Chapter Thirteen Summary - It takes only moments for Malek to realize he has misjudged Lantash. Soon, they go downstairs and explanations begin, but with a difference. Lantash has a startling announcement to make about the za'tarc incident...a thought so chilling it is almost inconceivable...except that Lantash swears it is the only way in which it could have happened.

Pairing: Sam/Daniel/Lantash

Rating: this chapter PG-13

Ta shel'lek qua'ur cor's trel'lis - I share your heart's tears

Kea'cor, kea'ani'mek – One Heart, One Soul

Cor's trel'li mae'tek - Heart's tearmate

Always Be Ours

Chapter Thirteen

Friend to friend

Lantash looked at his life-long friend through narrowed eyes. Perhaps Malek and he were not as close as he'd always believed they were. Had their friendship somehow become shallower, and he had not even noticed?

Before he could say anything, however, Malek bowed his head, rubbed first his temples, and then his shoulders, before closing his eyes, and letting out a deep sigh.

Sanity finally returned to him, and his mind began to work more concisely and logically, coming to more sensible conclusions. "Stars of Fire, what am I saying and thinking? Of course, Per'sus knows. No doubt, so do Jacob and Anise. That means there is a very good reason that you are alive and on the Tau'ri world. It also means that they, and the Tau'ri, went to a great deal of trouble to arrange my attendance in the meeting that is no doubt to take place tomorrow."

"Actually, although we will no doubt talk some tomorrow, the true meeting will be the day after. Tomorrow is a cookout."

"A cook—out?" Malek questioned, obviously confused by the unfamiliar term.

"It makes more sense than the ordering in of taking out. You will see, if you spend much time here. It is an unusual world. I will help you, and at least you will not have to comprehend it from within a female mind."

"Is it more difficult from within a female mind? It has been so long; I have forgotten."

"For me it is, Malek. If you will remember, I have never been in a female host. Their thinking is very strange and hard for me to understand. I have almost caused problems between Samantha and Daniel because I do not understand it, and she almost did not agree to marry us because of me."

"She is blended with you, Lantash, so she cannot bond with you. I assume that is what you mean."

"But she will not be blended with me much longer. Soon now, I will move into Daniel. Come; let us go down to Daniel. There is much to tell you, my friend."

Malek nodded. He was sure there was. Remembering the non-disclosure documents and the crash course he had in American culture, plus the clothing, he realized that he would be expected to spend time here for some reason. That meant that Lantash was not coming back to the tunnels. Something very unusual had happened to Martouf and Lantash. For some reason, he was sure it had something to do with Martouf.

Gathering his wits about himself, he followed Lantash down the hall. He had a very sexy walk. Malek grinned. He must be sure to point that out. Knowing how totally uninterested and distasteful Lantash found the idea of male/male sexual interaction, he would no doubt cringe.

His smiled died to be replaced by a frown as he wondered how Lantash was surviving Sam and Daniel's relationship. Knowing what he did of Lantash and Samantha's relationship he now realized why Daniel and she were going to join. It was so Lantash and Samantha could be together as mates. He was extremely glad, now, that he had said nothing to Daniel.

The humor he had seen for a moment in the situation dimmed even more at the thought of how very distressed his friend must be feeling and how very difficult it must be for him. To be hosted by the woman he both loved and wanted in the way of a man would indeed be a slice of Netu. Lantash truly found the idea of male/male sexual interaction distasteful. He did not care what others did, but for him, it was out of the question. Malek sighed. The more he saw and heard, the more complicated this situation became.

Daniel placed a variety of drinks and finger foods within easy reach of any of them, and then turned to leave the room. "Daniel, are you not staying? This is as much your story as it is mine and Samantha's. The role you are playing is as large as, or larger than, either of ours. Please, stay with us."

Daniel looked from Lantash to Malek. At Malek's nod of agreement, he nodded. "All right, but I left my coffee in the other room. If you'll excuse me for a few moments, I'll get it and return."

Upon reaching the kitchen, Daniel stood with his hands pressed against the counter. Did he really even want to be in that room with all the emotion that would be spinning through it? He sighed. It didn't matter if he did or not. It was obvious that Lantash wanted him there. He probably needed him there, no doubt, to help with Sam if things became too volatile for him.

They never knew when it would happen, but this seemed a perfect scenario for it to emerge in spades. The pain would hit both of them too hard and too fast at the same time, and they would drown in each other's pain and longing for Martouf.

