Over the next few weeks, Xander took Tara on a few dates. Mainly to restaurants and such that a normal Earth couple would do. He also took her on a few trips to visit his friends and allies. He was quite excited to introduce Tara to Tonane and Lya.
He felt a lot of sadness at not being able to share this with Martouf, but Lantesh had been saved, and Xander was able to communicate with the unblended Tok'ra whilst he survived in a jar.
Tara found Xander to be cute and funny. She could tell that she could eventually fall for him. But knew it might not happen for a while.
She still had trouble with the idea of dating another mans wife. Xander brought this up with each of his offworld friends he took her to, so she could get another cultures opinion.
He also made sure she spent plenty of time with Gaia.
He got a desperate call from Oz whilst visiting Tonane, but Tara was happy to stay and talk with the jovial man.
Xander arrived in full armour to find Oz strapped down on a table. He was naked and wide awake.
And about to be cut open.
Xander was furious.
None of the three men and two women survived the fifteen seconds after he arrived.
"Oz you ok?" Xander asked as he sliced through the metal restraints.
"Yeah, a bit rattled but-" Oz rolled off the table and threw up. Xander banished his armour and went round and gently rubbed his friends back to ease him through it.
"S-s-sorry, guess I was more rattled than I thought." Oz rasped, his throat now sore but healing.
"Let me get you home, I'll go and get the others." Xander said.
"No!" Oz said vehemently. "No, I-I need to do this."
Xander nodded slowly. "Where's your sword and gear?"
"No idea, they surprised us, I woke up on the table."
Xander summoned his armour and Oz removed one of the spare uniforms from his backpack. Oz always wore the ODST armour through the gate. He only activated his Spartan armour as needed. Once he was ready, Xander grabbed Oz's shoulder and they teleported to Jack's location.
They didn't wait or explain. Xander just reached out for Jack and Sam's shoulder as Oz grabbed Xander's shoulder and they teleported to Daniel where Oz grabbed Daniel's shoulder. Then they were off to Teal'c.
Teal'c was in a similar situation to Oz. Strapped down to a table. At least Teal'c appeared to be unconscious.
"Who are you!" Jack demanded angrily, he was still trying get his bearings after being teleported several times.
"Xander and Oz." Xander said carefully. "We're your friends and colleagues, remember? From Earth."
"I-I've… never seen you." Jack said somewhat confused.
"Earth… that sounds familiar." Sam said.
"You do remind me of someone." Daniel said.
"Do you remember Sha're?" Oz asked.
"I… feel like I should." Daniel allowed.
"Ok, first things first. Delta, find out what you can, including what's up with Teal'c and where Oz's sword is." Xander ordered.
"Put out a call to O'Mally, he's been hopping around with Jack." Oz suggested.
"He has?" Xander asked as the three human members of SG1 gasped as Delta's ethereal form appeared and then vanished into a computer terminal.
"He wanted more action. I kept stopping him from blowing things up."
Xander looked at Jack. "Good choice." He grinned.
"I know what that was." Jack said pointing to where Delta vanished.
"Xan, show 'em the wings. Might help the memories come back faster." Oz suggested.
Sam, Jack and Daniel were suddenly blinded as Xander released his full heavenly presence into the room.
"Xander!" Sam cried as she hugged the angel.
"Oh, thank you." Jack said sincerely looking to the heavenward.
"How long have we been down here?" Daniel asked.
"Only a day or so. We were ambushed and I woke up to them about to cut me open, so I called Xander." Oz assured them.
"Teal'c!" Jack said as he noticed the inert Jaffa.
"My sensors say he's fine, just in kel'no'reem." Xander assured them. "And he's just woken up. Talk about great timing."
"Actually, I believe your light speeds our recovery." Teal'c said with a slight smile as he sat up as Xander cut the restraints.
"Ok, we're just waiting for Delta to find your gear, Oz's sword and O'Mally." Xander said. "Sam, as soon as we get back I'm switching Oz out for myself, so you'll be coming as my personal science advisor. To be honest, I should never have taken Oz from Earth. His place is with the Slayers."
"Yeah, but they had you and we needed a fourth." Jack argued.
"Still, it's a matter of my having removed Oz from his duties. From now on I'll be leaving all supernatural matters to Oz, he can call me for the big things, like when he needs the extra man power, but it's going to be his responsibilities for… now on, so I need to leave it to him."
"Gee, thanks." Oz said dryly.
