Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize do not belong to the authors. Some of the ideas were inspired by Xanthia Morgan's wonderful fic, Brother of My Soul.

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A/N: This story is coauthored by Rina and Shade—we hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much to everyone who posts reviews. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

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Chapter 28

Ardeth was sitting on a large outcropping of rocks, staring at the ruins. He had one knee drawn up to his chest, and his arms wrapped around it. In the moonlight, except for his beard, he looked very young.

Suleimon stepped up behind Ardeth and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "It is a beautiful night, isn't it, my son? Very peaceful. Just what you need I think after all that you've gone through."

Ardeth twisted a little to look up at Suleimon. A mask automatically dropped over his face as soon as the king touched his son's shoulder. "What do you mean, Father?"

Suleimon moved to sit beside Ardeth. "You may be from the future and carry different burdens than your younger self is currently undergoing, but I am still your father. I can tell when something is troubling your heart."

Ardeth instinctively leaned against Suleimon as soon as the king was settled. He gave a choked laugh that was almost a sob. "I think I am taller than you now."

Suleimon chuckled at this as he placed his arm around his son's shoulder. "I had a feeling this might be the case someday."

"Rick is taller than both of us, though. He took great delight in bringing it up all the time after it was clear that I was not going to grow anymore, until I started not holding back at all in scimitar practice."

At this Suleimon burst out laughing. He could picture this in his mind's eye. Their height had seemed to become quite a source of good-natured competition between the boys. Though Rick had the upper hand there, Ardeth had the advantage of a great deal more training than Rick. "I can imagine so. Terrence and I did the same thing. I am still taller than him, but he has a natural grace with the scimitar that took me years to master."

Ardeth laughed, picturing that scene easily. "He stopped teasing me about it many, many years ago—his wife got tired of him coming back to her too bruised and tired to do more than say hello and fall asleep."

The king laughed. "As did your mother when Terrence was bent on proving that I did not have the upper hand." Suleimon paused as he looked at his son, his expression turning grave. "What is it that burdens your heart?" he asked gently.

Ardeth's eyes slid closed, and he tilted his head forward, allowing his hair to slide forward and shield his face. "You were murdered by the red guards. There was nothing I could do to stop them—you were protecting Rick and me, since we had both been injured. Our reinforcements arrived seconds after that monster Lock-nah killed you."

Suleimon's grasp around Ardeth's shoulders tightened, his eyes closing slightly. He sent as much comfort as he was able to through his bond with his son. He remained quiet giving his son a while to recover from reliving this memory. At length he spoke again, a sad smile touching his face. "If I were allowed to choose my death, I could not think of a better way than to die defending the ones I love. As would you. I am glad that my death had meaning, but I am sorry that I did not get to watch you go on to lead our people. I am very proud of you, the man you have become, and your mother would be too."

"Thank you, Father." Ardeth whispered, desperately struggling to reign in his emotions and keep from crying.

Suleimon embraced his son fully. "I love you, my son," he whispered. Even though this man was now taller than him, he ran his fingers through Ardeth's hair as he used to do when he was a boy.

That broke through the last of Ardeth's barriers, and his shoulders started shaking as he cried out all of the grief that had been bottled inside him for so long—first the death of his father, then of his family.

His father held him there as he wept, tears also running down his face. He pushed strength and comfort through their bond, not saying a word for a long while.

After several minutes, Ardeth's weeping slowed as he regained control over himself. He was faintly embarrassed at the loss of control over his emotions, but also tremendously relieved to have let go of the burden of grief.

Suleimon held onto his son for a moment longer, almost hesitant to let his son go. Once he leaned back he clapped Ardeth on the back. "So, how old are you now?" he asked wondering approximately what time in the future he came from.

The other king straightened, discreetly wiping his face. "Well, actually, I'm older than you are, Father. I am 103 this year."

