Chapter Twenty-eight Summary: Lantash and Martouf talk as they blend. Per'sus and Garshaw arrive at the SGC along with an unexpected third person. Janet and Martouf end their Cor'cyfials relationship.

Rating this Chapter: PG - 13

Mer Cor – My Heart

Mer Prinekh - A special term of endearment between host and symbiote that is very meaningful to them.

Cor'cyfials – Heartfriends…are very close friends who love one another, but are not in love with one another, and who share a sexual relationship that is based upon their friendship.

Mer Ann'wyld - My Beloved.

"Italics" – Symbiote- Host Communication

Author's Note: I hope you will all enjoy this and the upcoming chapters, as Char and Sam make themselves and their, ah…condition…known, and then begin to look for the traitor attempting to kill Lantash. This is the "pre-announcement" chapter, where some of the story threads conclude, and new ones begin. I hope, too, that some of you will enjoy them enough to leave some comments. As you know, reviews tend to make an author more enthused about the story they are writing. Knowing without a doubt that there are people really enjoying it encourages the muse…quite a bit. I would also like to thank all of you that have reviewed or written to me. It is very much appreciated, and I want you all to know that. And now, on to the reunion…and a couple of turns in the path that I hope will surprise you and that you will like. Pagan


A Path Not Taken

Chapter Twenty-eight

At Last, Together Again


"Ah, I see that you have already seen them then."

"No, Mer Prinekh, Samantha told me. From the way in which she said what she did, I must assume that she thought you had told me about them. All of them. I believe that she was quite shocked that you did not confide in me about your affair with Dr. Fraiser. She was even more shocked, when she realized you failed to tell me about our Samantha, Malek, and Devlin. I am sure that is probably what you wish to talk about, is it not?"

Martouf sighed. He had known he should have told him, but every time he tried to, the words would not come. He had never been able to find the words to explain about Samantha and her Cor'cyfials, and, too, he had been afraid to bring it up and upset Lantash. Well, he could be upset now instead, and, at least, they would be together, and it would be easier to explain, than when he could not respond to him, while he was in a tank. He had been afraid that Lantash would worry needlessly, since he would not be able to ask him any questions.

Listening in on his Lifemate's thoughts, Lantash realized that Martouf truly had spent countless hours fighting with himself over telling or not telling him. He needed to set his mind at rest, so that he would stop castigating himself, for as much as Lantash wished that Martouf had told him, he was honest enough to know that it would not have been his best course. He had taken the best course, and Lantash would not allow him to fret over it. "You made the correct choice, Martouf, and I truly am not upset over it. You each found comfort with a friend. That you did not tell me is, being honest with you, a good thing. It might have worked against me had I known, so it is just as well that you did not."

"I hope you are sure, because there is slightly more to it than just…Malek and Devlin." The silence that greeted this statement was not encouraging; however, Martouf knew that he had to tell him everything.

"And what else is there, and why would it concern me? Are you telling me that our Samantha has fallen in love with someone else, Martouf?" Martouf was puzzled by the calmness of his question.

Even though Lantash appeared calm, he answered him at once, so that he would not become upset. Well, any more than he might anyway. "No, Lantash I am not telling you that Samantha has fallen in love with someone else. It is just that—Malek and Dev were not Samantha's only Cor'cyfials."

He could see Lantash frown, as he took in that information, but his brow cleared quickly, and he sounded almost impatient, as he answered him, "So, who is her other Cor'cyfials? I would guess that it is Daniel Jackson. He would treat her well, guard her well, and never hurt her, for they are very close friends and love each other. This is easy to see when one is around them for any length of time."

Martouf knew that had he been 'awake' to the outside world, his mouth would probably have fallen open in shock. Mentally closing it, he asked him, "You—you are not upset? Not—not at all?"

Lantash sighed. He should have expected that Martouf would not understand his reaction. And, to be honest, had he not marked Samantha, as his mate, earlier, it might have upset him…certainly, it would have had Martouf told him of this earlier, when Samantha was not there, so that he could tell for himself that they were truly no more than Cor'cyfials. "No, I am not upset, now. However, had you told me earlier, it might well have left me feeling—uneasy—until I could see her for myself and know how she truly felt about her Cor'cyfials. I might also be concerned had I not, ah, marked her earlier as mine—ours, now."