Straightening his shoulders, he picked up his coffee and added a good sized shot of Irish cream, before setting it back down, not quite ready to go face them. He needed the fortification for this, he really, really did. His lips quirked. Maybe brandy would have worked better.

Then again, maybe he was being overly dramatic. It could just be the recitation of facts. Sam could be asleep, Lantash could coolly relay the information to Malek, and it would be over. Just like that. He could hope for it, even if he couldn't quite see it happening that way.

Picking up his coffee again, he stepped forward to return to the other room, where he could tell by the hush that there was nothing being said. They were waiting on him. Well, here he was.

Daniel sat down and looked at the two who were sitting watching one another, as if neither were quite sure what to say. Daniel took a breath in preparation to begin the conversation when Lantash spoke, "Obviously, I did not die with Martouf. Samantha offered to become my host, and Martouf wished me to leave him, as he knew that I could not save him and that by staying, we would both die."

"It—soothed—him to know that I would survive and blend with the woman that we both loved so very much. I felt his joy at the thought that I would be with her and that he and his love for us would live on in us."

Lantash stopped speaking, and Daniel noticed that his hands were clenched in his lap and, though he was leaning back in the chair and sitting as though relaxed, he was, in fact, very tense. His face could have been carved in stone.

Daniel got up, knelt in front of him, and taking his hands in his, he rubbed his thumbs over his fists. He was very sure that Sam was not taking this well. Leaning forward as Lantash still seemed unable to speak, he asked, "Lantash, is Sam alright?"

Lantash shook his head. "No. There was an incident earlier. It was very emotional and left her feeling bruised and desolate for a time, as it always does. This is hard for her as well. Talking about—about the incident itself, is not something either of us can do easily, and she is unable to—control her pain, though she tries to keep it from me."

"Sam, why don't you take a nap while Lantash and Malek talk, at least at first? Lantash can wake you up if they start talking about something that concerns you. I'll make sure of it, I promise. It's not like you don't know all of this already. Please, don't put yourself, as well as Lantash, through this when it isn't necessary. If you want it, I'm sure that Lantash will allow you access to the memories so that you can make sure there isn't any thing there that you should know. Please, Sam, don't do this to yourself and to Lantash."

Lantash relaxed marginally, but his voice was still strained when he told him, "She agreed, Daniel. Thank you." After a few minutes, he smiled slightly, nodded, and relaxed slightly more. "There, she is sleeping."

Daniel returned to his chair, and Lantash started to speak as he sat down, "The incident this morning was by the rocking chair, Daniel. I had forgotten the conversation they had there, or I would never have allowed her to stand so long beside it as she allowed her imagination to take over and guide her thoughts."

"She saw his image sitting there and recalled a conversation in which he told her that if anything happened and he—was gone—that he had been given the most precious thing he had ever received to take with him, and that she, and her love of him, would be the light that would guide his way. That the more love and joy she allowed to brighten her life, the brighter his light and heart would be. He told her that he would feel all of her joy and know of her happiness and that those things, in turn, would warm his heart as nothing else could, for he did not want her to mourn for him, but to treasure his memory and find joy in it."

"It is almost as if he knew, Daniel. As if he was aware that he would never be together with her again. She was very distraught, and she cried for quite some time. She knows the time is coming soon that I, too, will be gone, and that thought slammed into her during her period of grieving for Martouf."

Lantash swallowed and then continued, his voice raw with pain, "She was picturing herself sitting in the chair rocking your son, then the picture changed to our son and when she looked back at the chair, Martouf was seated there, exactly as he was that day, and—it was—too much. She is still grieving so very deeply, Daniel, and when things like that happen, it cuts us both, as we both share the pain. It is so intense at such times that I wonder if she, we, will survive it."

Malek drew in a sharp breath at the raw anguish on his friend's face and in his voice. Never had he heard Lantash sound this way, not even when Rosha and Jolinar were confirmed dead. He was grateful for the calming influence Daniel seemed to have. It was plain that he was a soothing balm on their pain; he was the rock to which both of them clung as the emotional seas battered at and attempted to drown them.

"I know, Lantash. You both have to grieve, we all know that. Unfortunately, you can't do it in the normal way, because of the babies and the unusual circumstances. We'll work through it, just as we have been. She has to have these instances of grief. It's the only way she'll ever be able to let him go."