"Don't worry, we all need a vacation, I'll swap out now and again so you can take time off." Xander grinned.
"Can't you just will the sword to you?" Daniel asked, interrupting the conversation and desperately wanting to get back to his now remembered wife and son.
"I don't think that's one of the powers, I have tried though. Xan, it was your sword… can't you treat it like a person or place?" Oz asked.
"Never thought to try… but I can move to ships. Be right back."
Xander vanished and reappeared with SG1's gear. "Unguarded storage room." He shrugged as he handed out the gear.
Oz eagerly took his sword and summoned his Spartan armour.
There was an audible growl from inside the suit.
Oz sank to one knee. "My Lord, I request permission to seize this planet and it's people in your name. They enslave those they consider less than themselves, so that the few may live in luxury."
Xander, who was still glowing, glowed much brighter.
"As a representative from Earth, and a victim of these people, I can confirm Lord Oz's words. They enslaved myself, Daniel and Sam and experimented on Oz and Teal'c. If nothing else, the slaves must be freed." Jack said just as formally.
This time Xander growled. "Very well. Lord Oz, your final duty offworld is to secure this planet and it's people. Be sure to manage your anger. We must make sure that if the regular citizens are not party to the slavery, they are not penalised unjustly."
"I understand." Oz said.
"I will inform George of the situation and arrange a few ships to come and aid you." Xander said as he vanished. Only this time there was a brilliant flash. A testament to Xander's anger.
Tonane and Tara were wandering through the forest. Xe'ls had joined them in his humanoid form.
They were in a deep discussion about Tonane's beliefs. It appeared that Xe'ls and his people had kept them fresh and not allowed them to become distorted.
There was a sudden flash and the three ramblers shielded their eyes.
"Xander my friend, you do not usually make such a show when you appear!" Tonane remarked.
"You are aware you are glowing Lord Xander?" Xe'ls asked carefully.
Xander took a quick look and realised he was wings out and shining enough to light up Sunnydale at night.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't realise." He said as hid his wings and glow.
"I-I-Is something wrong?" Tara asked worriedly. It was quite clear that Xander was looking stressed.
"I'm really sorry, I got an emergency call on the God Phone. I found Oz strapped to a table and about to be cut open.
"They had wiped SG1's memories and turned them into slaves. It's not my best day." He said as he plopped onto the ground wearily.
The three others looked at each other and settled around him forming a sort of circle.
"But why does this particular day trouble you so?" Tonane asked.
"I guess… I guess because of how I found Oz. He's like my brother. I haven't had anyone like that since Jesse died. I realised how close I came to losing him from my side." Xander said as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Willow said the Scoobies don't fear death, they know that something better awaits them." Tara reminded him.
Xander smiled at her sadly. "Absolutely true. But we will miss them on this plane. When Tonane and Xe-ls pass on, we can still visit them in the Underworld or even Heaven. But their counsel and presence beside us will be lost to us here."
"And you worry about losing Oz's partnership in the battles." Xe-ls said with understanding.
Xander nodded sadly, wiping his cheek.
"But that is why we have more than one friend, more than one family member. It is why we have children. So we will never be alone. When a loved one moves onto the next life, we come together to help each other fill the space that was left." Tonane said.
"Oh!" Tara suddenly put a hand to her lips in realisation.
"You ok?" Xander asked worriedly.
"I-I think so. Can you call Gaia?" She asked.
Xander smirked. "I could, but why don't you try it?"
Tara frowned at him slightly. "GAIA!"
"FYI, it's intent, not volume that calls us." Xander said as he wiggled a finger in his ear.
"Xander prefers less volume due to his overly sensitive hearing as well." Gaia said as she appeared as part of their circle. "So, you called? Future sister-wife?" She grinned cheekily.
"Willow said you and Xander couldn't have kids until he reached g-g-odhood. C-c-can he and I h-h-have kids?"
This peaked Xander's curiosity so he turned to his current wife.
Gaia began squirming.
"Ok, I'm guessing the answer is yes." Xander mused. Gaia nodded somewhat shamefaced. Xander turned back to Tara. "What made you ask?"
"Tonane mentioned one of the reasons for having children was for when our friends move on or we move on. They help fill the gap. You can't have children with Gaia yet, so I gu-gu-figured that might be something I was supposed to do."
The look on Gaia's face clearly said Tara had hit the nail squarely on the head.
