(Thank you MuseUrania and Es Charmed for the reviews. ::grins:: )
Part 7, Birthday Party
--Still Day 5-- (The days are just getting longer and longer, aren't they?)
Not knowing where Sam was at this particular moment, Jack went looking for her. He went to her office and found Daniel and Teal'c putting up streamers and balloons. "A party?" He was interested.
"Yeah," Daniel replied. Something about his tone implied that he was nervous.
"When is it?" Jack entered the room and looked around.
"Well, that's sort of the thing, um...well, you see..."
Teal'c spoke up. "You are not invited, O'Neill."
Jack frowned. "Why not? Who says I'm not invited?"
"I did," answered Jacob, who had walked in behind Jack. He saw that Jack looked a bit offended by this. "Look Jack, I'm sorry, but you're not invited."
"Why not?"
"The party is for Lantash. Everyone knows that you and he aren't exactly fond of each other. I'm not going to invite you to a party that's intended for him. Likewise, I wouldn't invite him to a party for you." Jacob moved passed Jack and looked to Daniel. "Daniel, is it almost ready? I asked Sam to gather the Tok'ra."
Daniel turned and stopped working as Teal'c continued working on the streamers. "Yeah, we'll be ready in a few minutes. You might want to start getting the people who will be coming." He looked guilty as he turned to Jack. "Sorry Jack."
"Oh, well, I understand. I guess if it's for Lantash and-there's cake?" During his ramble he noticed two boxes stacked on top of each other. One of them had to be cake.
"We'll save you a piece," Daniel offered.
Jack went to look at the cake, but Teal'c stopped him. "Colonel Carter said that no one may see the cake until it it time for it to be revealed."
Jack nodded and moved way, knowing Teal'c would be sure Sam's wishes were respected. He was tempted to argue about it, but he knew he'd lose.
"No one?" Jacob asked. He and Selmak had been hoping to take a peak.
"No one."
Jacob made a disappointed nod as he went out to find the others. It would be easy enough. Sam had found them all. Per'sus and his guards were there. Maybe they'd be interested. "It's time."
"Time for what?" Per'sus asked.
"Well, we planned on a party for Lantash's Earth birthday, and Sam wanted to have it before I left." He gestured down the hall, but Sam was soon the one leading the way to her office. When they arrived, Jacob saw that Teal'c and Daniel had sped up the decoration process. New steamers were up, and now there was a banner that read "Happy Birthday." Under the English words, one of them had written the same in Goa'uld.
Lantash was smiling with delight as he looked around. His expression was pure, and he could have almost been mistaken for Martouf. "It's all very lovely."
Per'sus looked around with interest. He didn't really smile, though Selmak knew he would be if they were back at the base. She thought he was too serious when they were on missions. The reason he was here wasn't good, but he should at least crack a smile when celebrating a fellow Tok'ra. His guards, and Malek for that matter, were basically doing the same. Malek may have laughed and grinned while on the surface, but now at the base, he was completely serious again.
Aldwin was grinning as much as Lantash was though. He reached out and started tapping one of the balloons. He watched it bob in the air before tapping it again. "I've seen similar devices as these on other planets. What do you call them?"
"Balloons," Sam answered.
"We have a game that we're going to play," Jacob said as he started taping a piece of paper to everyone's back. "On each of you is the name of someone you know. You need to figure who that is." He chuckled as Per'sus' bewildered expression as he taped something on to his back. "I can't play because I picked out all the names." He grinned as he taped paper with the name 'Lantash' to his daughter. "You get to ask each person in the room three yes or no questions. You have to figure out who it is from that."
He watched as everyone inspected each other's names. Lantash grinned when he saw his name on Sam. Aldwin chuckled when he saw who was on Amb's back. Teal'c looked disinterested, though he hadn't been left out. Per'sus looked like he wanted to cheat.
Daniel approached Sam first. "Is my person human?"
Sam made him turn around to see who was on his back. "No."
"Symbiote?"
"No."
Daniel frowned. "Ancient?"
"No."
"Do I know this person?"
Sam smiled. "You can't ask me more than three questions."
Daniel smiled. He had hoped she wouldn't notice. Then he approached Teal'c. "Do I know this person?" He turned around so Teal'c could read it.
"Indeed."
Daniel thought about the different races they met. "Asgard?"
"He is indeed an Asgard."
Daniel chuckled. Teal'c revealed the Asgard was a he, though that was likely given that Jacob made up the names. "Is it Thor?" What other Asgard would Jacob name?
"It is Thor."
Daniel grinned. "I figured out my guy." He took off his paper and put it on the front of his shirt like a name tag. As soon as he did, Jacob came along and put a new piece of paper on his back. "Hey, that's not fair."
He approached Amb this time, who was picking at the vegetable platter. "What have you figured out about your person?"
"She is a female Tok'ra symbiote."
"Want to ask me any questions. Maybe I know her." Daniel looked at his back and saw the name 'Anise' written on his paper.
"Has she been to Earth?" Amb asked.
"Yes."
Amb smiled. If Daniel was able to answer that, then he must know her, at least a little.
