Chapter Ten Summary: Lantash and Martouf awaken and are quite happy to find Sam asleep with them. Not long thereafter Malek, Daniel, and Arwanna visit with them and Sam, who wakes up when they arrive, and bring them up to date on what transpired at a recent Council Meeting pertaining to the four Tok'Ra they are holding in custody.

Rating this Chapter – PG-14

Ka'taseck lapt – Is a beverage similar to tea that tastes somewhat like hot chocolate. It helps both host and symbiote to relax and sleep.

Kree! – Stop! Attention. Listen,

Aray kree - Stay where you are

Yo tua me – Stop. Listen to me.

Yas - Now

Mid'cha – Pay attention

"Italics" – Symbiote-Host Communication

Tok'Ra Dawn

Chapter Ten

Visitors

Lantash concluded his recital of the happenings that he knew had occurred. He began with Samantha shooting them and then told him everything he could remember of what took place after that including everything that Malek, Arwanna, Janet Fraiser, and Colonel O'Neill had said to him. He touched only briefly on Samantha, which was a subject that he felt they would, rightfully so, spend time discussing later. While not glossing over her part in the events, neither had he dwelled on or emphasized them.

Martouf hesitated for only a moment, before inquiring, "You are certain of the things they have told you then? You believe what each of them have told you? Everything?"

"Yes. I doubted some of them, particularly those things concerning Samantha, until I talked to Malek. He verified everything they told me, as well as adding his own observations and beliefs. You—are aware of our previous relationship, Martouf, and you know that he would not lie to me."

Martouf hesitated, before asking, him, "Has he never lied to you, Lantash? No, forget I asked that. I know from your memories that he has not done so, other than, well, I just know that he has not actually lied to you."

"You are correct, Martouf. He has not. Even then, it was not a lie; it was an omission, just as my failure to inform him of my own indiscretion was an omission. Neither of us 'lied' to the other. Nor would we have done so had the situation not culminated as it did."

"I know. I apologize. They were uncalled for remarks."

"I understand, Martouf. I, too, was unwilling to believe what they told me, until Malek talked to me. As he pointed out at the time, I was—I feared believing them and then finding later that what they told me was untrue. Once I faced that and admitted that he would not tell me things that were not true, I knew that I could trust what he told me."

Martouf hesitated, before asking him softly, "Then should I assume that you are about to tell me that Samantha was being truthful, when she confronted the Council, and that she is not going to repudiate us, now that we are recovered and certain Council members have been thwarted?"

Lantash laughed softly and gently caressed him, as he assured him, "Yes, you should assume that is what I am about to tell you. I do not believe that we would have awakened to find her sleeping by our side had the situation not been a true one. Evidently, she was very resolute about the entire situation. From the time that she threatened General Hammond with the resigning of her commission, in their military, if he did not grant her eight weeks leave of absence, to the point where she threatened Delek with bodily harm, until now, she has had only one goal in mind. Malek assured me that she was very clear about the fact that the two of us were her mates, and that she had no intention of refuting our bonds."

"From what Malek told me, she was quite firm in informing everyone that she never repudiated our mate-bond before now, and she would not be repudiating it in the future. Her claiming of us as her mates was done before the council, Martouf."

"Are you sure that she was aware that by claiming the bond before the council that it would be binding?"

"As you say, it is very binding, and Malek assured me that Selmak made that very plain to her before she did it. Brialek overheard the conversation, and he repeated it to Malek, which only substantiated what Selmak told him earlier. Samantha was aware of what she doing and appeared to be very willing to do so. Malek assured me that according to both of them, she had no hesitation about it at all."

Lantash could feel some of the tension leave Martouf's mind, as he reassured him that Samantha was very aware of what she was doing and had no qualms about it. He was relieved himself, when he sent him a small smile, and told him, "Then I will not allow myself to believe otherwise. I must admit that I will be very glad to hear her tell us herself that she wishes to remain within our mate-bond, and be openly recognized as our mate within the Tok'Ra." He paused and then asked, him, "What about the Tau'ri, though, Lantash? What have they said about her decision?"