Lantash tried to smile at Daniel, but he failed, ending by simply nodding and saying, "We both do, and we both know that it is the only way. That does not mean we wish to do so. We both wish we could awaken tomorrow and it would be gone. Not our memories of Martouf; only the pain associated with them."

Sighing yet again, he forced himself to push that thought aside and refocus on the previous conversation. He turned back to Malek. "I apologize; I shall continue now. As we lie—dying—Samantha was telling us that she loved us, so as I transferred, it was not apparent to those watching that I did so. Since she kept repeating that she loved us both, they all assumed that I, in fact, did not have the strength to transfer, or was still stunned by the zat'ni'ktel. Oddly enough, something in the za'tarc programming must negate the effect on the symbiote because it did not do so to the point that it often does. It is something I need to be sure to tell Anise, as that could possibly be a side effect which could be turned into a defense against the zat'ni'ktel. I believe she will wish to study it, and I believe that it should be experimented with as well."

Lantash shook his head as he had once again wandered from the main discussion of events as they had occurred. He realized it was an attempt by his subconscious to avoid the topic under discussion. Therefore, he forced himself to return to it, saying, "But, to continue; I left Martouf and he—died. As I stated, no one realized I had entered Samantha, except for Teal'c and Daniel, and they said nothing. It was assumed that I died with Martouf. Samantha was going into shock, so I sent her into a healing sleep. I also placed myself into a healing sleep, but one from which I was easily aroused."

Daniel and Teal'c agreed between them to mention the exchange to no one, but Dr. Fraiser and General Hammond, until after things calmed down. Of course, in reality there were other people who had to be informed."

"Colonel O'Neill overheard them telling Dr. Fraiser. Jacob had to be told. The President and Per'sus had to be told. Anise had to know because she would not find me upon beginning to look into Martouf over the za'tarc programming. Those few, and now you, are the only people who know about us."

"Samantha and I had the shock of the blending as well as the loss of Martouf to live through. Furthermore, as I was blending, I found one more thing for us to become accustomed too." Lantash's voice became softer and laced with poignancy, "Martouf and I spent the previous weekend with Samantha, as you know. We spoke of it together, if you remember."

"Yes, Lantash," Malek said softly, his voice more gentle than Daniel would ever have believed it could be, "I remember."

Lantash nodded, continuing, "It was—wonderful and precious to us—in more ways than one. You see, Malek, I discovered that Samantha was pregnant. She is carrying our child, mine and Martouf's. As you can imagine, this made an extremely emotional situation, even more heart wrenching for both of us, but especially so for my Samantha."

"It also moved us into a situation that forced us to make several decisions. When Samantha awoke, I explained to her what had happened, and that I would soon have to become dormant. It was not a pleasant time for her or me. She had not yet come to terms or even truly accepted that Martouf was gone from us, and I was telling her that I would soon be leaving her as well. Not only that, but that she would have a pregnancy to go through alone."

"She did not want me to leave her for a variety of reasons. Some were valid, some were not. One of them was that she was afraid that if I changed hosts, the host might not want her or our child. That, of course, was a valid reason, and I would not have abandoned her in those circumstances."

"She is my mate, Malek, please understand that. Even though I am residing inside of her body temporarily, we are mates, not host and symbiote. I have experienced little of a sexual nature with Daniel, and we have no intention of doing so before I transfer to him, as we all feel that it could lead to problems in the future."

"When the incident happened, Daniel tried to reach Martouf and me to see if I could change hosts. Samantha took me before he could reach me and offer himself. He told me this, as she slept, when she was first taken to the infirmary. Knowing this, I did only minimal blending assuming and, I must admit hoping, that it was still a possibility."

"We talked it over and agreed that, if Samantha could be brought to accept Daniel as a mate, then I would change hosts. You see, I discovered once we were blended that although Samantha loved Martouf and I deeply, and would have loved us forever, the fact remained that, if we had not met, eventually she would have allowed her love for Daniel to grow. Daniel admitted that he loved her. It was the perfect solution in a terrible situation, if we could convince Samantha that she had nothing to feel guilty about."

"I gave her advice and encouraged her to accept what Daniel was offering. She realized that it might be best, since she did not wish to be apart from me, and she does love Daniel. Furthermore, as we were making plans to take some time off together, we realized that if it became known that this child was Martouf's and mine, both it and Samantha would be hunted."