Meanwhile, Per'sus had figured out that the person's who name was written on him was a female Tok'ra. He delayed asking more questions, so he and his host could think of what questions would narrow it down the fastest. They rejected questions that didn't divide the number of possible people quickly enough, and overall, he and his host probably put too much thought into the game.
Now he was eating something crunchy and tasty. "What is this?"
Sam answered by naming things he never heard of before. "It's call trail mix." She ate each item after naming what they were. "A pretzel...a chex...a peanut...and an M&M... M&Ms are chocolate covered in a candy shell." She ate another pretzel. "Have you figured out who you are yet?"
"Who I am?"
"I mean, the person on your back."
"No." Per'sus thought now would be a good time to ask. "Is the person a symbiote?"
"No."
We're a host, his host thought.
We aren't anyone but ourselves..
I think we're supposed to "be" the person who's written on us.
Per'sus was running out of questions that would questions that would divide up the possibilities. "Have you met this person?" There were some Tok'ra that Sam knew of but hadn't met.
"Yes," Sam started making a plate of snacks.
"Has this person been to Earth?"
"Yes."
Per'sus thought of all the Tok'ra who have been to Earth. Not many female hosts had gone to Earth. He wondered if this person was alive. Would Jacob and Selmak include dead Tok'ra? He had his doubts about that. He walked away to try the other types of food that was on the table.
As he walked away, Lantash moved over to Sam. "I think I know the name on me."
"I can't help you." She had read it, but she didn't know who it was.
"Does it say Shadow?"
"Yes."
Lantash smiled as he shook his head. "Jacob, you cheater," he called out in an amusing tone as he took off his paper. "He gave me myself."
"What?"
"Shadow is me. It's the name I used before I was old enough to blend with a host." He put the paper on Sam.
Sam was about to protest, but then realized he was giving her an extra clue. "My paper is you." His smile told her that she was right.
He took the name off her and put it on her shirt. He grinned when she put his back on him. "I enjoyed the game, but I'm glad Jacob ran out of paper."
"We should give him a name."
Lantash smiled and found a pen. He took his tag off, flipped it over, and wrote on it. He switched the tape around and found Jacob. "You've been renamed," he announced as taped the paper to his back. He smiled, sat by Sam, and ate off the plate of snacks she made.
"Who did you give him?" She hadn't been able to read what he wrote. She felt a bit sad that no one else in this room would have that problem. All the other tags had been written in English and Goa'uld.
"Martouf."
"Oh, well, I can answer questions about him." She smiled, though she wished she had been able to recognize his name.
Martouf smiled as he was given control. "I would hope so." He kissed her.
Sam kissed him back, but cut it short. "Since we are short on time, I think we should go to the next step. Presents or cake?"
"Presents," Martouf answered since he had just eaten.
Sam got up as she spoke to the others. "Part of the celebration is the person who's birthday we are celebrating gets presents so..." She went to the four presents on the table. One was hidden under the others. She picked up two. She was thankful to see that Malek got Jacob to sit down before sitting himself. She handed one present to Martouf and the other to her father.
Both of their eyes glowed as they switched control. Selmak looked to the present. "Who told on me?"
"We did," Lantash replied.
"I told you not to."
Lantash grinned and looked at the paper. He found the tape on it and very carefully started pealing it from the paper. He looked over as he heard a big "riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!" He frowned. "You tore the paper."
"You're supposed to tear it," Selmak answered and she continued ripping until she saw she had a new swiss army knife. "It's lovely!" She started reading all the features it had. "Jacob keeps insisting that his old one is still good, but most of the tools are broken."
As Lantash continued opening his present oh so carefully, Selmak opened up the box of her present and took out the scissors. "You could use these."
Lantash looked over. "I don't want to cut the paper either."
"You can rip the paper," Sam said.
"That would be rude." Lantash kept working on his gift. A few minutes later he saw he had been given a knife. He took it out and examined it. "It's well made." He turned it over as he imagined what would be done with it in the future. "This will last me decades."
Per'sus took an interest in examining Selmak's new knife as Sam went to get the other gifts. "These are from Aldwin, Gete, Malek, and Amb." She handed Selmak a gift where the paper part was wrapped over a pineapple shaped and there were pineapple leaves sticking out.
Selmak turned it over, pretending to examine it. "I wonder what it could be." She could feel the skin of the pineapple through the paper, and she could also smell it.
"What is it?" Per'sus asked since he had never seen a pineapple before.
"It's a pineapple."
After carefully opening his second gift, Lantash wondered why he was given a small book. He looked inside and saw it held pictures. "They're all beautiful," he said as he flipped through the pictures of Sam. "Hey, she disappeared," he added when he began flipping through blank pages.
"You can add what pictures you like," Sam replied.
Lantash smiled. "I'll have to get more pictures of you then."
"You can get other pictures."
Lantash shook his head. "No. Martouf and I want a Samantha on each page." He put the album down and pulled her into his lap. "At least one Samantha for each day of the year."
"We should have gotten a bigger book," Aldwin said to Malek.
Lantash grinned and looked to them. "No, you four picked out a good book. Thank you. I'll keep it with me for the rest of my life."