Martouf was sure that his mouth would have dropped open once more. "You—you have marked her as—as ours? In the way of a symbiote? You—you have envenomed her? Lantash! That is—is very binding. Does she know how binding it is? No, forget that I asked that. She has Charesh, so of course, she would know exactly how binding it is." He relaxed for a moment, then another thought crossed his mind, and he asked him, "Should we not be with her, Lantash? Should we not neutralize it soon? Will it not begin to affect her and make her slightly disoriented and—and dizzy? Will the others not become concerned, if she were to collapse? And what if she hurts herself when she falls? Charesh will be almost as affected as Samantha will, and she will not be able to overcome the effects. She will not be able to help them. Lantash, perhaps we should…"

His voice calm, Lantash attempted to assure his Lifemate that Samantha and Charesh would be fine, "Martouf. Martouf…"

"…awaken and go to them at once. We should not allow it to affect them to the point where…"

Realizing that Martouf was caught in his own visions of disasters, he tried again to placate and reassure him, "Martouf. Martouf, I assure you that they will be…"

"…they become so unsteady that they have an accident and are hurt, perhaps very badly. And the others will not know what is wrong. Janet will find the bite mark, but won't know what it is, or what to do, which of course, she couldn't do anything for her anyway, so it will alarm…"

Sighing as he listened to the growing list of possible scenarios, Lantash did the mental equivalent of smacking him in the back of the head. Awake, his head probably would have fallen forward, but as they were not awake to the outside world, nothing physically obvious happened. Mentally, however, Martouf responded, "Ow! Why did you do that, Lantash? We have an important situation on our hands, and you are leaving us lying here and hitting me, for no apparent reason. Well?"

Sighing and shaking his head at Martouf, his voice laden with mild exasperation, but a tremendous amount of love, he told him, "Now that I 'finally' have your attention, Martouf, I can set your mind at rest about this 'situation.' No, don't frown at me. You would not listen or allow me to explain why your concerns were not valid. Did you honestly believe that I would envenom Samantha and Charesh with no way to neutralize it? Really, Martouf, I am surprised at you. How could you possibly believe that I would…"

It was Martouf's turn to sigh, fret, and become perturbed. Luckily, since Lantash was now teasing him, he did not stay in those states for long. Nudging him, he pointed out, "Lantash. Lantash, you were about to tell me why I should not be concerned about Samantha and Charesh. Please continue with the explanation and leave out the hyperbole to which you are purposely subjecting me. Please, Mer Prinekh, for I do wish to know that they are all right," As he concluded his statement his voice became soft with affection.

Lantash caressed him lightly, as he assured him that everything was taken care of, and that there was no need to worry, "Malek is seeing to it for now. He will neutralize it enough that it will not bother her. We will complete the neutralization, once we have finished our blending. I promise you that they are all right," Lantash assured him.

Martouf nodded and Lantash could feel the relief flow through him. Therefore, he left him to his own thoughts, as he carried out the remainder of their blending.

Martouf had not expected Samantha simply to agree to become their mate. He had known what his feelings were, and he knew of Lantash's love of her, no matter that he had tried to hide it, and insisted that he did not know if he loved her or not. Well, he could not fault him for that, for he had tried to hide his feelings, from Lantash, too. He smiled to himself. They had both known the other's feelings regardless whether they admitted to them or not. However, he had believed that Samantha would need to spend time with them. That she did not know how she felt about them. He smiled again. Evidently, he had thought wrong, and she, too was hiding her real feelings. It was a relief to find it to be so.

"I suppose that like us, she would not admit her feelings, until we could be together. Now that we are once again blended, she feels that they can admit their feelings for us. I am relieved," Martouf murmured softly.

"Yes, as am I, Martouf. To be honest, I was surprised that she agreed to the binding. I will admit that I have never felt such relief, as when she did, though," The relief he felt could be heard laced throughout Lantash's answer.

"I am sure you did. I know that I would have had I known what was occurring," Thinking about the binding that Samantha had accepted from Lantash, Martouf answered him absently, paying no attention to the memories that Lantash was looking through as he continued with their blending.

Thus, he was very startled to hear Lantash demand fiercely, "Martouf, kree! You were captured by Apollo? Why were you anywhere near him? What were you doing? Samantha and Charesh had to rescue you? How could you be so irresponsible, as to go to his stronghold, in the first place…and then be captured by his Jaffa?"

Pulling himself free of the somewhat detailed visions of Samantha and Charesh, he was entertaining himself with, he sighed before suggesting, "If you will start, at the beginning, Lantash, it will make much more sense to you. Furthermore, you will also understand that, unless I wished to take a chance on Samantha, Charesh, and Daniel Jackson being blown into tiny pieces, I had little choice. Had a true choice been open to me, then, of course, I would not have gone with them. Well, I would have gone to the world with them; I would not have entered the mines and stronghold." Martouf was using a Tau'ri gesture, which indicated that he was not telling the complete truth, but he did not believe that Lantash would notice. He would have no idea what crossed fingers meant. He hoped that he would not anyway.

