body coming into view. "It's been a couple hours. I was just wondering where he was."
"Sorry, Carter. Haven't seen him," Jack responded, bending his head back to the form in front of him.
"Does it really bother you that much?" Sam asked suddenly.
"Carter?" Jack inquired, not looking up.
"The fact that Daniel has a symbiote," the Major clarified.
"Not at all, Major," Jack said, lying through his teeth.
"With all due respect, that's bull," Carter snapped. Jack's head jerked up; Sam swore? Sam, who considered 'Holy Hannah' to be the worst curse of all time?
"Carter?"
"Everyone can see how you're withdrawing from Daniel," Sam said, eyes flashing angrily. "It's not like he has the plague. He's still the same Daniel."
"Did you miss the part where he got a snake in his head?" Jack retorted, more harshly than he had intended.
Sam's eyes softened. "Take it from someone who knows, sir. Daniel is still the same person, he's just sharing a little headspace. And right now, he needs a friend. This was as much a surprise to him as it was to you."
Jack said nothing.
Carter's eyes shadowed. "Just think about it, sir. What's more important: Daniel's friendship, or your own prejudices?"
With a respectful salute, she dismissed herself, leaving Jack staring at where she had been and thinking, When did she get so observant?
Teal'c regarded Sam as she entered his room. "Did you speak with O'Neill concerning his changing attitude toward DanielJackson?"
"Yes, and thanks for pointing it out to me," the Major said with a sigh. "It could have turned into a real problem if it wasn't addressed."
"I fear it still may," the Jaffa said solemnly.
"Knowing the Colonel, it probably will," Carter replied sadly. "Especially if he can't get over his prejudices toward the Tok'ra. They may be justified, but damnit, it's Daniel! He needs the colonel more than he probably realizes; more than the colonel probably realizes."
"DanielJackson will not take the dissolution of their friendship well," Teal'c agreed.
"And isn't that the understatement of the year," Sam muttered under her breath.
"Do you believe he can?" the Jaffa asked.
"Get over his prejudices?" Sam clarified. Teal'c nodded. "I hope so. Or we may have more on our hands than we can handle."
Daniel yawned, trying desperately not to wake up. He hugged the sheets tighter around his naked form, snuggling into them.
Wait.
He realized that he was not in his own bed, and that these were not his covers. And he was naked. What the hell?
His eyes snapped open, and they roved over the uniform furniture of one of the base's VIP suits. How had he gotten here?
"It's Selmak's room," said a helpful voice in his head. He squeaked and jumped.
"Thoth?"
"Yes."
Oh. Now he remembered. He'd come here because of the serious unresolved sexual tension that emanated from both symbiotes in waves. He was glad he didn't remember the actual resolution of that unresolved sexual tension, because had he it would have probably made him very slightly nauseous. Not because Jacob was a man, but because it was Jacob. Jacob was his friend and he respected him immensely, but Daniel wouldn't want to have sex with him. Ever.
"I see Thoth's woken you."
"Jacob?" Daniel asked. It was a bit hard to see without his glasses.
"I can do something about that, you know," Thoth told him.
"Maybe later," Daniel replied.
"Yeah, it's only me," Jacob said, handing Daniel his glasses. Daniel put them on thankfully. "It takes a while to get used to them just popping up in your head."
"Yeah, um…" he felt a blush creeping up his cheeks. "My clothes…?"
Jacob gestured to a neat stack of his clothes. "I got bored so I decided to fold them…Selmak's still asleep, but I woke up just a little while after they…uhm…"
They made eye-contact and broke it quickly. "I'd, ah, better get dressed," Daniel stuttered, and ran to the bathroom as fast as he could with the comforter wrapped around his waist. That had been awkward.
"I'm sorry," Thoth said.
"What for?" Daniel asked, looking at himself in the mirror. He had a hickey on his shoulder.
"I never anticipated any troubles afterward, or I think I might have waited until I got a new host," Thoth said apologetically.
"And if the new host was homophobic, what then?" Daniel asked aloud, rubbing at the mark. It just turned an irritated red.
"Homophobic?"
"Earth term for being afraid of or prejudiced against people who like their same gender," Daniel clarified.
"Symbiotes do not have gender," Thoth told him matter-of-factly.
"But the hosts do," Daniel reminded him.
"But this homophobia is so primitive!" Thoth objected.
"You've been around the universe far more than I have. Even I know that there are more primitive cultures than there are advanced ones," Daniel replied. "Besides, the word 'primitive' is relative."
"True," Thoth acknowledged.
Daniel pulled on his pants, trying not to think about just how sore his ass was. Sitting down would be uncomfortable for a while. He pulled on the standard black shirt, releasing a relieved breath when it covered the hickey. That was not something he wanted to parade around the base. He grabbed his jacket and emerged from the bathroom, spotting Jacob sitting in a chair, an unidentifiable look on his face.
"I'll be, ah, going, then," Daniel said. Jacob nodded.
"See you later, Dr. Jackson," he said. Daniel nodded and hurried out the door. Awkward was an understatement.
"You actually--with Jacob?" Daniel said.
"With Selmak. There is a difference," Thoth replied icily.
"Of course," Daniel pacified quickly. "You're a bit cross this morning."
"I didn't even get to say good morning…" Thoth sighed.
"Daniel!"
Daniel turned to find Sam running at him, stopping a foot or so short of actually touching him.
"Um, it is Daniel, right?" she asked nervously.