The king chuckled, his head shaking. "My own son is older than I am. Terrence would definitely get a laugh out of that one." He paused for a moment. "Do you have a family?" He had remembered Rick saying that his wife and son had died, but did not remember him mentioning if Ardeth had any other children or if he had gotten married again since their deaths.

"I have one daughter, Azizah. She is being courted by a young man from one of the tribes. It was a miracle that she survived. My heir is actually Alex, Rick's son."

Suleimon laughed, easily seeing Ardeth challenging the man to a duel if he thought he had caused her even the slightest pain. "And tell me," the king asked in a mischievous tone, "does Azizah get into as much trouble as her father?"

Ardeth laughed. "No, she does not. She claims that I use up all of the trouble before it can reach her. It helps that everyone in the tribes is very protective of her. Alex considers himself her brother, and while he teases her, he also takes care of her."

"He sounds a lot like his father in that way," Suleimon mused.

"Yes, Alex is very much like his father." Ardeth sighed, exhausted.

Suleimon inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly, greatly pleased to hear news of how his sons would fare after he was gone. A part of him was a little sad that he would never get to meet his sons' families and that Ardeth would suffer so much for their cause. But he took great comfort in the fact that he had not taken the same path that Kasim had follow with his grief. It also gave him great joy to have this time with his son, now a man and a king to their people. He smiled a full smile that Ardeth had rarely seen, something he seldom showed since the death of his wife.

"Oh, before I forget, Father. Make certain that Rick gets plenty of training for his powers. He doesn't use them often, but when he does, it's always for very large things."

Suleimon stared at his son in confusion and disbelief for a moment. "He has the powers of a magic user? How is this possible?"

The other king shrugged. "I do not know. All I know is that he invoked the strongest protection one to dispose of the creature's pet when we were trapped in the ruins, and then to bring me back from the dead."

Suleimon had been listening intently up until he heard Ardeth say the words "bring me back from the dead." His face drained of color. "You... died?" Suleimon asked slowly.

Ardeth winced. "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that."

Ardeth's father rose and began to pace slightly, torn between amazement and frustration. "I knew you would not wish to speak so soon of what had passed between you, the creature and the NID, but -" he stammered. He looked at his son. "You mean that you died and Rick used Med-jai powers to bring you back?"

"Sit down, Father." Ardeth told him, voice soft. "I will tell you a few of the details, but do not expect the boys to give you any information for a long time. It was a very difficult experience. We were both tortured, severely, but the NID. They learned of the way to Hamunaptra by giving me a truth serum, and using a device that can read your mind. On the way there, we managed to make the desert rise against them and send us to the protected area near to Hamunaptra. There, we tried to escape. I was shot in the back with a staff weapon, and I died. Rick and I had recently discovered that we are soul-twins, and established a powerful bond. Using that and some instinctive, powerful magic, Rick brought me back."

Suleimon was silent for a long moment, his eyes never leaving his son's. After a long while he found his voice and shook his head. "Your soul-twin?" he repeated quietly. Then he smiled slightly. "We had always wondered why the bond between you two was so strong. And I had always assumed that if Rick had the abilities of a magic user that it would have manifested itself sooner. That he survived the rite at all is unheard of."

"I know. I let him know that in later years, several times, to keep him from attempting it again. He is very stubborn."

"He is indeed," the king smiled nodding in full agreement. "As is another young man I know. I'm sure that if your positions were reversed you would have done the same." Then Suleimon winced. "Why am I saying this? You don't need anymore ideas like that!"

Ardeth laughed. "I suppose I shouldn't tell you about the events from a few years ago during the wars, then."

"You may tell me if you wish. You might have to talk me down and then give me sometime to recover from the blow but you can tell me," Suleimon laughed.

"Well, first, Hamunaptra will be destroyed and the Creature dealt with not long after I become king." Ardeth tried not to smirk as Suleimon had to sit down heavily at that news.

