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By the time everyone was ready to depart it was 06:00hrs, and they were eager to leave. The M.A.L.P. had just been sent through and the images being sent back were encouraging. It looked as if no one had been there in a long while. There were no signs of foot traffic or recent activity in the immediate area. When they were given the go ahead to proceed, they all went through the gate and on the other side was a wilderness full of trees, tall grass and more types of flora than they could count. They all headed away from the gate and into the woods.
After about an hour of bushwhacking they came upon some temple ruins that were in pretty bad shape. They looked like they would come crashing down if someone even so much as looked at them wrong. Entering the ruins themselves, the team kind of scattered and took a look at the place. In the room that Narim was in there were writings on the walls and as he took a few steps closer to the wall an Ancient wall device appeared, reached out and grabbed Narim's head and held it while the device downloaded it's contents into Narim's brain. As quickly as it had appeared, it let go of his head and Narim fell to the floor; unconscious. It was Daniel that found him and shouted for everyone else to join him. Jack was the first to arrive and when he saw Narim on the ground he couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, it had to happen to someone else at some point." He said, trying to muffle his laughter
Sam was not amused, as she stood in the doorway. She rushed to Narim's side and rested his head in her lap.
He and Daniel picked Narim up and dragged him from the ruins to the gate. Teal'c dialed the DHD and sent their IDC just prior to their passing through the gate. Once on the other side Jack called out for a medic as he and Daniel lay Narim down on the ramp. Moments later Narim was wheeled to the infirmary where he was given a CAT Scan that only confirmed the team's suspicions. Narim regained consciousness to find himself on a gurney with the rest of the team looking down at him. After about an hour Narim was allowed to leave and resume his duties.
As Jack was the only other person to have the repository in his head, he enlightened Narim as to what he would expect. This troubled Narim a great deal and for the rest of the day it was like he was walking around in a haze, but otherwise he was fine; just distracted. Sam made it a point to spend as much time with him as she could. She had just gotten Narim back, she wasn't about to lose him again to an Ancient device.
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It had been a couple of days since Narim's encounter with the Ancient device and he was fine. He could read Ancient fluently, but other than that there was nothing out of the ordinary. As he sat in Daniel's lab he worked furiously fast at translating everything in Ancient that Daniel hadn't deciphered yet. Just inside the doorway, Jack leaned against the jamb and asked Narim how he was doing.
"Well, I can read and write Ancient, but that's about it." He replied
"When I was in your position I was speaking Ancient and little else by now. You're saying that the knowledge hasn't taken over yet?" Jack asked
"Well, I can read it and speak it, but my other brain functions have yet to be effected and I don't have a headache. Really, I feel fine. Actually, I feel great." He said
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It had been a week since Narim's run in with the repository and he was still fine. Hammond was concerned, so he ordered another scan. The results were astounding. Looking at the monitor that showed Narim's brain scan revealed that he was using about 90 of his brain, but with no ill effects. Narim said he felt fine and since he wasn't acting odd in any way, he was sent back to work. Jack was jealous of this fact. So much so that when he found Narim in the mess hall eating lunch, he sat across from him and hassled him with questions and comments.
"Last time this happened to me, by this time I was essentially a vegetable. But you seem to be doing fine. Maybe its your cranial capacity. I mean, you're humanoid, but not quite human. Your brain might be capable of retaining all that knowledge for an infinite period of time. Hell, for all we know, you could keep this info forever with no damage to the rest of your brain chemistry. You're a lucky man; in more ways than one." He said
"Meaning?" Narim asked quizzically
"Well, you've got Carter, who is a beautiful and brilliant woman and you've got the Ancient library floating around in your head." He explained
"Well, I suppose I'd have to agree with you on both points." Narim replied
After a brief pause, Narim looked hard at Jack's face and saw what he was trying to say.
"You have feelings for Samantha? Feelings that your rank and service prevent you from acting on. You've had these feelings for quite some time I take it?"
"Well, yeah, in a way. But to see her now, with you; I'm glad she's happy and it couldn't have been a better man to please her. I'm happy for you both, I mean that." he said as he stood up and patted Narim on the back
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Back at home, Narim and Sam were enjoying Narim's first venture into cooking when she asked him how he was feeling. She was surprised that he hadn't been exhibiting any abnormal behaviour with his brain filled with all that Ancient info. She explained that with Jack the way he was after his last encounter with the Ancient device, he nearly died. She was glad to see that he was well. However, there was one side effect, if you could call it a side effect, his sex drive had increased. They had been making love almost every night and sometimes in the middle of the night. It was like he couldn't get enough; it was almost like he'd become addicted. Not that she was complaining; the sex was great. She never refused him and he was always gentle when initiating. However, she knew something that he didn't; she was late. She didn't know how to tell him and she didn't know what his reaction would be. All she knew was that she was pregnant, unmarried and had a very dangerous job. She wondered when a good time to tell him would be but decided to see an OBGYN first.