"The Goa'uld would believe it was harcesis, and the N.I.D. would simply want it and Samantha for experiments. As it was at most five days old, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for everyone was to assume that I died with Martouf. Daniel and Samantha would become mates, and the child would be assumed to be Daniel's."

"I arranged for another of Samantha's eggs to ripen and be released. There are now two embryo's, one Martouf's, one Daniel's, but Martouf's is masked and appears to be Daniel's. As far in the future as we can arrange it, it will come to light, that I did not die. That, in fact, Anise discovered that I was alive, though barely."

"She will have contacted Per'sus and told him that not only was I alive, but that the only place I could have been turned into a za'tarc was while I was on the base. Once back on the base and giving it thought, she would have realized that was the reason she did not check us at the time. Otherwise, we would have been checked. Since this is not a good circumstance to make known, they could not allow my survival to become common knowledge."

"He instructed her to remove me, and that she should take me to an un-disclosed location, with strict instructions to tell no one. The two of them and one or two key people who would be in touch with both myself, until I was well and blended, and the Tau'ri, were all that were to know. Eventually, they will find out who was responsible."

"Is this just the story you are going to put around, or is it true, Lantash?" Malek asked grimly.

"It is true. I did not realize it myself until a day or two ago, but when I did it awakened me from a fairly deep dormant state. As you know, very little will do that. Only the most important of information will call so insistently to our consciousness as to pull us to a waking state. I have no doubt that when I announce it during our meeting that Anise, too, will recognize that it is the truth."

"We will not be putting any story around now, of course, the story will come after I return to the Tok'Ra, if I do return. I have not yet told Samantha, although she mentioned the meeting to discuss our plans a short time ago. She was in enough emotional pain this morning without my adding that to her already overburdened emotions."

"As for the other, no, Malek, I am quite sure. Unless it was done months in advance, which would have been long before the summit meeting plans were in place, it could have been done nowhere but on the base. If you will remember, I had not left the base, except to go to the Tau'ri, in several months due to the loss of one of our admin people."

"Why they insisted on my doing that work, when I am totally unsuited for it, I will never" he brought himself up short, then continued, "well, never mind that. The point is that I could not have become a za'tarc for the summit meeting anywhere else, unless it was at the SGC or at Samantha's. Neither of those places are likely or logical."

"I will be passing the information along to Per'sus, Anise, and Jacob tomorrow. I do not know why I did not realize it before now. The meeting the next day is for us to all put our heads together and come up with a plausible reason to keep me sequestered in an undisclosed spot. We may have found it in the truth."

"If we can keep my presence in Daniel unknown for the next year or so, it will be much better, for I am sure that Daniel and Sam will want our little girls to be born before I am found to be blended with Daniel. That way there will be no question as to whether or not the children are harcesis. If we have to, I will take a temporary host or go into a tank until after the pregnancy is over, so that there are no questions about it being harcesis. After I have taken care of everything, of course."

Malek nodded. "So, that is the reason this is a long term mission, and why I could be coming back here. If I wish to see you or to pass on information to you, I will have to have a reason to do so, as well as the ability to meld in with the people around me enough that I do not cause comment."

"Yes. I am afraid so. However, first you must decide if you want to do it. I wanted you to know I was alive, regardless, and would have told you so from the first, but I had no way to contact you and get you here. It was not the type of information I could send to you."

Malek looked up, startled. "No, of course you could not simply send that type of information to me. I am glad you managed a way to get me here, Lantash. Very glad. Your demise was a blow from which—I had not yet—recovered. I still miss Martouf, but at least the pain is halved now.

"You have forgotten my surprise on greeting you, Malek. I did not know you were coming here today, but you are no doubt the reason that Daniel told me this morning that, if I would try not to be so grumpy, he would bring a present that would make me very happy. I thought he was merely jerking my chain."

Malek's confusion was obvious and his eyebrows rose, but he did not give in and ask what chain Lantash was talking about. Instead he stated firmly, "Of course, I will do what I can to help. I wish I could do more." He looked up at two pair of blue eyes looking at him intensely.

Daniel smiled, "Well, Malek, I'm glad to hear you say that, because actually there is something you can do for us."

"All right, what can I do for you other than come to visit you and keep you up to date on what is occurring on the bases?"

