"So…you've been here all this time?" Ferretti asked as they walked through the forest to the campsite.
Sam smiled and shook her head, "No. This is actually our fourth site. I've been with the Hak'tyl from day one, though." She stopped dead in her tracks, looking at the site that was now in view. She saw one thing she wasn't expecting: there were twin baby girls with the sign of Moloc on them being held by Ishta and Neith. A smile broke out onto her face as she ran the rest of the way, leaving the men of SG-1 no choice but to follow.
"Ishta! When did they arrive?"
The older Jaffa priestess smiled at her Tauri friend, "Samantha. I sent Ka'lel to retrieve them right before you set out to guard the Chapp'ai. Are they not beautiful?"
Sam gently took the baby Ishta held and brought her close. "Indeed, they are. Have they been given names?"
Ishta shook her head, "No. They are the twins you have been looking after for so long, it is your job, now, to name them."
Sam looked lovingly at the child in her arms, "You will be Adah. And your sister, Neith, will name your twin."
Neith looked up at Sam with surprise on her face, "Me? It is not my place, Samantha. Nesa was my blessing, these two are yours."
SG-1 watched in fascination as Sam skillfully told Neith that it must be her choice for the second girl.
Neith looked at her baby sister carefully. "You are the child of my father's sixth wife. Your name will be Hadassah."
"Beautiful names!" Jack said exasperatedly, "Now, please, will you be so kind as to tell us why the hell you're here and why the hell we're here?"
Ishta rolled her eyes at Sam, "Do you remember him to always be this way?"
Sam nodded, "If memory serves me right, he's probably worse. Right, Daniel?"
The archeologist nodded, happy to confirm the belief that Jack O'Neill was a pain to work with. Jack glared at him, but before he could say anything, Mala spoke, "Ginra, Nictal take these two to our sisters and tell Sarai Samantha is home safe. She will be worried."
The two women bowed respectfully, took the two babies from Sam and Neith then moved to the tent where the babies were kept.
Neith looked at the men irritably, "And where, oh great one, shall this meeting take place? Most of the young ones have never seen a man before and they would attract attention in the open."
"My tent will serve," Sam told them boldly, daring any to say something against it.
Soon Sam's tent was full with Ishta, Sam and the four members of SG-1. They were just settling down when the door flap opened again and in ran a little girl about eight years old. She ran straight to Sam and hugged her tight, "Samantha! Ginra just told me that you're back. I'm so happy!"
Sam laughed at how exuberant the girl was when she'd last seen Sam just a few hours before. When Sarai had finally calmed down enough to sit down on Sam's lap quietly, she saw SG-1 for the first time.
The little girl's eyes went wide with fear and wonder, "Who are you?"
O'Neill was the first to answer, "I'm Jack. This is Daniel, Teal'c and Major Ferretti."
Sarai looked at him strangely, "Colonel Jack O'Neill?"
"Yes…" Jack was rather unsure why this little girl knew his name and what Carter had been saying about him in the past seven years.
Sarai soon dissolved into a fit of giggles that prompted Sam's face to turn beet red and Ishta to start to chuckle herself.
Jack looked at Sam expectantly, "Wanna tell me why my name is making them laugh?"
Sam's blush grew deeper, "Not really." She bent down and whispered a few words to Sarai, who immediately left the tent.
"Forgive the interruption," Sam said to the men of SG-1. "Now, Ishta will continue and explain to you all why we have been seeking you out."
Daniel turned to Sam before Ishta could start talking and said, "I'm sorry, but I thought we were going to talk about why you're here, first and not with the Tok'ra."
"Did you arrange contact with them?" Sam asked, now very interested in what the answer was going to be.
"Indeed, Captain Carter," Teal'c said stoically. "They have proven themselves to be most…interesting allies."
"Two-timing bastard Goa'ulds is what you mean, Teal'c," Jack said harshly.
It was all Sam could do to refrain from slapping Jack across the face for his remark. "They are not Goa'uld, Colonel! I had Jolinar inside me for six years, I should know that much at least."
Daniel's head shot up, "Had?"
Sam rose to follow Sarai, leaving Ishta to handle the men of the Tauri. The four of which expectantly turned to her waiting for an answer.
"Samantha's symbiote, Jolinar of Malkshur was a very dear friend of everyone at Hak'tyl." Ishta looked down at her hands as she continued, "She fell in battle a year ago, saving Samantha's life by forfeiting her own."
"Then she was a noble warrior," Teal'c said solemnly, feeling the loss his friend must have gone through.
The female Jaffa nodded, "Indeed, that she was. Samantha has keenly felt the loss every single day since then." She looked at the members of SG-1, lingering on each and every one of their faces, "If at any time any of you were her friend, you would help her now by letting her know that you are here." Her eyes found Jack's, "She's missed you very much."
Jack looked away, not wanting to admit that he'd missed her just as much, possibly even more. Ferretti took over the conversation, "So, that woman who led the attack…"
"Mala."
"Yeah, Mala, right. Anyway, she said that you guys have been looking for us for a while. Any particular reason?"
Ishta accepted the change of topic readily, "My people and I have been greatly blessed by Samantha's and Jolinar's knowledge, however our numbers dwindle because many of us fall in battle and we do not have the power to help them. We need supplies, food – weapons. Samantha has taught us all much about the Tauri way of fighting, and I believe that if the Hak'tyl and the Tauri unite it will benefit both sides."
Daniel looked down, then glanced back up at Ishta, "And what would we get in return?"
"Knowledge; spies within the network of one of the most powerful System Lords."
"Moloc?"
"Yes. We have heard much about the exploits of Teal'c and Bra'tac concerning the Jaffa Rebellion, and we wish to join. Not one of the women and children here would be here if it weren't for Moloc's bloody desire to breed an army of Jaffa."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, now concerned greatly after seeing those two babies earlier and Sarai a few minutes before.
Ishta looked at them with pain in her eyes, "All of the children we raise here were once marked to be sacrificed to Moloc. All are female."
Without hesitation he asked again, "How much support do you need?"
A/N: So? What do you all think? Wanna know the story behind Jack's comment about the Tok'ra? Think it has something to do with Martouf or Jacob? Wanna find out for sure? REVIEW!