"I know that you will find it hard to believe, Martouf, but O'Neill has been quite cordial. Malek believes that once he realized that Samantha truly loves us and has no intention of denying us, he has reconciled himself to this fact. He believes that O'Neill never loved her as we all assumed, but instead felt a great deal of responsibility and caring for her. More, perhaps, than a fellow officer and commander should, according to their military's regulations; however, Malek also believes that it is very much a mutual respect and also on O'Neill's side, a mentoring relationship. Once I looked at it without the jealousy that I have always felt towards him, I realized that Malek is probably correct. There is no doubt that there was some sexual tension between them as well, nevertheless, it was not a love in the sense that we all assumed it to be, and for that I am grateful. It would have been very hard on Samantha if he truly loved her, for he would have had a difficult time continuing to work with her."

He paused for a moment, before continuing, "Malek told me that some of O'Neill's first words to her upon their arrival in the tunnels was that, 'It is not every day that you get to claim a husband or two'. It surprised everyone, and it was then that it became obvious that the relationship between them was misinterpreted. Since he did not know any of them, including Samantha, until this happened, Malek was basing his judgments from what we have said to him in the past about the two of them, as well as what he has gathered from others. Jacob has maintained all along that there was nothing between them; it appears that we should have given his opinion more consideration."

"Yes, so it seems. I must confess that I am now very anxious to awaken and for her to awaken as well. Do you—how do you believe that we should react to what we believe to be true, Lantash? I realize now that I am not only anxiously looking forward to awakening, but I am also becoming rather nervous. I suppose that is actually to be expected in a situation such as this. You appear to be reacting in a similar way, from what I am feeling of your own emotions."

Lantash laughed gently, as he replied, "I cannot deny your words, dear one. I am quite as nervous and unsure of myself as you are. Would you like for me to bring us up to consciousness? I believe that Arwanna, Malek, and Daniel Jackson have returned and just now entered our chamber."

"Yes, I would like to see and talk to them, if you believe that we can do so without awakening Samantha."

Lantash sent him a nod of agreement and almost immediately, told him, "Awaken, Martouf, for we have reached a level from which you may join those who are already awake."

Martouf slowly opened his eyes, and turned his head toward the three people approaching them. As they drew near to them he smiled, and keeping his voice low and quiet, he greeted them, "Hello. I must admit that, while I did not expect to awaken here, I am delighted to be doing so."

The three of them smiled at him, even as Arwanna began to use her med scanner on them to see how they were. Martouf grinned at her, saying, "Lantash says to tell you that you took excellent care of us, and that we are quite fine and even well-rested. We truly do feel very well, Arwanna."

She smiled at him, but continued to check the scanner, nonetheless. Shortly thereafter, she nodded, telling him, "I can see that you are. You should be up and around in, oh probably a few days." Her tone was nonchalant, and she didn't look at him, as she said it, since it was all that she could do to keep from laughing aloud. She knew that had she looked at him, she could not have managed to say something so ridiculous, without giving away the fact that she was 'giving him a hard time', as the Tau'ri would say.

Malek backed her up, his own voice solemn, as he agreed, saying, "I would think that a few days would be enough. Four at the most, do you not agree, Arwanna?"

As he watched the completely appalled look bloom across Martouf's face, Daniel turned his back and pretended to study the walls of the chamber, monotonous as they were. It took him only a moment to stop himself from laughing, and so he turned back in time to see Martouf's eyes glow and hear Lantash's somewhat aggrieved tones, as he told them, "I believe that we shall hear no more from the two of you. Martouf has been through enough without your attempts to cause him to relapse." He turned his gaze firmly toward Malek, rebuking him, "I believe that it was only two days ago that you swore that you had never and would never lie to me. When you lie to Martouf, you are also lying to me, my friend. So you will cease, or I will begin to wonder if your other words were false, as well."

Malek grinned at him, before nodding and stating firmly, "You are correct, Lantash and I apologize. Return Martouf to us and we will apologize to him, as well."