Suddenly, he heard his Lifemate choke. "They blew up his wine. His 'wine', Martouf! I suppose it did not really matter, since it would have gone anyway."

Lantash felt the lightening of Martouf's spirit, as he chuckled softly, before relating the incident he found amusing to him, "Yes, Samantha wondered how many bottles of it he managed to save, before the Naquadah shipment blew up."

He heard Lantash snort with laughter. Then, he could tell that he turned his attention back to Martouf's condition. "You were badly hurt, Martouf. Mer Prinekh, I know that you would not allow Samantha to go without you, however, you could have been slightly more careful." He sighed in resignation and then sniggered. "O'Neill was…quite, ah, cheerful when you found them, I see. What were they thinking? Did the council not warn them of the recall device? Ah, I see by Charesh's reaction that they did not. No wonder she and Samantha were furious. I have a feeling that Charesh is from a clutch that Egeria coded differently than her earlier ones, as Charesh suggested. Her temper appears to be somewhat…volatile." He frowned. "She must have decided that perhaps some of her children should have more aggression and less willingness to put up with annoying people and circumstances."

Martouf frowned. "Yes, I believe that there are many times that Samantha keeps her from losing her temper. She reminds me of someone else I know who has a rather volatile temper. So it is not only her later clutches that have this trait."

"Does she, Martouf? Hm…I cannot think of anyone that fits that description. Do I know him, or, er, her?"

Martouf sent him a smile, saying, "I believe that you are intimately acquainted with him. As am I."

Lantash returned his smile, before telling him, "Yes, I believe that you could say that we do know one another very well." A moment later, he told him, "We are now fully blended, Martouf. We can awaken whenever you wish. Are you ready now, or do you wish to converse some more?"

"Would you mind if we stayed here together, for just a few more minutes? I would like to just enjoy the feel of you in my mind." Martouf sighed in contentment.

"Yes, Mer Ann'wyld. We can do that. I missed you, as well, Martouf. Never doubt that. It feels very good to be cradled by your warmth again." Lantash caressed him repeatedly, humming to him, and Martouf smiled upon hearing his voice softly lulling him, as he had done so many, many times before. At last, the 'alarm clock radio' could become nothing more than a piece of technology from which to listen to music.

"I do not remember seeing any memories about a…what did you call it?...'alarm clock radio'. What is that?" Martouf's pure satisfaction at the thought had aroused Lantash's suspicions. When there was a long pause, instead of an immediate answer, he was sure that there was, in all likelihood, a memory that Martouf would much rather keep to himself. That caused him to be even more curious and intent to follow it to its source.

Finally deciding what he could tell him without mentioning the evening or its, ah, entertainments, he gathered as many of those memories as he could quickly recall and swiftly shoved them into his private area, before turning back to a now very suspicious Lantash. He sighed. "I could not awaken in the mornings, when I came here. You were gone, and there was no sound from the corridor outside my room, as there always was in the tunnels. I was constantly oversleeping, and I came very close to missing a few meetings. I took my problem to Samantha, and she gifted me with the 'alarm clock radio'."

Lantash frowned. A gift from Samantha, and Martouf wished to be rid of it? There was more to this story. He was very much aware that Martouf had taken parts of it out of his open memories. "And there was something about Samantha's gift that displeased you?"

"Ah, not exactly, but in one way, yes, I believe that could be said."

"Martouf, I am seeing a rather aesthetically pleasing looking black box with blue numbers. What was unpleasing about that?"

"There is nothing about its appearance that was displeasing." All he was doing was increasing Lantash's curiosity. He sighed again, gave a wry frown, and decided he would have to at least explain what it was. "As I said there was nothing displeasing about its appearance. However, you must understand its function. It is used to cause a person to awaken, and get out of bed in the morning…or any other time one needs to awaken, for instance if there is a very early meeting or you wish to take a short nap. Actually, it has three functions. The awakening mechanism is only part of its function, which is why it is called an 'alarm, clock, radio. It is a timekeeper, which as you now know, is called a 'clock' here, thus the clock portion of the name. It is also a radio. A radio is a piece of technology that intercepts sound waves of certain frequencies, and then converts those sound waves into speech and music. It has the ability to intercept many frequencies, and a myriad of different types of Tau'ri music can be intercepted and enjoyed. That part of its function is the most pleasing. I particularly enjoy Soft Rock, Country, Classical, especially Mozart, and Oldies. At any rate, that is the 'radio' portion of its name."