"Gaia, I love you. You're a wonderful goddess… but you suck at this sort of thing. I recommend you run this sort of thing by Tara and myself in the future… especially if you have revelations about our future children." He said with a chuckle as he kissed Gaia's cheek.
"I just didn't want you to feel pressured. You're gonna have enough stress with being Xander's priestess." Gaia told Tara apologetically.
"I t-t-think I'd rather kn-kn-know." Tara said assertively… or as assertively as she could.
"Ok, well, we have a very long time in which we can discuss this." Xander said as he stood up. "I need to get back to the SGC and tell George what's going on. I was hoping Tara would come with me and actually see us in minor action?" He asked the shy blond.
"Will there be f-f-fighting?" She asked nervously.
"Nope, any fighting and Delta will beam you straight to the safest people. So either Buffy and the gang or Joyce and Sha're." He assured her.
"Ok then." She said with a smile. Then she and Xander vanished out.
Tonane turned to Gaia with a smirk on his face. "So, oh wise and un-ageing deity of the Universe, do you think your little omission will do its job?"
Gaia just gave him the evil eye… then shrugged with a smirk. "They seemed to bond over my 'mistakes'. Xander has already ordered me to take Tara to places and introduce her to our friends. We're going to have so much fun together!" She squealed.
"You like to play a risky game Gaia. But, as I said, you are the wise one." Tonane sighed smiling.
"I do not understand?" Xe-ls asked in confusion.
"Come my friend, I will tell you as we walk to the village about how women can be very manipulative." Tonane said leading his spirit friend away.
There was an indignant "Hey!" From the aforementioned goddess.
"How long do you expect the operation to take, Colonel?" George asked his 2IC over the holographic link.
He, Xander and young Tara were seated in the briefing room whilst Jack updated them on the situation with the planet that enslaved them.
"Not long. Maybe two weeks tops. We intend to move the slaves to another planet where they can build their own lives. Oz is arranging a Jaffa government for them and going to explain what it means to be under your rule." He said, implicitly requesting approval.
"That's fine Jack. Oz has my full authority and backing in this." Xander assured him.
"I figured, but always best to make sure, at least that's what Oz said. Personally I'd like to shoot that bastard administrator and be done with it." Jack groused.
"Lets try and avoid that if possible, Colonel." George winced.
"Don't worry Jack, I intend to see that he at the very least spends the rest of his life on the prison planet." Xander assured him.
"Ok, so we figure it won't take a week to put Sam's changes in. The Jaffa Sayel sent are smart fella's, they pick up how this stuff works pretty well, so that last week is just Sam bringing them up to speed."
"Jack, has Sam had a rest yet?" Xander asked.
"No!" He complained. "Can you do something about that?"
"I can, hold on one sec." Xander turned to Tara. "Would you like to come with me and see my guys in action? They'd love to see you. I was thinking we could cover for Jack and the others whilst they take the night off."
"What about sleep?" She asked. It was late afternoon in Colorado, she was personally working her way into evening.
"The Jaffa always have the high quarters of every ship ready for me. They really hope I'll come along. You can sleep there if you like. Trust me very luscious." Xander said.
"I believe the word you're looking for is 'opulent'." George offered with a smile.
"Just so you know, there are several Jaffa ears around me that have perked up at the possibility of having their Lord Xander and his High Priestess onboard." Jack chipped in.
Jack was suddenly shoved out the way and a familiar smiling face appeared. "My Lord! You have a High Priestess?"
"Ma'al! I didn't know you were the one sent to help keep Jack in line." Xander grinned.
"Hey!" Jack moaned off screen.
"My Lady, we would be most honoured to have you onboard." Ma'al said happily.
"O-o-ok." She consented warily.
"We shall have a celebration feast!" Ma'al said jubilantly. "We-"
"Whoa! Ma'al, Tara's a little shy and new to all this. We need to keep it low key." Xander said noticing Tara slowly seemingly sinking beneath the table.
"Oh, of course. I will meet you myself and inform the men of the situation. You will be treated with nothing but respect My Lady. You need have no fear." He assured her kindly.
"Th-th-thank you." She said quietly.
"We should be there within the hour."
"Of course My Lord." Ma'al cut the connection.
"Why did he call me 'My Lady'?" Tara asked.
"It's how they show respect. Xander has always been like a god to them. He made sure they knew he wasn't. But they respected him like one." George smiled. "Because of your position as his Priestess, they will want to show you great respect too. When they find out you are also to become Xander's wife… an entire sector of the galaxy will declare a public holiday." He chuckled.