"Unnecessary. He tells me that it is no more than he should expect from the two of you. He did, however, think better of Daniel."

"Hey! Wait a minute. I'm just standing here. I didn't say anything, and besides, I'm the one that pointed out that if they wanted Sam to actually rest, all they had to do was allow her to snuggle up to you and Martouf. They wanted to try to talk her into going to your room and lying down."

They kept their voices very low, so as not to awaken Sam, so no one expected to hear from her. It startled them, as well as Lantash and Martouf, when she fixed her beautiful blue eyes on Daniel, frowned, and stated, chidingly, "I suppose you're also the one I have to thank for bringing and dressing me in this rather inappropriate piece of material." She then swung her gaze to Arwanna, and informed her, "I also remembered what the tea you convinced me I wanted is used for, and also that it worked very well on Jolinar. Evidently, it works the same way on me. I seem to remember becoming extremely sleepy, and I was only too happy to lie down and go to sleep."

Sam watched the rather sheepish look that passed between Arwanna and Malek, and also took note that, while not looking guilty, neither did Daniel look completely unaware. Of course, she didn't tell them that she hadn't been completely asleep and was aware of what they were up to, as well. She was surprised to hear Lantash, demand, rather indignantly, "You gave her Ka'taseck lapt? You are aware that it was Jolinar who was rather susceptible to that tea, Arwanna. Samantha would have come to us had she wanted to do so. You should not have given her something that could influence her judgment." His lips were in a very firm straight line, and it was very obvious that he was upset. Knowing that she had not lain with them of her own choice was no doubt affecting his reaction to what he considered a deception.

Sam sighed, knowing that she would have to soothe their ruffled feathers. Raising herself on her elbow, so that she was looking down at them, she told them, very clearly, "Lantash, stop jumping to conclusions. I knew as soon as I had a drink or two of it what it was, as well as, what its effect on Jolinar was. I planned on taking a nap anyway, so I drank all of it, and then at least part of another cup. If they had just asked me, I'd have been very agreeable to lying down with the two of you and napping here, but since no one suggested it, I assumed they didn't want you disturbed. I admit that I was groggy, when Arwanna helped me change into my nightclothes, but I could have stopped it, if I didn't want to change. I agreed, changed into my nightgown, curled up in the chair and went to sleep."

"When they came back, I woke up, as soon as Malek picked me up to put me in with you, and to be completely honest, I pretended to be completely asleep. I wanted to know what they were doing, so I just went along with it. I wanted to see if they planned to take me to your chamber. Of course, I realized Malek was walking to your other side, not out the door, so I just remained 'asleep'." She grinned suddenly, as she told him and Martouf, "It was kind of cute really. He kept rearranging us, until he had both your body and mine exactly as he wanted them. I heard Daniel chuckling at him, and it was all I could do to remain totally quiet. So, you can just calm down. I'm here with full knowledge of what was occurring, and I gave them my full support, just by the act of going along with them without protest."

Before he had time to answer, she turned to the other three, asking them, "What are all of you doing here? Are you just checking on Lantash and Martouf, or was there something else that you needed? Has something happened that we need to know about?"

Arwanna answered for all of them, telling her, "We are checking up on all of you, first. I am very pleased with Lantash and Martouf's condition and feel quite sure that, since you will be there to make sure that they continue doing well, then as long as they agree to rest a great deal for the next day or so, they may return to their chamber."

Sam indicated her willingness, but then frowned, as she looked at Lantash questioningly, before asking, "Or would you rather I was in a different chamber? I can sleep elsewhere; if you'd rather I didn't remain with you now that you've recovered."

Not caring for that suggestion, Martouf prompted Lantash, telling him, "You will tell Samantha, at once, that we would very much prefer that she remain with us, and that we are very glad that she remained here with us lying in our arms."

"I will assure her, Martouf, do not be concerned that I would do otherwise. Would you wish to take control, so that you can tell her yourself?"

"No, you can do so. We will both talk to her later, when we are finally alone."