After a while of processing the information, his face broke into a wide grin. "Son, this is marvelous news! You will be able to live in a world where you no longer have to dread the Creature's release!" He was breathless with excitement that the Med-jai's three thousand year watch had been at long last been rewarded.

Laughing, the other king watched his father's enthusiasm with a smile. "There are some problems during the Year of the Scorpion—Nefertiri and Anck-su-namun were both reincarnated. Both the Creature and the Scorpion King were defeated, and the armies of Anubis sent back to the underworld. After that, World War II began. That was a dangerous time for all."

"The Creature tried to secure the armies of Anubis?" Suleimon asked, brow furrowed. "Thank goodness you were able to stop him." At Ardeth's mention of WWII, his father scoffed. "As if the first world war didn't cause enough problems for the Med-jai. The temple guards were able to use the chaos to their advantage, allowing them to better hide their numbers and movements."

"Believe me, Father, the first World War was not nearly as dangerous for us as the second was. The O'Connells became spies for us, and the information they gathered saved countless lives."

"Excellent, my son," Suleimon beamed. The man felt very content to know that at least when he died, their people would be in safe hands with his sons to guide and protect them, and because of that, he felt no need to fear for the world in general, since these two lay watch over the ancient evils.

Ardeth sorted through his memories, and told his father of the happy times. He purposely skimmed over the many times he or Rick had been in danger, or nearly died. It was quite late before Ardeth's voice gave out.

Suleimon clapped his son on the back. "It is late my son. I have kept you awake for long enough. It is time for you to get some rest. The sun will be rising soon."

Hiding a yawn, Ardeth nodded. "Good sleep, Father." He made his way back into the tent, and to the bedroll next to Rick.

Startled by the motion in the tent Rick rolled over his gun in hand cocked and ready. When he saw Ardeth, he willed his muscles to relax and replaced the weapon back in the holster beside his bed roll. "Sorry buddy. I guess old habits die hard." They were entirely safe but it seemed as if his senses automatically went on alert when within the vicinity of a sacred site, whether it was no longer a danger or not.

Ardeth settled down next to him, moving slowly. 'It is fine, my brother.'

Rick settled back down onto the mat. "It's good to see Dad again, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

'It is very good. Did you get to talk with him at all?' Ardeth asked through the bond, taking out his canteen and drinking some water to soothe his sore throat.

'Yeah,' Rick said as he lay on his back examined the way the moon light was streaming through the patterns of the material that made up the roof of the tent. 'I got to tell him a little bit about Evie and Alex and his family.'

'Good. I told him some about Azizah, and some of what will happen.'

Rick nodded, sleep beginning to reclaim him. 'Did you tell him about Hamunaptra?' he asked around a yawn.

'Yes, I did. He was very excited.' Ardeth rolled over onto his side, scanning the room to make certain there weren't any problems. 'Sleep well, my brother.'

'Sleep well, buddy.' Rick was gone in a heart beat.

Ardeth lay still for several minutes, listening to the sounds of the tent before he fell asleep.

Morning came quickly after that. Rick was the first to stir feeling the warmth of the sun light streaming through the tent. It was a welcome way to wake up after all the foreign environments they had been in. 'Sure beats waking up to klaxons or buzzers or death threats,' he thought rolling over to see if Ardeth was awake yet or not.

The younger boy was partially awake, lying still on his bedroll, staring up at the roof of the tent. He turned his head at the sound of movement. 'Good morning, Rick.'

'Morning, Ardeth,' Rick said with a smile. 'It's nice to be back in the desert again, a friendly desert anyways, isn't it? How'd you sleep?'

'It's wonderful to be back. I slept quite well—no nightmares at all. How did you sleep?'

'I slept pretty good, but I think I may not get out of bed today,' Rick replied, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. 'It's nice to be in a warm environment for a change.'

'I know! I never want to leave the desert again—well, at least not for a few years.' Ardeth said, tugging his blanket a little closer around himself. 'Do you see Father anywhere? I'm surprised he isn't watching us.'