He paused once more before intoning, "It is the alarm function about which I am not…happy. It is that function, which will remove you from your nice warm bed and force you to start your day. The device allows you to set the 'alarm' at a certain time of day, say seven of the morning, as an example. When seven o'clock arrives, it triggers the alarm to sound, and proceed to attempt to awaken you. There are two methods, both of which I tried. The first is pleasant, but, for me, anyway, not useful for its purpose, as I simply awoke long enough to acknowledge that the music was pleasant, and then returned to slumber, regardless of the volume at which I set it. Its volume is adjustable. I realized I must turn to the 'alarm' part of the function. I set it on my bedside, er, sleeping platform, table and set the alarm for the hour at which I wished to awaken. It has a 'snooze' function. With it, when the alarm sounds to awaken you, you can simply press a button, and it will wait approximately seven minutes and repeat its awakening sound. Needless to say, that, too, did not work because eventually, becoming annoyed, I would simply turn the alarm off."

He could hear Lantash snickering in his mind and he smiled ruefully, but continued his explanation. He had meant for it to amuse Lantash and it was. "I was almost late for a few meetings still, so I knew that something must be done. Therefore, I moved the 'alarm clock radio' across our room and set it on our dresser, which is a—clothes container, which is irrelevant to this discussion, except as a place to set the device. Once it was on the dresser, it worked for me very well, as once I was out of bed to shut it off, I remained awake and began to function. So now you know what an 'alarm clock radio' is and does."

"And why are you so very pleased at no longer having to use it, Martouf? The only difference is that you will be forced from your bedding bump imitation by me."

"Yes, but you hum to me, Lantash. It is very pleasant, much more like awakening to music. I love it when you hum or purr and you know this. Furthermore, you nudge me softly to encourage me to awaken and remain awake…and you also release a few substances into my bloodstream to help me become more alert. I am not ignorant of that fact, so do not think that I am. No matter how slowly you do so, it is still obvious that they are there, and that I am becoming very much more aware and much less sleepy."

"I see. Well, it is not as if it is a secret that I attempted to keep from you. It does not hurt to release a little adrenalin to help you to awaken. It is not as if I flood your system with it. The small amounts I use simply force the sleep inducing substances to lessen their effect. All of which is beside the point. Martouf, what does the awakening portion of the 'alarm clock radio' use to make you awaken and remove yourself from the warmth of the covers?"

"The most annoying sound I have ever heard in my entire life, Lantash. There was one time I came close to smashing it. When I complained to Samantha and asked her why it used this sound, she simply laughed and pointed out that its function was to awaken you; therefore, it had to be a sound, especially if you were a hard to awaken person, which would make you want to awaken just to shut it off. She was correct, of course, and it certainly did that part of its function."

Still looking through the memories that Martouf had missed, he simply murmured, "Mm-hm" and continued his search. Finally, he found a memory of the first time the alarm had sounded to awaken him. He could not suppress a laugh at the horrified and wide-awake look on Martouf's face, as he stared at the black object in appalled disbelief. Evidently, he had not known what sound was to awaken him. This memory was so intense that he was able to hear the sound the device was making. He winced in understanding and some sympathy. He, too, would have come immediately awake to that piercing and annoying sound, possibly even from a dormant state. And then, he found the memory of Martouf swearing and offering his first born children, had he had any, to whatever god was listening, if they would only allow him to reach and destroy it."

He looked at it for some time, trying to figure it out, but could not, so he continued on until he found another memory. This one was of Martouf leaning on, and grasping, the 'dresser' in a desperate attempt not to fall back onto the floor, even as he reached out, as if to smash it, only to have second thoughts and simply turn it off. The next memory he had was of Teal'c offering him a beverage in a cup, Martouf blanching, and then rushing into the…facilities from the look of them…and being vilely unwell. His eyes widened as he stared at it, and then turned to Martouf, who was not looking too happy that he had missed those memories, in his quick snatch of that evening and the following morning.

It did not surprise him, when Lantash once again started to snicker, then chuckle, and finally to laugh. Had he been awake, Martouf was sure that his face would have been quite red.

Finally managing to stop laughing, Lantash sputtered, "You—you were badly, um…ah, I see that their word for it is hung-over. You had a very bad 'hangover'. What in the world were you thinking? Furthermore, what were you doing that you became so inebriated that you were so vilely unwell?"

Martouf refused to answer. For now. He would explain the strip club and stripper later.

"Strip club? Stripper? What is a…? Ah, never mind, I believe that I can figure it out, and I agree. We will retrieve this memory later. I have a feeling that it is quite, er, interesting and possibly amusing."