"An excellent idea." Lantash turned from his inner conversation, and immediately reassured her. Reaching out, he caresses her cheek softly, before smiling, and stating softly, "Martouf and I both wish you to remain with us, Samantha. Recovered or not, we will always want you near to us whenever possible, I promise you."

She smiled back at him, before turning and saying, "I guess that's settled. I assume that you'll want him to wait a little longer, though?"

"If you would not mind, then yes, I would like for you to remain here for a few more hours only. Then we will see to it that you are taken to and settled into your chamber. I have some things that I need to finish before we move you there, and I believe that since you are all awake, we do have some information for you concerning resent events."

She nodded her agreement, even as Lantash did the same. Since Sam was no longer on their shoulder, they levered themselves so that they were leaning against the wall at the head of the sleeping platform and Sam followed suit, pulling what the Tok'Ra used as bedcoverings up under her arms, anchoring it there…and throwing Daniel and exasperated look, as she did so. He grinned at her, and seeing the exchange between them, Malek and Lantash joined him. Sam changed her look from exasperated to glaring. It didn't seem to have any effect that she could see, but Lantash placed his arm around her, and drew her to his side, so she let it pass and turned her attention to what they had to tell them instead. "So, what's going on, now, Daniel?"

Daniel glanced at Malek and then Arwanna. Malek nodded and turned to them, all laughter gone from both his face and his tone. "At the present time, Thoran, Delek, Daresh, and Ren'al are all in custody, as you are aware. Per'sus called a meeting of the full council, excepting them, of course, and the charges were left standing as stated and placed against them. Thoran and Ren'al are being kept within celled chambers, until such time as Martouf and Lantash are recovered enough to be informed about everything that has taken place, why the events that occurred, did occur, and what charges have been laid against them and by whom. Delek and Daresh, since their part in this was not nearly as egregious as Thoran and Ren'al's was, are free except for the presence of a guard. Both of them have voluntarily resigned from the Council." He paused, before adding, "Samantha, the charges that you brought against them in which you left the final determination up to Lantash and Martouf are still pending, as you requested, but the Council wishes all three of you to agree. If you all agree to drop the charges, they will be dropped, but if even one of you wishes them to stand, then the Council will press forward with them."

Sam frowned at him. "But, they probably should have been dropped, Malek. You know that. Per'sus knows that. They probably shouldn't have even been brought up and discussed, during the meeting. They should have been set aside or, at the very least—I don't know—mitigated or something."

"You requested that the final decision be left up to Lantash and Martouf. Had they just been made by you and not had the codicil attached pertaining to them, then they might have dropped them…although that is not certain."

Sam moaned, asking Malek, "Why, just once, couldn't Per'sus be less picky? He should have known better."

"Sam, it wasn't just Per'sus. Don't forget that there were some other people present, when you stated the charge. Anise and Garshaw are still furious and Selmak, your dad, and Ma'ashat all agreed, too. The decision was unanimous…oops." Daniel glanced over at Malek, as he realized he'd just allowed Sam to know that Malek, too, had voted to keep the charges pending. He shrugged, rather helplessly, muttering, "Sorry."

Malek shook his head, assuring him, "It is alright, Daniel. She would have found out sooner or later, anyway."

"Malek! You knew how I felt about it, too. Yes, I'm still pissed at them, and I still think they should get some kind of reprimand, but the truth is, and furthermore you are all aware of it, that they truly believed that Lantash and Martouf would endanger all of the Tok'Ra, especially Per'sus. They were stupid, not deliberately vicious."