"Daniel and I need to blend soon, Malek. The longer I stay blended with Samantha the harder it will be for her when we part. She is already dreading it. She knows that her mind will be silent. She is already thinking that there will be no one there to hold her when she cries for him. It is breaking our hearts being together, but it is also breaking them to think of giving up this tie. As you can see there is a great deal of ambivalence in our thoughts."

"And Daniel has to deal with both of us. It is not fair to him at all. The day a symbiote and host join should be a new beginning, a day of discovery as well as sorrow. His will be a day filled with the pain of loss with very little else, I am afraid, and I wish it could be otherwise. I will try to make it so; I am just not sure we can. I wish there was something I could do to lessen it for him. I will probably allow both of us to rest for a very long time after we blend."

Malek looked back and forth between the two. "When and where are you blending? How soon?"

"Very soon, Malek. And, we aren't sure where. We thought we'd come to your base because we would be close to the healers. However, after thinking about it, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Perhaps, we should see what Per'sus and Jacob think about it?"

Malek frowned and then nodded. "Yes, I believe I would agree with that, Daniel. I think we should reconsider doing it on a base. Anise, Jacob, and I are all proficient with the healing device. We may want to do it here instead of on a base. On the base there would be the chance of being detected no matter how careful we would be. Moreover, it would mean adding the healers to the group that knows what is happening. I believe that the fewer who know, the better. We should all give it some thought."

"I believe you are right, Malek. I am beginning to doubt that we should do it on the base either, for those exact same reasons. I think I would prefer not to take that chance. We can't allow this information to come out too soon and it be discovered that Sam or I have hosted Lantash. The risks to both her and the children are simply too great."

Since they were all in general agreement, they relaxed into much more comfortable positions.

Malek looked over at Lantash, and said, "So, now you can tell me why you have been doing whatever you are doing with baby clothing and what plastic is. Also, why Samantha has hidden hers from you."

Lantash stared solemnly at Malek for a long moment. "Malek, did you not understand what I have told you? I am going to be a father. I am going to have children. Perhaps several. It is not—normal—for us."

Malek stared back at him, and it was as if he had just now realized the significance and importance of what Lantash had said. He stared at his face, then at his abdomen, and then at his face once more. He didn't speak for what seemed to be a long time. "You are serious. One of the children that Samantha is carrying is yours and Martouf's. You will actually be a father."

"Yes. That is why I was sorting baby clothing. I am sharing Samantha's body, and we were sorting things. As for plastic, it is a method of purchasing items that they use here on Earth. Instead of carrying gold around you take your gold and exchange it for paper money. Then you set up an account. After that, you get a credit card, which is made from plastic. It has a long number on it, which is only yours. You can call on the phone, which is that piece of equipment over there, and use your plastic to purchase things that way, or you can go online and purchase things that way, or you can go to a store and purchase things that way. I will show you."

"Lantash, you will not teach him with my plastic until this bill is paid off, and then we will see. Good grief, you do realize that the cards do have maximum amounts that you can spend before you have to pay on them, don't you? I realize my maximum and Sam's are fairly high, but, sheesh, you've spent a lot, too."

"Of course. I must have Jacob bring me more of my gold, for I wish to purchase a great many things for our children."

"I'll call General Hammond later and have him contact Jacob so he can bring some for you."

Lantash smiled at him. "Thank you, Daniel. I would appreciate it if you would do so."

Malek frowned, and pulled out his, what was it called again? Ah, yes, it was his billfold. Pulling out the card the General had given him he looked at Daniel. "Is this plastic, Daniel?"

"Yes, that is the one for on base. The other one we'll pick up if you take the assignment. Lantash can teach you with your own. The government is picking up the tab."

Malek frowned even more. "Are you saying that your government is paying for everything that I purchased this morning, and that they will continue to do so? No, that is not acceptable. I will purchase my own clothing and supplies, just as I do now. Jacob shall teach me how to exchange my assets for your paper money.

Daniel grinned. "Yes, Lantash said the same thing when they wanted to give him one. He won his argument, but you already have one."

"Then I shall purchase another one or however one goes about obtaining one."

Daniel cocked his head and looked from one to the other thoughtfully. Slowly, as if he was working out his idea as he talked, he said, "You know, that would probably be a very good idea. Since you don't want to use the US government's money, then you should have your own credit cards. In fact, we will probably get you a couple. You have a driver's license and you have a Social Security number."