Rick sat up and pulled aside the curtain that divided their room from the main part of the tent, peering out. He smiled to see the king laying between the room where the young Rick and Ardeth had slept and the older pair of themselves. 'I imagine he's not that far off,' Rick answered the prince, chuckling inwardly at the way Suleimon's arm was stretched out protectively over both of his sons.

'He couldn't decide who to watch over, could he? This is so confusing!'

'You can say that again.' Rick smiled as he sat up. Now he was wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. He slid on his clothes quickly, ready to stretch his legs.

Ardeth sat up, stretching carefully. 'Is anyone around the fire? We could burn our old clothes now.'

Rick pulled the curtain aside again for a second. He shook his head. 'No, it seems all clear. Everyone is still asleep. 'Course no telling if that will change once there's movement; you wake up at the drop of a hat, and somehow I doubt that has changed over the years.'

The younger boy shrugged. 'He won't tell on us-he is me, after all.'

Rick inclined his head. 'You have a point,' he conceded as he dug up his old clothes as quietly as he could.

Ardeth dug his up as well, and both boys crept to the fire. It was still going. The adult Ardeth did wake up at their movements, but just rolled his eyes and went back to sleep.

Rick threw his younger brother a grin as he dumped his clothes carefully into the fire. He didn't want any evidence left behind.

Making certain not to smother the fire, Ardeth added his own clothing. Both boys watched with satisfaction as the evidence of what had happened vanished into flame and smoke.

A voice seemed to come out of the thin air behind them for they'd heard nobody enter the tent. "Well, the sun has not yet risen and you two are already up to your usual antics," Gen said quietly so as not to wake anyone else. While he had assumed they were trying to prank someone, he noticed how Rick's eyes flitted nervously to the fire. He stopped and approached them. "What exactly are you two doing?"

Ardeth shifted a little so that he was between Gen and the fire. "Nothing, Gen—we're doing nothing."

Gen recognized Ardeth's tone and had not missed the prince's subtle movement. Since he was usually included in their mischievous activities he knew something more serious was going on.

Seeing Gen's expression and knowing the man wouldn't drop it, Ardeth sighed. "We are burning a reminder of some of the unpleasant things that occurred when we were in the future."

Gen nodded understandingly to the two boys and went back to his original chore of getting food out to provide breakfast. "Well, hopefully this will help," he said as he pulled out Ardeth's and Rick's favorite foods. Suleimon had ordered it the night before.

Both boys grinned brightly. "Thank you, Gen." Ardeth glanced at the fire, and saw that the clothing was almost completely gone. There wasn't enough left for anyone to figure out what it had been.

"You will, I'm afraid have to make room at the fire for me though," Gen said as he finished pulling his utensils out. Soon, the aroma of freshly cooked food filled the tent providing a pleasant wake-up call for the adults.

The adult Ardeth came stumbling over and claimed a plate of Gen's food. "I have missed this greatly."

The older Rick agreed with him. "This never gets old," he said sitting down with a plate in his lap. The younger Rick waited long enough to thank Gen before cramming his mouth with food.

SG-1 and Jacob joined them a few minutes later. Daniel gravitated towards the coffee, but when Jonas tried to get some, everyone tried to keep him from it. They all remembered how hyper the Kelownan got on caffeine.

The young O'Connell looked at the Kelownan in confusion. "What's the matter? Are you allergic?"

The man was pouting at Jack. The colonel raised an eyebrow. "No, he's not allergic. It just makes him a very nasty person to be around."

The young Rick chuckled at the look on Jonas' face. He almost wanted to sneak some to the poor guy.

"The caffeine helped me to be more energetic, and to accomplish more," Jonas argued weakly, giving Jack his best 'puppy-dog look', as the colonel called it.

"Yeah, like driving the rest of us insane!" Jack retorted shaking his head. "No! Here! Have some very invigorating tea!" he said as he handed Jonas a full mug and waving his hand dismissively at it.