Malek's lips firmed. "None the less, Samantha, their stupidity nearly killed your mates and mine. I will not forget or forgive that easily. Nor do I believe that their motives were completely altruistic. You know, as well as I do, to whom I am referring." Malek hesitated before adding, "What you do not realize is that it is not only him. The other one's motives are not pure either; however, since you do not have those memories, we can discuss it later, if you wish to do so. I would rather not go into her motives during this discussion other than to assure you that they exist and that her motives and his almost cost us our mates. I know that Lantash and I are no longer bond-mates, but…"

Sam sighed, and her voice softened, as she told him, "I know how you feel about what's happened, because I feel it, too. Furthermore, your mate-bond hasn't disappeared, just because you're no longer in a—mating-type—of relationship, that doesn't mean that you don't still feel the emotional side of your bonds. If you think about it, the two of you have been mates, since you were spawned. You've been bond-mates for a very long time, as well, and nothing will ever change that. You and Lantash will always be mates of the heart, Malek…"

As her voice trailed off, Lantash caressed her arm gently, even as he gave her a brief hug. It was obvious that Malek had talked to her about their relationship. She empathized with his emotions, and to draw her away from the pain of them, he asked her, "What are the charges, Samantha?"

Sam opened her mouth, but no words came out. She stared at him, and then looked to Malek, before returning her gaze to him, and almost whispering, "Well, I, um…I charged them with attempted murder."

Lantash blinked at her in stunned surprise, and then he, too, looked at the three sitting next to the sleeping platform. Malek nodded. "Yes, Lantash, that is what the charge is." He sighed, before adding, "They did attempt to murder you, Lantash—both of you, not just Martouf. Even if it had only been Martouf, the fact still remains that they were going to kill him, so the charge would still be the same. That alone is enough to call for some kind of—reprimand, as Samantha called it. And though she is correct in saying that it was done under a misapprehension, the facts still stand. Had first Arwanna and Anise, and then Samantha, not stood in their way and stopped them, then both you and Martouf would now be dead, instead of sitting up on your sleeping platform and holding your mate."

Since she didn't want to allow Lantash and Martouf to dwell on that fact, it was Sam's turn to distract them, so she turned to Daniel, asking, "Why was this meeting held without me there, anyway? Didn't they think I should have some input, since I laid the charge against them?"

"They did discuss it, Sam, but since you weren't willing to leave Lantash and Martouf, and they couldn't very well hold the meeting in here, there wasn't much of anything else that they could do about it. I suppose they could have taken a deposition, but that wouldn't really have made a difference. Actually, I don't think it would have made a difference, if you had been there in person, either. They're all pretty upset over this. I mean, think about it. It would have been a really deep blow, if Martouf and Lantash survived the za'tarcing only to be killed by their own people. Especially after finding out that they might know who turned them in the first place...which is something they will want to ask them about, too, you know."

As memories flooded Lantash and Martouf, Lantash jerked upright from where her was leaning against the wall, his sheet falling to his waist. It was obvious to those watching that he was very upset and Arwanna was on her feet, pushing him, backward, as he attempted to get out up from the sleeping platform. Sam wrapped her arms around his waist, Arwanna pushed on his chest, Daniel looked surprised, and Malek sprang to his feet, telling him, "Lantash, kree! Aray kree. Yo tua me. Yas. Mid'cha. We do not have to have your input at once. Please, remain calm, while we explain what has occurred," Malek was disturbed enough by Lantash's reaction to Daniel's words that he was mixing his Goa'uld and his English, so Sam looked to Daniel. While a lot of things had come to her through Jolinar, instant translations weren't very often a part of them.

Malek grabbed his arm and switching completely to Goa'uld, he began to speak rapidly, his tones low, intense, decisive, and firm. As Lantash relaxed somewhat and leaned back slightly against Sam, she allowed her hold on him to loosen, but she left her arms wrapped loosely around him, holding the sheet firmly in place, as well as not allowing him to easily leave the platform. Arwanna, too, released him and stepped back, once again taking her seat, but watching him carefully and running the medical scanner over him, as Malek continued to talk to him, his tone still urgent and insistent.

Daniel stood and walked around the sleeping platform. Speaking quietly, so he wouldn't interrupt or distract them, he told Sam, "Evidently, as soon as I said that, all kinds of information came rushing back to Lantash and Martouf. It was the infiltrator that turned them, and Lantash didn't know that she had been found out and taken care of, so he was—well, I guess, he thought he needed to get to Per'sus or—something. He may not even have known himself where he was going, but from the sound of it, he has quite a bit of intel from when she turned them. She did a lot of bragging, since she didn't believe that he would survive. She told them all kinds of stuff. Named names, gave away information about how to undo the programming, who else has already been turned, and how to do it, too, but he remembers how she did it, as well."