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One week later Sam sat in the waiting room of her OBGYN. She decided not to use the base hospital facilities because she didn't want her condition to slip out; then everyone would know. This way no one would know and she could wait until the time was right. When her name was called Sam got up and followed the tech into a procedure room and removed her shirt; replacing it with one of those paper gowns. As she sat and waited for the doctor to show up, she wondered if she was going to have a boy or a girl. Personally, she hoped for a boy and thought that Narim would like to have a son. After about ten minutes her doctor walked in, followed by a female tech and a sonogram machine. Doing as she was told, Sam lay back on the table and as the cold gelatin was applied to her stomach, she watched the screen as the image came up. After a few moments of watching the screen,
she noticed that the doctor's expression changed.
"What's the matter?" she asked
"Well, nothing, really. How much room do you have in your house?" he asked
"I've got a guest room, but its not occupied." She replied
"Well, that"s good. You're having twins. Not only that, but they're boys and by the size of them and development, I'd say that you're at the end of your first trimester." He explained
This was a shock to her because, by her math, she was only a few weeks late. Obviously there had to be a difference in gestational periods between humans and the Tolans. With this new information, she figured that she would deliver in 3 to 5 months. She decided that she'd tell Narim that night.
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Sam had taken the rest of the day off and spent it at home trying to decide how and when she'd break the news to Narim. She cooked his favourite meal and just as they finished supper she took him aside and told him. They were at the sink, doing dishes, when she did it.
"Narim, I have something very important to tell you." She started
"I know." He replied simply
"What do you know?" she asked
"You're with child and you're due to deliver in 4 or 5 months." He said
"How'd you know?"
"I could tell. Your uniform is a bit tight and given the gestational period of our people, you'll deliver early. We Tolans only have a gestational period of 6 months. So, I mixed a little math and came up with a guesstimation. Is it a boy or girl?" he asked
"Its twins and they're boys." She said simply
"I have to tell you that our people, our race, develop faster than others. We grow faster and we develop mentally, a lot faster. By the time they're a year old, they'll be the size of a three year old and as smart as a five year old. However, given that this is a mixed race child, there's really no telling. I'm just telling you how we grow and develop." He said
"So, there might be a difference between human births and Tolan births. How do the deliveries go? Are they incredibly painful or are the easy? Here, on Earth, some deliveries are excruciatingly painful and mothers need what's called an epidural. it's a tap into the spinal column and it is supposed to numb you from the waist down. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I know a woman that had to have three of them and by the time the epidural finally took effect the delivery was over." she said
"Sounds like quite an ordeal. However, Tolan births are usually quick and not nearly as painful. Though the babies are large, the body of the mother compensates. The birth canal expands more than usual and the baby just kind of slides out." he explained
"Oh, if only all births could be that easy." she replied
"However, since this is a mixed species child, there's no telling how the birth will be." he replied
After a few moments, Sam's red flag went up.
"I have to ask you not to tell anyone until I'm ready for people to know. If they found out now, I'd have no more off-world missions and if I'm stuck in the lab all day I'd go nuts. Just trust my judgment, ok?" she begged
"Ok, but people will notice soon, so that lab time is rapidly approaching. I give it two months before your situation becomes obvious." he said
They left the conversation at that and spoke no more of it for the duration of the evening. The rest of the evening was spent cuddling on the couch, watching A&E. There was a special on Jack the Ripper and by the look on his face, Narim was quite intrigued. When the first show was over there was a biography on the same man. When that show had ended Narim turned to Sam and just gave a confused look.
"How can they do a biography on someone when they're not even sure who Jack the Ripper was. He could have been anyone. He could have been the royal or he could have just been some seriously disturbed individual on a homicidal rampage. There's really no telling. Its really amazing how far theory and conjecture can go. I've read that there have been more books written about Jack the Ripper than on anybody else in the world or in history; except for maybe, the Bible or Stephen King." he theorized
"Well, that's quite enough of this sort of programming for one evening. I'm off to bed. You going to join me?" Sam said
"Yeah, I think I will." he said
They both got up and walked to the bedroom and got dressed for bed. They climbed under the covers and snuggled up against each other and within half an hour they were both asleep. It wasn't until 03:00hrs, when the phone rang that Sam woke up. Slamming her hand down on the cordless handset, Sam managed to knock it to the floor and her curses and groans could be heard by both Narim and the person who had called. She finally got the phone in her hand and lifted it to her ear only to hear Daniel on the other end asking for Narim. Sam rolled over and set the phone on his chest and told him who it was. Narim sat up in bed and had a brief, but very serious conversation with Daniel. When he was done, he climbed from bed, got dressed and told Sam that he had to go in at once. Sam was a bit puzzled, but if he had to go in, then he had to go in. As he didn't have his driver's permit yet, that meant that Sam had to drive him in.