"That way you will also learn how to handle a checking account and pay bills. You'll need a bank account, Malek. That will further the identity that's already been started here on earth. I imagine that the government can come up with more birth certificates and identification. Lantash really didn't need his own as he can use mine, but we decided to get him an identity anyway. If you are going to be on earth for any amount of time it would be a good idea."

"What is a driver's license, Daniel? What did General Hammond mean when he said I would not be allowed to drive until I was trained and passed an examination?"

"The license is to operate an automobile. You have to be able to prove that you know the rules you have to obey by passing a written examination, and then you have to drive with an instructor to see if you can actually drive and follow the rules."

Malek looked at him, slightly stunned. "You wish me to learn to navigate through the throngs of people in these, cars Daniel? But I know nothing about them."

"Er, yeah, that's where the instructions come in. Probably Sam or I will teach you, depending on how much time and energy you have to put towards learning. It is convenient if you have one, because then you no longer have to wait for someone to take you somewhere. You can just take your car and go. But, again, that is for much later. First we have to get our other things settled and on track. And if you can manage an Alkesh, you can surely manage a jeep."

Daniel turned from Malek to Lantash, asking, "Is Sam still asleep, Lantash?"

"Yes, I do not want to awaken her yet. I wish to be sure our discussion is finished. We must discuss the transfer, and I wish to talk about that some before she wakes."

He turned back to Malek. "Do you believe you could be her support, Malek? Could you do ta shel'lek qua'ur cor's trel'lis , I share your heart's tears? I know that it is asking a great deal of you, but I am afraid she will experience the entire ordeal again; our weekend together, shooting him, taking me, and his death in her arms. Then she will go through the separation from me. I am very much afraid that she will be shattered."

"I will also feel the separation and between that and the trauma of a second blending within such a short time, Daniel and I may stay in a deep sleep for a very long time. If I know ahead of time that she is being cared for by you, then I will take my time and be sure that Daniel and I have blended deeply and well. It could take twenty-four hours or more considering the stress and other factors we will be blending under. The longer we stay in contact within our unconscious state the less trauma we will feel upon awakening, as you are aware."

"Yes, I will do that for you. I will care for her; you have no need to worry. I know what you fear, and I will see to it that she gets whatever comfort she needs in as comfortable and stress free an environment as I can." He paused for a moment before asking, "You want me to give her whatever she needs, Lantash? Kea'cor, kea'ani'mek: one heart, one soul. Ta shel'lek qua'ur cor's trel'lis: I share your heart's tears. You are sure that you truly wish for me to take my place by her side as her 'Cor's trel'li mae'tek? Her heart's tearmate?"

Daniel answered, "Yes, whatever she needs. Sam's mental and physical health is our first priority. If losing Lantash is going to cause her to lose herself, then he needs to stay where he is regardless the problems. If there is a way to make it safe for Sam's mental and physical health, then we will agree to whatever it takes."

Lantash nodded. "Yes, Malek, I agree. Whatever it takes to keep her with us. As you know it has not been long since it happened. She is still fragile in many ways. She is a strong woman, but even the strongest tree can break if the winds are fierce enough. She has been hit with some very hard blows. This will be one more. She will need you. Friend to friend, we ask this of you."

"Then she will have me, my friends, I promise you."

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. It was obvious that Lantash was very much relieved. His body, still somewhat tense, at last completely relaxed. This was the last hurdle except for one, and he was not worried about it.

"Thank you, Malek. I appreciate it. I also appreciate your patience in coming here with me, even though you really wanted to hit me, and go back through the gate. I did understand, but I couldn't tell you. I also know you were getting suspicious toward the end, but there was nothing I could do short of telling you where you were going and why. I just didn't want to do that. I felt it would be better if Lantash was able to tell you himself."

"I understand, Daniel, and I am glad I did not do those things. Indeed, I am quite glad that I came. I can think of few other things that would give me the true joy that this has given me."

"I'm glad. Lantash told me once that you were the one person he really wished he could tell that he was not gone, so that was when we started working on a plan to bring you here." He paused for a moment and looked over at Lantash. "You know, you probably should wake Sam now. I think the hard parts are over, right?"

"Yes and I will, thank you, Daniel"

Malek turned back to Lantash. "What are your plans, if I may ask, Lantash? How will you spend your time?"

Lantash sighed. "We are not sure how this will turn out. Samantha is determined to continue to travel through the gate until she is fairly far along in her pregnancy and as long as the missions are not dangerous ones there is no reason she may not do so."