"I'd say that as soon as he and Martouf are up to going through it, there will be a fairly long debrief for them. At least the others are close and they will be easy to get to and remove the programming without hurting them or anyone else. And it sounds like there were plans to turn some of us, but no final decisions as to who or when, so we should all be okay. Anise checked all of us anyway, as you know, and we all came up clean. Sounds like it worked like it should according to what Lantash has said."

He paused for a moment and then told her, "If Ren'al and Thoran had succeeded, they would have lost a lot of invaluable intel, Sam. That's going to weigh against them, and—I can't blame them for looking at it that way. The truth is that they 'did' try to kill them, regardless of the reasons behind it. They never should have made those decisions themselves, even if they didn't know who they could trust. They knew that as a target, Per'sus was safe to talk to and as I told them then, they should have gone straight to him and Aiydon."

Sam nodded, even as she answered, saying, "I know that. And I agree that they shouldn't be let off with a smack on the hand and a minor scolding. But, attempted murder charges are a very serious thing. I don't even know what type of reprimand they could apply. It's not like it's the host's fault. What would they do about that?"

Sam felt Lantash relax completely into her arms, and he turned toward her, assuring her, "You may loosen your hold on us, Samantha. Come, we will return to our previous positions, so that we can rest against the wall, and Martouf and I can hold you, as we were before." He moved back to their previous position, and then gently pulled her into their arms, so that she was resting against their side, their arms now around her.

As soon as it was obvious that they were once more settled comfortably, Arwanna answered her, "That is always a problem. A symbiote cannot be removed from a host without the host's permission, and an innocent host cannot be punished. It does tend to cause some problems at times, although compromises are generally worked out and truthfully, something of this seriousness is very rare within the Tok'Ra. In this case, it has been determined that the hosts both agreed with what was taking place, so they are as guilty as the symbiotes are. Should it have been otherwise, then the host would have had to make a decision on whether or not to allow removal, if the charges were upheld and the symbiote found to be guilty. In something like this, where the charges are so very serious, it can be very complicated."

Sam cocked her head, as she looked from her to Malek and back, and since the memory was not coming to her from Jolinar, she asked them, "And what is the sentence for attempted murder and how does this all work?"

Arwanna frowned, as she gave some thought to her question. Finally deciding she wasn't sure how to explain it, she turned to Malek. Knowing what she was thinking, he nodded to her, and turning to Sam, he answered her, saying, "If the host allows the symbiote to be removed, then the sentence is carried out. In a case such as this, they would probably be placed in a tank for an extended period. It was determined a long time ago, that putting a symbiote into stasis, no matter what the length of time might be, is not a meaningful punishment. After all, once they are in stasis they are simply unaware of the passage of time, they do not age, and so, what is actually accomplished…nothing. Being placed in a tank however, is a very painful thing for a symbiote. Time passes for them, as does their life, but they are not experiencing it, and thus it passes excruciatingly slowly. In fact, most of the time, a period of being in a tank, is not for an exceptionally long time. Unless they are allowed to go into extended dormancy periodically, we have found that a symbiote can become," he paused, and looked at both Lantash and Arwanna. It was very obvious that it was something about which Malek preferred to neither think nor speak.

Daniel's eyes widened and he blurted out, "Symbiotes can become insane? But why? I mean, when you're in a lake, you don't have anyone to talk to either, do you, and you don't all go nuts, right?"