Martouf grimaced. "I have no doubts at all that you will find my sufferings amusing in the extreme. I, however, found it to be very…unpleasant and uncomfortable."

"I am sure that you did, Martouf. I apologize for laughing at your discomfort."

"No, it is all right, Lantash. I have a feeling that a great many of my memories will give you joy. Laughter is good for you…for both of us."

As Lantash agreed, and then abandoned his memory search and began once more to hum and caress him gently, Martouf decided that it was worth the entire incident, if it made Lantash laugh like that. He really did not mind at all. He sank back into his embrace and simply reveled in the feel of him, in his mind and his body.

A short time later, Martouf sighed in contentment once more, and then told his Lifemate, "I am ready if you are, Mer Cor."

"I am ready, as well, Martouf. I will bring us up to consciousness."

"I believe that Anise stayed with us," Martouf's voice showed his surprise.

"Yes, she has become a good friend to us, Mer Cor. It is an unexpected, but not unwelcome, result of our enforced proximity. She is unexpectedly talented at relating amusing stories and events. In fact, she has a very well-developed sense of humor, once you find it." He paused for moment, adding, "Ah, we have reached a conscious level. Awaken, Martouf."

Martouf opened his eyes and saw Anise sitting beside the bed. He smiled at her. "I wish to thank you for the care and friendship which you have shown to Lantash, Anise. It is wonderful to have him returned to me."

She smiled at him, saying, "You are welcome, Martouf. It was the least I could do after allowing it to happen. I am very glad that you were finally able to come together again."

They both looked toward the door as they heard the klaxons begin. Glancing over at the newly re-blended pair, she guessed, "That is probably Per'sus and Garshaw. Do you feel well enough to sit through a briefing?"

"Yes, let us go." Martouf swung his legs off the bed and smiled across the room at Janet. "We are fine, I assure you, Janet."

She nodded. "I trust Lantash to know if you need anything, Martouf. You should go and join the briefing. I'm sure they would prefer you to be there. I'm sure it will be" she paused and smiled, before continuing, "I am absolutely convinced that it will be quite…interesting. I'm sure that everyone will have something to say on what happened. Now, go on."

He sent her another sweet smile, but it suddenly faded. Turing to Anise, he asked her, "Could I have a few moments with Janet, Anise? I will not be long, I assure you."

"I will wait in the hallway if that is acceptable."

"That's fine, Anise. He won't be long at all."

Anise nodded to them and walked toward the doorway. Behind her, Martouf looked at his Cor'cyfials, unsure of exactly how to say what he felt that he must say, but before he could make his decision, Janet told him, "I think we both know that, as lovely as our relationship was, it's time to end it. You and Lantash are together again, and we agreed that when that occurred, we would move our relationship back to a platonic friendship. I truly have no problem with that, Martouf. I told you before we began our affaire that I knew your heart belonged to Sam, even if you didn't. That was our agreement, and the criterion for terminating the intimate side of our friendship has arrived. So, stop feeling bad. You'll always be one of my most loved friends, and I will always be here, if you need me." Once more, she stopped him, before he could speak by telling him, "You'll be late if you don't go now. So git! Go on, Martouf. They have to be waiting on you, since Lantash and Anise are the only witnesses they have. They need you there."

Martouf nodded, before leaning down and kissing her, softly, before telling her, "We will see you later, Janet."

"Oh, yes, I'm sure we'll see each other later today. Now scoot. Goodbye."

Martouf laughed and shook his head. "Very well. Goodbye for now." Then turning on his heel, he swiftly left the infirmary, and joined Anise in the hallway. They headed for the briefing room.

Behind him, Janet couldn't help the satisfied little smile on her lips, as she headed back into the center of the med bay. She wished that she could be there to see all of their faces when they found out that there was more to be grateful for than they could possibly know. Then, her smiled widened, and she turned on her heal, heading for her office. Swiftly searching through the files on her desk, she found the one she wanted. Surely, as the Chief Medical Officer, she should be there, since she didn't have time to check them over after the blending was complete. Besides, someone could be overcome by shock and pass-out or something. She grabbed her bag just in case. The general could always tell her to leave.


"It's a Tok'Ra IDC, General."

Nodding, the General told him, "Open the iris," before he headed down to greet Per'sus and probably Garshaw. They were expecting them. Malek and Major Carter joined them, followed by Daniel Jackson, Teal'c, and O'Neill. Selmak and Jacob stood beside him as well. Anise was making sure that nothing went wrong with Lantash and Martouf, but all of them were expecting them to awaken before too long. The General felt sure that all of them would join them in the briefing room.