"Yes, Sam, I'm me," he assured her with an inward sigh. He could already feel the beginnings of a headache, and he hadn't even been awake an hour. He didn't even want to consider his quickly vanishing friendship with Jack…
"Good," Sam replied with a smile. "But I was actually hoping to talk to Thoth."
Daniel felt a pang of hurt, and then let Thoth to the fore.
"Major Carter," Thoth said.
"Just Sam," the Major said. "You said you'd come look at some things earlier. Are you free?"
"I believe so."
"I also wanted to talk about the Colonel," Sam added in a whisper.
Thoth raised an eyebrow and gave Daniel some very interesting, but rather harmless memories to examine and followed Sam to her lab. For some reason, this wasn't a conversation he wanted his host to overhear.
"He is very important to Daniel," Thoth said.
"You don't know how," Carter said in a fierce whisper.
"Is something wrong?"
"He doesn't really like Tok'ra. He doesn't trust them," Sam said. "And so you can imagine how this would impact his relationship with Daniel."
"I was led to believe they were simply friends."
"Well, that's a relationship, isn't it?" Carter demanded.
"Yes, sorry. The word connotes otherwise, but you're right. Go on," Thoth apologized. He would sort out those dreams of Daniel's later.
"The colonel's having a lot of trouble accepting your presence," Sam said with a sigh. She pushed open the door to her lab.
"I suppose he would," Thoth acknowledged. "How can I help?"
"I'd say don't give him any reason to mistrust you, but he'd do it regardless," Sam said, gesturing that he round the other side of the lab table. "I don't think there's anything you can do. It's really up to him."
"Then it seems their relationship is doomed," Thoth joked.
"It just might be," Sam agreed solemnly.
Without another word on the subject, they bent their minds to other tasks.
"Sam," Jacob called, stepping into her lab. "The Tok'ra just—"
He paused once he saw Thoth, hard at work next to his daughter. He didn't know why he was surprised. He took a moment to admire Thoth's physique before continuing, "The Tok'ra just called. They have another mission for me, so I'm heading out."
"Already, Dad?" Sam asked, frowning. "You just got here."
"Yes, Selmak, why must you leave so soon?" Thoth questioned.
"Apparently," Selmak said, "the inhabitants of the planet will only deal with myself and my host. We're scheduled to leave in fifteen minutes."
Thoth walked over to stand in front of Selmak. "Will you tell the High Council of my revival?"
"I must," Selmak said. "Perhaps we can find a willing host for you."
Thoth nodded. One of his hands made a movement toward Selmak's, but he aborted the action and instead stuffed his hands deep into the pockets of the fatigues. "Very well."
"I…" Selmak hesitated, then grabbed Thoth's shoulder, squeezing. "I have missed you."
Then he turned on his heel and strode from the room.
Jack opened the door with a flourish, a bright "Oh, Caaarrrteerrr," dying on his lips. His second-in-command blinked at him, her slight form straightening from over some strange alien object, distracted by the sound of the door. The other occupant of the room continued working furiously, frowning, thinking deeply and with a far-away look in his eyes. There was silence in the room; Jack couldn't think of anything to say. Thoth's snap seemed uncommonly loud and made Sam jump.
"I've got it!" he said. Jack immediately resented him for stealing Daniel's voice. "Look, Sam, if you—"
"Heya, Daniel," Jack interrupted, a big, fake grin on his face. The man blinked owlishly and said in a normal voice, "Oh. Jack. We didn't hear you come in."
"I know," Jack said.
"Um…could you hold on a second, Jack?" Daniel asked, and without waiting for an answer, turned quickly and beckoned to Sam. His voice, deep with the inflection of the Tok'ra, said, "If you touch the symbols like so, and insert this here…see? It turns on."
With a sideways glance at her CO, Sam asked, "But what does it do?"
Thoth babbled something in techno-speak that Jack didn't understand, nor wished to. Impatiently, he drummed his fingers on the table in the middle of the lab. Daniel turned back to him, looking nervous.
"Hi, Jack," he said, then coughed abruptly. He muttered under his breath, "Where does he get his ideas? It's not that funny…"
"Daniel?"
"Sorry," Daniel said, attention immediately back on Jack. "You want to go to my office?"
"Nah, I have some—paperwork, yeah," Jack said. "Just wanted to see how you were."
"Um, good. I'm good," Daniel said. They stood facing each other, Jack with his hands in his pockets, Daniel fiddling with a pen. "You?"
"Oh, y'know," Jack, with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "Busy busy. Mount Everest on my desk and all."
"If you didn't leave all your paperwork till the last minute, you wouldn't have so much," Daniel pointed out, not for the first time.
"Yes, but that's the joy of procrastination," Jack replied. "I work better under pressure, anyway."
"So it seems," Daniel said, adding with a smirk, "As I could tell by the half-finished mission report that was shoved under my nose last Tuesday, with the demand that I edit and finish it in two hours' time."
The scathing retort almost made him forget the snake in his friend's head. As he opened his mouth to fire off his own barb, he remembered, and changed his response, "Well, I don't think it'll be happening again any time soon. Can't keep drowning you with my stuff when you've got your own work, can I? I'll be going, then."
He took two steps before Daniel's cry of 'Wait!' made him pause.
"Can we…talk?" he asked Jack's back. He sounded miserable.
"Yeahsureyoubetcha," Jack fired off, and disappeared around a corner.
Dr. Jackson could be seen standing forlornly in the doorway to Sam's lab before the look disappeared and he went back in.
A/N: There's the second part. I have very little idea where I want to take this, but if any of you would like to see something, suggest it. I may use your idea. And my sincerest appologies for this taking over a year. ::wince::