Lantash sent him a rather wry smile, before explaining, "While what you consider a symbiote's squealing and screeching makes no sense, and is merely unintelligible sounds and noise, we can understand one another. I admit that when we are within a host, if we can understand any of it, it is very difficult, although we do not know why. However, we are perfectly capable of understanding each other when we are together in water. We have speculated that there is some type of mental connection between us that being within a host blocks. Whatever the reason is, when one is in a tank, there is very much less ability to communicate other than answering yes and no questions. The symbiote can still understand the spoken language when they are removed from their host, so the problem is only on the symbiote to host side of communication. Therefore, the boredom is what can break our minds. With no one to communicate with, and nothing to see, not that we can see well outside of the water, there is literally nothing to do or think about, and it very slowly drives a symbiote to become…insane. We have found that, unless they are allowed to become dormant for extended periods, then more than a decade or so over a hundred years is taking a chance on it occurring, and the longest penalty is usually around seventy-five to ninety years, since we prefer not to take the chance of it happening. As Arwanna mentioned though, it is actually rare to have something occur that is drastic enough to call for those lengths of time."

"That, of course, takes place if the host allows removal. Should the host refuse, then they become responsible for the symbiote, and the length of the sentence becomes more complicated."

Seeing the questions in their eyes and on their faces, he continued before either of them could ask their questions aloud. "Let us say, that the symbiote is sentenced to eighty years to be served in a tank. Should the host refuse their removal, then the length of the sentence changes to accommodate the hosts lifetime."

Lantash looked at Malek and gave what Daniel would have termed an evil grin, before saying, "I will use Malek and Devlin as an example. They have been together for about a hundred years. Devlin's people are somewhat long lived, and in a normal span of their life, then they can expect, notwithstanding disease and accident, to live approximately one hundred and twenty-five years to one hundred fifty years, and Devlin was only twenty-five when they blended. Now that he has joined with Malek, they can expect to be together another four or five hundred years, or about the time that you, Daniel, or Samantha, could expect to live if you blended now. Martouf was older when we blended, however his people are even longer lived than Devlin's are, so he, too, barring unfortunate happenings, to live another four to five hundred years."

"That explained, I will now return to our symbiote and his host. Still using Malek and Devlin as the example, we now have an extended timeline. Ninety years in a tank would not be the same, if Malek was still within Devlin, even if he was not allowed interaction. Therefore, the amount of time would increase significantly. Although there is no set formula, the chances are that the time would increase to around two hundred years. If Devlin was killed during that period, then Malek would not be given a new host and would more than likely, depending on the amount of time before Devlin's demise, be put into a tank until the original sentence was considered fulfilled. It would not be for the entire length of the original sentence but a portion of it, as I said, depending on how much of it had been served, before his host passed away. Attempted murder would not have a penalty of death; he would not pass with his host…unless it was unavoidable, of course. Something so egregious that it called for a death penalty, would more than likely not have a host willing to remain as their host, but should they do so, and the host was innocent, then the symbiote would pass with the host."

They were all quiet as they gave thought to Lantash's explanation, but Daniel realized that the present circumstances had not been discussed. He was sure that Sam would probably want the answer as well, so he asked them, "And in this type of situation where both were aware and approved of their course of action? What happens then?"

Lantash answered, promptly, "That is the easiest one to deal with, Daniel. As you do on Earth, they will be incarcerated. For how long, I do not know; however, from what you have told us, a great deal will depend on Samantha, Martouf, and I."

Daniel nodded his agreement, but added, "That's true up to a point, but there were other charges laid against them by other Tok'Ra. I'm pretty sure that those won't be dropped, but they aren't nearly as serious as the one that Sam brought. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what takes place."

"True, Daniel, so we will."

Arwanna stood, telling them, "I believe that is all that we had to tell you for now. I would like for both of you to rest some more, Lantash. Yes, I know that you feel fine, however, Samantha could use some more sleep. She was up for an extended period of time with only a few very short, very interrupted, naps, and it will hurt none of you to sleep. Besides," she paused and smiled at him, "this way you will not be sleepy at all tonight."

Before either he or Sam could think of anything to say in return, she turned to Sam, and asked her, "Would like some more tea, Samantha?"

"Um, yeah, sure, Arwanna. That sounds good, but don't add quite as much, since I don't need to sleep as long or as deeply, okay?"