They watched the event horizon as first Garshaw stepped out, followed by Per'sus, and—Delek? Delek was here? What was Per'sus thinking? Of all the people to bring, Selmak could think of only a few that would be worse. And unfortunately three of them were Council Members and the other was Sub-Council. He looked to Garshaw, who shrugged slightly, and then on to Per'sus, who grasped his arm, and where Delek could not see him, signaled Selmak that it was all right. He certainly hoped it would be so.

"Garshaw, Per'sus, and…Delek, isn't it? Welcome to Earth. If you will follow me, we will go to our briefing room, which is protected from eavesdropping of any kind."

Garshaw bowed her head to him, asking, "Lantash is recovering? Anise? How is she?"

The General turned back to them, and spoke swiftly, "I apologize. That should have been relayed to you at once. They are both fine and Lantash and Martouf are blending, even as we speak. Selmak and Malek both took some time with Anise, used the healing device, and I believe they said that she and Freya are back to normal. Lantash and Martouf refused to put off their blending any longer, and Anise agreed that it would probably help both of them. She feels that it is to the point where the negative influences of their being parted has become more of a concern than Lantash's health, and this way both of them could stop worrying constantly about the other. And, too, she can still administer medication to him."

Garshaw shook her head, saying, "That is quite all right, General Hammond. I am quite aware, being a base commander myself, that you have more than enough to do to keep you occupied, without having to suddenly accept two of your allies as semi-permanent additions and also keep track of their condition as well." She smiled slightly at him, as she spoke. The other two Tok'Ra being behind her, she was unaware of their startled expressions as they looked from her to General Hammond. Garshaw was rarely this accommodating and friendly. And she had smiled at him. Selmak and Per'sus looked at one another and Selmak shrugged slightly. He had no more idea what was going on that Per'sus did.

The General returned her smile, telling her, "Thank you, it is kind of you to attempt to turn the blame on to something else; however, I should have told you, as soon as you arrived. It isn't as if I didn't have the information; I simply forgot that you still needed to find out how they were." He paused for a moment and then smiled wider, as he told her, "Of course, Selmak could have told you, as could Malek, so I won't take the entire blame."

Garshaw laughed lightly, responding, "You are indeed very correct, General Hammond. They most certainly could have told us, at once, that our people were well."

In perfect accord, they continued down the hallway. The General was surprised to see Dr. Fraiser coming from the direction of the med bay. He hoped nothing was wrong. As their two hallways met and turned into the main one he glanced at her bag and then at her. "Problems, Dr. Fraiser?"

Janet shook her head. "No, Sir. But Martouf and Lantash left before I could examine them. I thought it might be prudent if I was nearby."

The General looked non-plused, but he saw no reason why she should not attend. She had taken charge of both Lantash and Anise when they arrived and had not yet released them from her care…at least, not officially. If the Tok'Ra wished her to leave, they could say so. There was something in her face and her voice, too, which told him there was more going on than what she said aloud. He knew that she and Martouf had become friends. From the rumors, very close friends, but then, so had the Major and Malek. He hoped that Jacob wasn't too disappointed when he found out.

He nodded to her, saying mildly, "Very well, Doctor. I have no problem with you sitting in on the meeting. You are as involved as the rest of us are. Did you say that they are already in the briefing room?"

"That is where they indicated that they were going. I imagine they stopped on their way here, but even so they will be here, soon."

"Good. We should be able to start fairly soon, then."

Behind them Delek's lips thinned as he heard their conversation. No matter how hard he tried, he was having a difficult time accepting them. Unfortunately, they seemed to have become a permanent fixture. Knowing that, he was attempting to get to know them without hearing all of the negative things that had been fed to him by his so-called 'friends'. He was having a difficult time doing so, but he was trying. After all, if they were going to become close allies, and it looked like they would, then he needed to find out why. There was something here that the others had missed, that Per'sus, Garshaw, and Selmak did not. He still thought they were wrong to ally with them. Too many Tok'Ra were dying because of the Tau'ri's methods. Still, Per'sus was rarely wrong and neither were Garshaw and Selmak, when it came to these things.

He sighed. He almost wished that he had not agreed to become an inside operative for Per'sus. He wanted away from that group, not closer to them. Of course, they believed that he was becoming friendlier with Per'sus, and the others, to find out where their weaknesses lie. It was now the opposite. He was attempting to find their weaknesses, so that the Council could use it against them. He hoped he had not made the wrong decision. Anise and Lantash's near deaths today had sealed his decision, though. Murder was not on his agenda. And the idea of another Tok'Ra attempting to murder not one, but two of their own…no, he refused to condone that regardless what their reason. That was the point at which he had realized that he must change and made a commitment to himself…and to Per'sus. As he had told him, he knew a time to decide would come and today was that day. He had made a firm decision to attempt to overcome his prejudices.