Sam was surprised as she realized the photo album could outlast her. She also wondered what other personal belongings Lantash kept. She started getting up, but he hugged her to him. "I have to get your cake."
"Is no one else capable?"
"I'll get it," Daniel offered as he pulled out the candles. "Hopefully this won't set off the fire alarm." He put a two, zero, zero, and a three on Selmak's cake, and he put a one, five, eight, and two on Lantash's cake. "How about we sing, and then I light them so Selmak can blow them out?"
"Sing?" Korra questioned. He didn't like singing. He had come to be make sure Per'sus was safe, not to sing.
"There is a song," Malek explained. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear, and then you say the person's name. Happy birthday to you."
"Now you ruined it," Lantash said jokingly.
"Sorry."
"I need to go soon, so we should start singing," Semak said after looking at the time. She still didn't know what name was written on Jacob's back.
"All right, we'll sing, then Daniel will light the candles," Sam said. She started the song, and the others joined in. She was amused to see Per'sus and Teal'c singing. Just one of them singing would have been fun, but both...she wished she had a camera. The part where they got to the names got muttered. Some said "Selmak and Latnash." Others said "Lantash and Selmak."
Daniel lit the candles and brought the first cake to Selmak.
Selmak grinned. "It says my name." She hadn't expected to see her name in her own language. She thought of a wish. I hope the Goa'uld will be destroyed. Then she blew out the candles.
Well, you made it a birthday wish. Now they don't stand a chance, Jacob thought.
Selmak grinned.
Lantash was confused about the name comment until he saw his cake. He got ready to blow out the candles, but Sam told him to make a wish that he couldn't tell anyone
What do we wish for?
I don't know, Martouf thought. Let's make a wish for Samantha.
I wish for Samantha to live all her years. Lantash blew out all the candles.
That's a good wish.
Selmak was quickly given a piece of cake because she and Jacob had to be going very soon. She ate the pineapple cake quickly, wishing she could enjoy it more. You want control for the last bite?
You can have it. Jacob gave a mental grin.
Selmak ate it and enjoyed the pineapple flavor. There were two chunks of pineapple in that last bite, and Selmak chewed on them briefly. When the cake was gone, she took the paper off her back and set it down on the table without looking at it. "I'll figure out who it is later."
Jacob was given control, and he hugged his daughter. "Thank you. Selmak enjoyed the party. I did too. Now it's time I go find out who made that attack."
Sam wished she could help her dad with that. "Good luck." She and he said their goodbyes before he approached Per'sus. She watched them speak quietly before he left the room. She felt Martouf hug her from behind. She wasn't sure how she knew Martouf was in control, but she knew he was. She turned around in his hug and returned it. "How are you and Lantash enjoying yourselves."
"We are having a good time." Then he gestured to the side.
Sam turned to where he gestured and saw Per'sus approaching. She left Martouf's hug, ready to say something, but he spoke first. "I thank you for including us in this Earth tradition, but I need to be leaving now. Einar and I enjoyed ourselves."
Sam realized that Einar must be his host. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves."
"Einar believes the person we are to figure out is Yosuuf."
"It is."
Per'sus took the paper off himself and handed it to Sam. "I'll have to tell her about this game. She and Garshaw would enjoy it." He turned to Martouf. "Happy birthday, Lantash."
Martouf nodded down and Lantash nodded up. Lantash approached Sam again as Per'sus said his goodbyes to everyone. The counselor also insisted that everyone stay at the party and keep enjoying it. Sam turned back to Lantash when Per'sus left. "The party was supposed to be at my house. There would have been more room and more games."
"I enjoyed it. It was fun, we enjoyed the food, I got nice gifts, and I was able to learn some of your traditions. I've enjoyed this time on Earth." He pulled her close. "Will he allowed back on the surface?"
"Not today, but tomorrow and the next day."
"Good." Lantash kissed her ear. "Maybe some day you can spent a week with the Tok'ra."
"You can teach me how to be stealthier than I am." Sam smiled. She was good at stealth, but she didn't compare to a Tok'ra. She learned that soon after meeting them. Even knowing this, they still surprised her at times.
"I can teach you many things," Lantash smiled when he saw her pout for a second. "I didn't mean that as an insult. I just want you to be safe and you are very young."
"By your standards, so is Martouf."
"True. He is also young, but you are young to both of us."
Sam nodded slightly before pulling away. She didn't particularly like being called young by someone she was dating. She also didn't like being too close Martouf and Lantash while she was at work. "You ready for cake?"
"Yes, I know now why you asked me for a sweet flavor I like on Earth." He smiled as Daniel gave him a piece. "The cake looked beautiful, and it smells nice too." He sat down to eat it.
Sam helped Daniel with the cake, feeling a bit bad that he had to do so much for the party. "Thank you, Daniel, and Teal'c, thank you too."
"It's no problem," Daniel replied as Teal'c gave his welcome.
After cake, Daniel and Teal'c had to leave. Sam played card games with the Tok'ra that they knew thanks to Jacob. She taught them more card games. They taught her some modified Tok'ra games with the supplies Sam could find. They celebrated for the rest of the day.
To be continued...