She nodded her agreement and turned toward the door, saying, "I will return with it shortly. Malek, you and Daniel should finish your conversations if there is anything else of which you wish to apprise them."

Sam grinned and looked over at the two men, saying, "Well? Do you have anything else to tell us?"

Daniel snorted. "No, we don't. At this point, we're just visiting," He answered her as he walked around to the other side of the sleeping platform, picked up his pack and returned to Sam's side of the bed. Then, while Malek was talking quietly to Lantash and Martouf, he told her, "I'm supposed to tell you that everyone says hello, congratulations on your, er, marriage, best wishes, and all that stuff. They're all looking forward to seeing you, once you can be pried away from Lantash and Martouf's side."

Sam felt her face flush, but she didn't show her embarrassment in any other way. "Tell them all I said, thank you, that they're very much better, and I'll see them in a, ah, few days."

He grinned at her. "Planning a few days R and R, are you?"

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way. I certainly don't plan on surfacing for a few days anyway."

He chuckled. "I'm very sure that you won't be getting any arguments from the two of them, Sam." He sobered, as he dropped his voice, and told her quietly, "They've been watching you, you know. Every time you were talking to us and not aware of them doing it, they would watch your every move. I don't think I've ever seen so much wonder and love before on anyone else's face…except maybe Sha'uri's. You did the right thing, Sam. They've wanted, longed, and hoped for this for a long time. They'll do everything they can to show you how much they love you."

Sam reached out and taking his hand in hers, she squeezed it lightly. "I know, Daniel. I hate it that this happened, but at least it made me admit what I wanted and needed. I wish I'd admitted it sooner, but I didn't, so now I'll make the most of what we have from here on out."

Daniel nodded. "Good." He leaned in and kissed her gently, before saying, softly, "I truly couldn't be happier for you."

"I couldn't be happier for me either, Daniel. You have no idea how much relief I feel. It's as if a really heavy burden has been lifted from my mind and my heart. I'm so thankful that I finally realized that I really do belong with them. I want to be with them. I need to be with them. Not only for now, but for the rest of my life, regardless how long that is. I don't think I've ever had anything hurt me as deeply and as much as shooting them did, except for what followed that. Holding them as they supposedly died…" She closed her eyes, shook her head briefly, and swallowed. The pain just the memory brought was enough to cause her to feel as if her heart was being torn from her chest.

Opening her eyes, she looked at Daniel, and her emotions were plain to read on her face and in her eyes. She shook her head once again, as if in denial, before murmuring softly, so as not to attract attention, "I'm sorry, Daniel. It's time to put it behind me and move on. They are here, they are alive, they are well, and apparently, they want me as their mate. I don't think there is anything else in the entire universe that I want more than those things and I have them. That's the most important thing in my life right now and I plan on it staying that way for a long time to come."

Then throwing off the emotions that talking about the events caused, Sam reached out, and taking his hand, she pulled him closer, while she patted the empty area of the sleeping platform. She looked over her shoulder, and after assuring herself that Lantash and Malek were still deeply immersed in their own discussions, she turned back to Daniel, and sent him a smile that was now devoid of her previous melancholy. The last vestiges of sadness faded from her eyes, as she assured him, "Come and sit with me, Daniel. It looks like the four of them are going to discuss some of what's been going on, so you can sit here next to me and talk to me, while they have their discussion, okay? So…tell me…is there anything else you think that I should know or that you believe we should discuss? It looks like it would be the perfect time to do it."

Daniel looked over at the Tok'Ra, who were, just as Sam had said, deeply engrossed in whatever it was they were discussing. It appeared that now truly would be the perfect time, and he did have something about which he really wanted to talk to her. Gazing back at her, he nodded decisively, because she was correct about something else, too. He had something that he was very anxious to talk to her about and now was as good as, if not better than, any other time would be. All he had to do was bring up the subject and ask. Yup. That was it. That was all it would take—just ask. Furthermore, he would, too—as soon as he figured out how to ask it.

TBC