He frowned as he remembered some of the things that he had done to Lantash himself. It made no sense. Why would he have done that? He and Lantash had been on opposite sides of many questions through the years, but they had never been enemies…until lately, when he had started to harass him in his tank. Why had he done that? Realizing that he had been acting strangely, he had talked to his host…the one that he had started to totally ignore as well as refuse him the use of his own body. Connal told him what he believed, and if it was true, if he had been programed to do those things, then they had to catch them.

He had gone straight to Per'sus. During his talk with him, he had released to Connal who had affirmed and substantiated his story. Per'sus was furious, but not, surprisingly, at him for his initial treason; however, he had been disappointed in him, and he was aware that he would not be fully trusted for a very long time. Still, Per'sus had sighed and told him that we all make mistakes and, by bringing this information to him, he could be forgiven much. Taking a position as an inside informant would also go far in regaining their trust.

He had agreed, for they had to catch the one doing this soon, before more Tok'Ra died at the hands of what should have been one of their own. As soon as Anise was recovered and the meeting was over, they would test him, probably here on the Tau'ri world, so that the others would not know that it was taking place. That was fine with him. The machine was being sent under the auspices that it was going to another base.

Hearing Samantha Carter's voice behind him, he shut his eyes for a moment. He had to apologize to her and Charesh. He had been so angry that day, and he could not even remember why. Connal thought it was another part of his programming. They were all to cause as much dissent as possible. "You must do it, Delek. They deserve your apology, for you were very aggressive and insulting to Charesh, Samantha Carter, and the Tau'ri. Now would be an excellent time. I will give you all the support that you need."

"All right, but if she hits us, you brought it on yourself." His only answer was quiet laughter. He stopped and when she and Malek were even with them, he stepped in to walk with them. Both of them looked at him in surprise, but neither said anything…not even hello. Taking a deep breath, he looked over at her and told her, rather stiffly, "Major Carter, would you allow me a few moments of your time? I would like to talk privately to you and Charesh." Seeing the skeptical look on her face, he rushed to assure her, "I have no intention of…attacking you in any way."

After searching his face and eyes, for a time, she nodded; turned to Malek, telling him she would catch up, and nodded off to the side of the hallway. There was nothing there, but the wall; however, the hallway appeared deserted, except for their group.

Now that he had them here, and the time had come to actually say the words, they were stuck in his throat. He heard his host speaking softly; coaxing him to say what must be said, and to do it quickly, so that it would be over and finished. Drawing a steadying breath, he finally told her, "Major Carter, I owe both you and Charesh an apology for my conduct the day that you blended. I had neither the authority nor the right to speak to the two of you the way that I did. I am sorry."

As she stood staring at him without making a move or saying a word, he shifted from one foot to the other. "What have they done with the real Delek, Samantha? This is a look-alike or a clone, correct? Have they finally done away with the real one and replaced him with this nicer imitation?"

"I have no idea. But, I am going to find out." Sam's eyes narrowed, as she asked him, "Who are you, and what have you done with the real Delek?"

He sighed. "I am the 'real' Delek, Major Carter. There have been some 'incidents' that were clouding my mind, and I have now managed to overcome them." His face turned grim, as he added, "Murder is not something which I would condone within the Tok'Ra. I believe that you are aware that something is not right within them. I do not know exactly what it is, although I have my suspicions, and I am sure that you and Charesh do, as well. That is beside the point. They are going to test me to see if I am a Za'tarc, possibly after the meeting." He shrugged. "I admit that I disapprove of the Alliance with the Tau'ri, although I am trying to understand it now, but even then, my behavior recently, to Lantash, Martouf, you, and Charesh, is not the way I would react. As my host finally talked me into 'seeing' myself doing these things, I realized, just as he did that something was not right. Lantash and I do not always get along, but we have never harassed one another or actually fought over something. I think that he would agree with me on this."

A voice spoke from behind him, "What you say is true, Delek. We have never been vindictive toward one another." Lantash frowned. "You suspect that your mind has been tampered with, do you not? I would be very much surprised to find that it was not. Your confrontation with Charesh and Samantha, while highly amusing, when one stops to think about it, it is obvious that it was very out of character for you. Well, we won't know until after we discuss what has happened. I assume that you are here because you have decided to change sides…or perhaps not so much as change sides as pull yourself back to us by strength of will. Come, they will be awaiting us."