"Daniel and I will be able to, and will do so as soon as we return. I will remain quiet at all times unless we are with those who know about us, or I will speak using only Daniel's voice. Ah, and speaking of which, I believe I have forgotten someone. There is one more person who knows. A Major Paul Davis. He is a member of the group that surrounds SG1 closely. That, of course, would also contain Dr. Fraiser. It appears that Major Davis is interested in Dr. Fraiser."

Malek frowned again. "I wish there was someway I could spend time here with you. It would make me feel better, if I knew that you and the children were safer. Now that it has finally sunk into my mind what you are telling me, I realize what a very special gift this is for you and Samantha, Lantash, and I wish to do all I can to see to it that it arrives with no problems."

"It is a special gift for the three of us. Daniel, as well as Samantha and I. Daniel has been a much needed shelter for us."

"Furthermore, while there is no reason for you to stay here with us, Malek, I must confess that I hope you will come up with a way to stay with us as often as possible. That is the reason you have been given clearance, I would imagine."

Lantash sighed sadly, before repeating, "I, too, wish there was someway you could spend more time with us, Malek. If you were not a base commander, you could come on an exchange program or something. As it is, you cannot just up and leave your post. But, do not worry about us, we will be fine, it is just that right now, it is difficult. As time passes, it will get better."

"They will be counting on you to come here with news for us. At least, I assume so." He looked at Daniel. "That is the reason you have asked for Malek to come here, Daniel, is it not?"

Daniel nodded, and replied, "We really haven't worked out much, however, we do have a little bit. Much later, it will come out that Malek knew where you were and that he was the link between you and us, meaning Sam and I. Because of the part Sam played, she was informed at once that Lantash survived. It will also come out that I, knowing how much Sam really did love them, whether from Jolinar or not, made the decision to blend with Lantash when he had recovered sufficiently and after we had all of our children. Our blending is the reason we will have them so very close together. I felt that Lantash and Sam deserved to be together. Before, they couldn't be because Sam loved me. Now, at least Lantash could be with her and after we talked it over, Sam and I agreed."

Malek nodded. "The council will not agree to that, however. Lantash you are a top operative. They would not let you lie idle for months while Samantha has children."

Lantash shrugged. "I was ill for many months due to the za'tarc programming. When I finally regained my strength and the proposition was put to me, I agreed at once. Per'sus agreed due to the circumstances. The woman Martouf and I loved had to kill us for his sake and that of the President, as well as the Tau'ri-Tok'Ra alliance. He felt that anything he could do to lessen the pain for Major Carter, he would do. He did not—ask—the council."

"And Malek, the council cannot force us to blend. If we refuse then they have only two choices. To allow us to die or return us to our tank. Since they would not know where I was being kept, or even that I am alive, they would have no say in what was done with me, either."

Malek smiled. "I see. You are correct, of course. The council does not even know you exist right now, so how can they object? Nor, as you say, can the council truly force any of us to do that which we do not wish to do."

"Once Lantash transfers to me, we may come and spend time in the tunnels with you. Sam and I both want these children to grow up knowing both cultures, Malek, both the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra, and that means that Sam and I need to begin to learn about your culture. I'm not sure how we will explain the fact that I suddenly set off everyone's naquadah sensing abilities, though. That is the one major problem with us coming and staying with you there before the formal, announced "blending" of Lantash and I take place."

Lantash looked at Malek and it was easy to see that they had each thought of something important. Lantash spoke first. "Perhaps we can use the serum we use to mask the presence of a symbiote. As long as it is just us together, he would not need to use it. So at night, or when we had plans where Samantha and you were the only ones around us, Malek, we could manage that. That way we can perhaps visit the tunnels some, especially after the babies are born."

Lantash nodded decisively. "Yes, the serum would work and there are no side effects to using it, even if it is used constantly for days on end. That is one way we could solve that problem, Daniel."

"We can do that." Malek said slowly, "Or, there is possibly another way, and he would not have to take the somewhat uncomfortable injections. We could say that Daniel was taken by a Goa'uld, but it died as we attempted to extract it from him, leaving naquadah and the marker in his blood."

"If we extracted it, before it released all of its poison, we could say that I was able to counter act the little poison it managed to release using the healing device until the Tau'ri were able to filter the toxin out of his blood stream. The Tok'Ra will not know if the Tau'ri have technology that is capable of doing that, but they will believe that it is possible. Most have little or no idea what the Tau'ri can and cannot do."