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They were met at the elevator by a very anxious Daniel who had his arms full of books. Seeing this, Narim shared the load and took some of the books from Daniel. The two of them went to Daniel's office where they poured over the contents of the books as Daniel explained.
"I was in here, going over some Ancient translations, and sorry to say, I think I may have gotten some of them wrong. What does this say to you?" Daniel asked, handing Narim a sheet of paper
Looking it over for a moment, Narim had the correct translation. As he read it to Daniel, he was surprised.
"Well, the translation actually says that there's another repository on a planet that you've already visited. Let me take this ' and go through the records of your past gate travels and see if I can't find it. Its called Normanna, but you've probably assigned an alpha numeric designation to it. This might take some time, but I'll work as fast and accurately as I can." he said, leaving the office and heading for the control room to look over the vast list of planets they've visited over the past several years; and there were quite a few. There had to be at least a couple or few hundred planets that they'd visited, so many so that it was like looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack.
After hours and hours of searching the base record logs of planets and mission reports, Narim thought he found the planet in question. Indeed, it had been assigned an alpha numeric designation, but Narim saw past that and read the corresponding mission report. Immediately, he got up and rushed back to Daniel's lab. He wasn't surprised that he hadn't seen Sam in several hours; she was most likely asleep in one of the VIP rooms. He went on about his business and when he arrived back at Daniel's office, he found him asleep with his face in a book and he was drooling heavily. As quietly as he could, Narim brought his new information and set it beside Daniel and left.
He found Sam in one of the VIP rooms and since the hour was still early yet, he decided to join her in catching a few winks, as they weren't scheduled to go off-world until later that morning. Removing his boots and climbing in bed beside her, Narim draped his arm around her waist and was gratified to hear a slight moan coming from her.
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There was a knock on the door which neither of them heard, so Teal'c slowly opened the door and entered the room to wake the sleeping pair. Looking down on them, he raised an eyebrow and bellowed out in his usual tone.
"Colonel Carter, Mr. Narim; its time to wake up. We are due to report in the conference room in five minutes. I suggest you put on your uniforms and report at once." he said sternly
Teal'c gave a slight bow, turned on his heel and left the room as quietly as he had entered and closed the door gently behind himself. Sam and Narim climbed from the bed and walked down to the locker room where they changed into their uniforms. By the time they arrived in the briefing room their jackets were unzipped, their laces were undone and they were both fastening their belts. Seeing the two of them in this disheveled state, Jack just gave a smirk and General Hammond, a disapproving look. As they sat in their seats, the two of them tied up their laces and pulled up to the table. They opened the mission files in front of them and skimmed over them. The files had the gate coordinates to the planet that Narim had located earlier that morning along with the results of the M.A.L.P. transmissions.
For the next hour or so they all sat around the table and discussed the mission before them. They were to leave in an hour for the planet designated P3X-774; the Nox home world. When the time came for them to leave everyone was geared up and ready to go. They used the Puddle-jumper to get there. Everyone climbed in and this time it was Narim that piloted the craft, as he was the one with the knowledge in his head. He sat at the controls and when the gate opened, they flew right through. On the other side, they landed in a meadow and as Narim gently set the craft down. They exited the craft one by one and when they were all out they were greeted by Laia. Apparently, they hadn't closed the gate as everyone had thought. She was surprised to see Narim and greeted him.
"Hello, friends. Narim. Greetings once more." she said sweetly
As she approached Narim, she smiled.
"Narim. I'm glad to see you've found your friends. You look well. Where do your travels take you today?" she asked
"We're just looking around. You don't have any ruins around here, do you?" Jack asked
"There are some ruins on the Southern continent. However, it'd be a difficult journey. I see you have a craft, though. That might expedite things. You are free to search for so long as you wish." she replied
They climbed in the craft and set out for the Southern continent. After about an hour of flying around they saw some ruins and landed beside them. Once again, they exited the craft and set out to explore the ruins. As before, they split up and explored the area. And as before, Narim found himself in a most precarious position. At present, his head was being grasped by the Ancient device, but this time Daniel walked in just as Narim dropped to the floor. He shouted again and the rest of the team came running. This was unprecedented, as no one had ever had two Ancient devices downloaded into their brains. This time,
Narim got up on his own and had no need for help with walking or standing. For all intents and purposes he was fine. He looked around and saw everyone staring at him. A bit puzzled, Narim asked what the matter was.
"What's the matter?"
"You've been mind sucked again. How do you feel?" he asked
"I feel fine. I feel great." he replied