Delek nodded, relieved that Lantash had decided to be his logical self instead of allowing his rather formidable temper to reign. He turned back to Major Carter and Charesh. As he awaited their decision, Char came fore, and after looking him over carefully, she sighed. "We have decided to pardon you this time. If you were indeed being controlled by someone else, then you could not prevent what occurred. If, on the other hand, that is not what caused it, then we will still pardon you this time, but should it happen again, we will not be so tolerant and there will be no lenience in our decision. Now, come, they are awaiting us, and they cannot begin without us." Char turned and led the way to the briefing room. Her words at the moment held no real meaning to Delek. Once she announced that she was the Queen, he would realize just what she meant by pardon, tolerant and leniency. The two men and their symbiotes walking behind her, were giving her very puzzled looks.

"What was that all about, Martouf? Martouf felt understanding flow through Lantash. "I have just realized that Char meant what she said, Martouf. She and Samantha may be willing to let it pass this time, but should it happen again, there will be no easy forgiveness. She is acting this way to impress it upon him. No doubt, she and Samantha are laughing at the look on Delek's face, as she issued her edict."

After some thought, Martouf agreed, and smiled back at him. "Yes, he did seem a little taken aback by her response. Perhaps it will make him think even more deeply, if he is forgiven with neither promptness nor softness. Another side of Charesh that is different from your clutches."

Martouf paused, before hesitantly asking, "Lantash, since none of the other lost ones brought out have been like Charesh, do you believe that it could be that there are no more of that clutch, and now we have started on a new one? I hope it does not mean that we have started on the last clutch. That would be…very bad."

"Yes, it would, Martouf, however, do not jump to conclusions. It could also simply mean that there were no matches within the clutch they were using and they had to look farther for a match for her."

Martouf felt encouraged by Lantash's very likely explanation. "You are probably correct, Lantash. It does make sense. I suppose we will find out when the next lost one is given to us. If it is like Charesh, then we can assume they have entered a new clutch of symbiotes, perhaps the last. The hopes that there is a Queen among them will turn to despair when they realize that point."

"While that is true, do not forget that Anise and Malek have finally been assigned to work on the genetics of making a Queen. They should have been brought in years ago, for the few times they had them come in and help over the years was insufficient. They would barely learn where the project was before they were once more pulled to work on some other project. In this one area, I consider Selmak, Per'sus, and Garshaw to be shortsighted. I rarely disagree with them; I do in this. I believe that if they had been assigned to it full time, we would have had a Queen by now. I am glad that they have finally decided that they must make it a priority and put our best scientists on the project at last."

"I would have been unaware of that if Malek had not told Janet that they had done it. I was very glad at the time, since I was fairly sure that you would approve."

"You were correct. I do."

Char and Sam switched places, and Sam reached up and placed her hand on her shoulder. It was beginning to throb, and while it was not exactly painful, it was annoying her, and, since it was steadily increasing in intensity, she could see that it could become painful. She looked over at him as Lantash stepped up beside her. He was on the opposite side from the bite, and as he slid his arm around her shoulders, his hand slipped under her shirt and caressed it. The throbbing stopped immediately. Malek hadn't been kidding about how quickly his touch would stop it. She gave him a smile, before telling him, "You have no idea just how thrilled Char and I are that you are here and back with Martouf. We look forward to spending time with the two of you."

His smile spread, and then Lantash assured her, "You cannot be looking forward to that any more than Martouf, and I are, Samantha. We have wished for this day for a very long time. Now that it is finally here, we wish that this briefing would simply go away, and leave us the time to be together. However, since it will not, we will see if we cannot hurry it along."

"We can try, Lantash, but," she glanced at Delek, who now walked several feet in front of them, "I think that there may be some surprises in store for us…and all we can do is wait and see what happens."

"We can do that, Samantha. As long as you and Charesh are by our side, we will be content."

Sam sent him a smile that almost made Martouf's knees go weak. Lantash caught them before they could even begin to collapse, though, so nothing so ignominious occurred. Suddenly, Lantash could wait no longer. He had wanted this for so long, that he knew that he had to have his lips on hers. Now. Before they could talk, before the meeting, before everything. He brought them to a halt, and then turned her to face them. He lowered his lips toward her very slowly. If she did not wish for this, she had sufficient time to stop him. But she did not. She did not stop him, she did not hesitate, and she did not tell him no. Actually, she closed the last two inches herself. Reaching up, she pushed one hand into his hair as he was now doing to her. Her other hand found Lantash and began to caress him. As their lips met, it took her breath away. This was much more than a kiss. It was a vow and a promise.

TBC