"Furthermore, it could happen now, at once, since everyone on the base knows I was called on an extremely secretive mission for the Tau'ri. I might have to stay gone longer than the three days so that we would appear to have been captives for a while. That scenario would allow him to have Naquadah in his blood without having to mask it. I think it might possibly work as an explanation. Anise is possibly the only one who would know that it was not feasible or possible, and with her being part of this mission, I am quite sure she will agree to tell that falsehood. I think it could work."

Lantash smiled wryly, saying, "Yes, in a perfect world that would work, but the Tau'ri do not have a way to do that." Lantash pointed out. He frowned realizing that he did not know for sure if they could or could not do that. "As far as I am aware anyway."

"We may not, but I wonder if Janet and Malek could come up with something better than that…how about an antidote? I mean for real. Have your people ever tried to make one, Malek? Lantash?"

Malek shook his head, "No, but I will discuss it with Samantha and your Dr. Fraiser." Malek nodded decisively. He was now firmly bound to help this mission succeed. "We will think on it. In fact, working on perfecting the antidote could be one reason I am coming here. Perhaps the one we used on you was not pure enough and caused you to be violently ill, perhaps even near death." He frowned some more, "Or perhaps not, perhaps just extremely unpleasant side effects. It will be something that the Tau'ri have been experimenting with, and I will have been able to help perfect it enough to use it on you. From there, Dr. Fraiser and I will be continuing to work on it."

It was obvious that Malek's mind was working at light speed for a while, then he said, "I believe that I will be able to come here much more often this way. The Tok'Ra do not need in-depth explanations. I believe I will enjoy seeing some of the First World as Daniel assured me we could do, if I accepted the mission. I believe I have, so now we can make plans for my visits. I also now realize why he said he hoped we never had to use our weapons. The only reason we would need to do so would be if the Goa'uld or the N.I.D found out about the children, therefore, I add my hopes to his that we never need to use them while this mission is in progress."

Daniel was staring at the far wall. He had heard what they were saying in only a peripheral way. Suddenly he turned to Lantash and asked, "Lantash, the children…will they have naquadah in their blood as their mother does? And did they inherit it from Sam or Martouf or both?"

Lantash frowned, before saying, "Yes, Daniel, I believe it is possible that they will. I had not thought of that, but you are correct. Having been a host and that host leaving behind the markers, they will very likely have some. I can see no reason they would not. Particularly the child of Martouf's and mine as it will have received things through the changes that have occurred in Martouf and therefore in his sperm. The changes that were made in Samantha's physical make up; all of this could allow the children to have naquadah in their blood."

"So they will have to learn at home or in the tunnels. It can't be allowed to surface in the Tau'ri school system. I hope Sam isn't too upset when she finds out that they will have it in their systems."

Lantash shook his head. "I do not believe she will be, Daniel. She will probably already be aware of the chance of it happening."

"You're right. If anyone would have thought of it before now, it would be Sam. She seems to be one or two steps ahead of us in most of the consequence kind of things when it comes to the babies."

Sensing that they had finished their discussion, Malek spoke up asking, "So is there any other reason that I am coming here besides working on the antidote with Dr. Fraiser?"

Daniel smiled wryly. "I'm not sure. This time it was a mission we believed would be here on earth, but as you said, it didn't exactly go according to plan if I was implanted with a Goa'uld. But then, it being so top secret, no one, but us, will ever know what the original mission was; they will only know that it went wrong at some point and took longer than expected to complete."

"Daniel, Samantha has awakened, and she suggests that perhaps the other reason could be something regarding some tablets sent to you from a tomb in Egypt. Some writing that has never been found before. She suggests that you ask him one time when he is here helping Janet and as it turns out Malek will be somewhat familiar with it and agree to help you to decipher it. So while he does come to help Dr. Fraiser, he also comes, whenever he can, to help you. Or probably better, whenever they send you something new."

"Does anyone have a problem with that scenario? No? Good, then we can think about food instead. I'm hungry."

"You are always hungry, Daniel. You must cut back on some of the starches that you eat. We will have to control your craving for them once I am within you."

Daniel stared at him. He was very much afraid that Sam was not joking when she said that Lantash was a mother hen type. He could not imagine living for the next two to three hundred years with someone clucking in his head. He could almost hear Sam laughing as she read his face. He really was doomed.

TBC