The man sighed, and sat back to drink his tea, trying to hide a satisfied smirk. He actually preferred tea, but the best way to get it was to make the colonel feel guilty about denying him coffee.

Rick saw the look on the man's face and wondered what other kind of devious plans he used to mess with the heads of SG-1. He looked over at Jacob wanting to ask him a question but not so sure that he wanted to do it in front of so many people. But as he considered that they were going home sometime today he realized he wouldn't get another chance for a hundred years. He didn't want to wait long. "So what are you all going to do with the goa'uld?" he asked the first Med-jai, his voice solemn.

Jacob turned to look at him. "We are working to accomplish the defeat of the goa'uld. The Tok'ra, the Tauri, and the Free Jaffa have allied to take down Anubis and the System Lords."

"No, I mean the goa'uld that you took from me."

Jacob and Selmak looked Rick over carefully. "He will be questioned for any information he might have, then destroyed. He is too much of a threat to leave alive after learning of the Med-jai."

After a moment Rick nodded. He was relieved to hear this, not wanting anyone to suffer the same fate that he had or worse. He then went back to eating his breakfast.

Suleimon was sitting between the two pairs of his sons, trying to be as close to all of them as he could manage. The younger Ardeth smiled and spoke to Rick through the bond. 'Imagine what Father would be like if he had any more children!'

Rick chuckled to think of the king tending to them all, almost not knowing which child to go to first.

"When must you leave?" Suleimon asked Jack, as he ate his own meal.

"Do you have any other business that needs settling here?" Jack asked the adult Ardeth and Rick.

The two exchanged a glance. "I cannot think of anything." Ardeth said, pushing his hair back. "Other than kidnapping Gen so he can cook for us, I think our responsibilities in this time are accomplished."

The young Rick wrapped a possessive hand around Gen's arm, looking much like a two year old clutching a favored toy. "You can't have him!" He then looked at his twin noting the irony of that statement.

The younger Ardeth was snickering, watching Gen's face. He was both stunned and amused that he was being argued over.

"Well, we probably ought to leave today," Jack replied, hiding his amused grin. "Do get me wrong we'd love to stay, but now that the boys are safe, we have to get back to the SGC. You all are saving the world in your time and we have to get back to saving the world in ours. It just keeps getting into trouble, doesn't it T?" Jack commented.

"Indeed it does, O'Neill," Teal'c commented gravely, and both boys looked disappointed.

"At least come to morning training with us!" Ardeth asked Teal'c, wanting to see the Jaffa go against his father.

Teal'c looked at O'Neill who nodded the answer to his unspoken question. They could stay a few more hours. It's not like they were wasting time dallying when they had a time machine.

"I would be most honored," Teal'c said bowing his head to the prince.

Rick was excited, glad that Suleimon would get a chance to see the jaffa warrior in action before they left.

The older Ardeth laughed. "Excellent, I've been waiting to see this again for years!"

"Perhaps, you could join us," Teal'c offered. "Having seen your skills at fourteen I am eager to see how masterful you are in our time."

The king shrugged a little. "I would enjoy that. It will certainly be somewhat easier to match strength with you now, than it was then."

Teal'c inclined his head at Ardeth's acceptance. Jacob smiled. He was looking forward to this as well. Teal'c was one of the best fighters he had ever encountered as were all the members of SG-1. Selmak saw in Ardeth and his people as close to family as he had ever known, the same way that Jacob felt about Sam. He had great confidence that the match would be quite a sight to be seen.

The adult Ardeth glanced around the tent. "Gen, would you please have some of the men prepare the training area for a match?"

Gen nodded and headed out the door. It wasn't long before the master of spies came back to report that the training ground was ready for them.

Ardeth stood. "I'm going to go stretch out. Is anyone joining me?"

Teal'c rose and so did Rick. "Oh, this I definitely cannot miss!" O'Connell commented a huge smile on his face. The rest of the group also followed eager to see the match.