"All because we're getting m-m-married?" She asked in shock.
George realised she didn't actually understand. "Xander, why don't you go and bugger off for a bit, Tara and I can discuss you for a bit."
Xander chuckled. "'Bugger off'? You've been spending too much time with Giles. Call out when you're done."
Xander vanished.
"Come on, let's sit comfortably, there's a couch in my office." George said as he stood.
Once they were settled, George began. "For the Jaffa like Ma'al, Xander freed them from slavery. Imagine suffering what you went through at the Initiative for hundreds of generations.
"Xander hasn't just freed them from that slavery, he has allowed them to use him as their leader. He could have just left them. But they might have had to deal with internal power struggles.
"But Xander ensures that every Jaffa is well treated. He holds the Jaffa's honour very high. He does not hold the sins of one Jaffa over their family.
"Whenever a Jaffa dies in combat, he visits the grieving family. They absolutely adore him. His happiness is their one desire. Because they know, without a doubt, that he will care for their happiness. They will see any addition to Xander's family as a cause for great happiness. So, no, I wasn't entirely joking about them declaring a national holiday."
"But, what about the fighting? The battles? He uses the Jaffa to fight battles." She asked, not judging, just trying to understand.
"There is not a single Jaffa in his armies that does not want to be there. When he first frees them, he gives them the option to leave the armies and return home to support their families and the Jaffa people from there.
"They know full well how powerful Xander is. The date he went to hell and returned an angel, is actually one of their holidays now. It was probably the first time Sayel refused Xander's order. Xander didn't want a fuss, but Sayel said the people would want it. Needless to say Xander got a slap round the back of the head when God turned up to support Sayel." He chuckled.
Tara sighed. "A lot of this still confuses me." She admitted.
"Truth is, it always will. Xander still get's in trouble and confused by things that happen. One of the first things Gaia ever told us is that she finds it really annoying when you ask God about something and she kisses your cheek, pats you on the head and says 'Don't worry about it.'"
"But why me?" Tara asked with a small amount of frustration.
"Xander asked the same thing when he was made a Champion. Most people will ask that question in similar circumstances. At the moment, I would say that other than your companionship, it is that need to question and the doubts about how Xander might do things, that is why you.
"The hard part will be, can you accept it if you are wrong or simply out voted. Xander always listens to people. Considers the advice. Sometimes he will simply vanish to ask someone for their wisdom.
"But the choice will always be his. Can you accept that?"
"You were chosen because you have a kind heart, a desire to be one with nature and because you could truly fall in love with Xander, and he with you. For eternity." Gaia said bluntly as she appeared in a chair opposite them.
"Just because you were chosen does not mean you have to accept. Your primary role is to act as a liaison between Xander and the people. But most of that and anything else you do will be about helping people. You were chosen for that reason, as part of your heart's desire is in essence to help people where you can."
Tara was pleasantly surprised when she met Ma'al and his crew. She knew Ma'al was probably as bad as Xander with his joker's attitude. But she had been expecting a ship full of hardened warriors who had a fanatical desire to please their god.
What she found was a ship full of husbands, fathers and brothers. All of whom treated Xander like one of them.
Tara questioned Ma'al on why the men weren't with their families.
"Family is an honour among Jaffa. Keeping and providing for our families is one of our highest priorities. Xander made it clear when he first freed us that he considered family important. Lord Oz has since explained that Xander came from an abusive family.
"Lord Xander has a standing invitation to eat and stay with any of his Jaffa. He makes sure that if we die, our families will be well cared for.
"The family men are the ones who are most eager to fight. They know the dangers out there, and they want to make sure first hand that it will never reach their families."
"Why do you keep saying Xander freed you? I thought he was your ruler?" Tara asked. She kept getting confused by this contradiction.
"Actually, Sayel is our leader. He guides and governs the people of Lord Xander. But we are entirely free to leave Lord Xander's armies, leave his territories."
Tara kept asking the hard questions. She wasn't so much looking to prove Xander was bad, but to prove to herself that he was good.
All the information pointed that way.
Fortunately Ma'al was a lot like Xander and Lantesh. They had a way of realising the truth of what people were saying and doing. Ma'al made sure to speak quietly to the Jaffa so they knew that Lady Tara meant no disrespect to Lord Xander.
It would have been very bad if he had not.
Several of the men had family that were lost on the two ships the Tollan had destroyed. They were personally indebted to Xander for the care and love he showed their families. Tara was pleasantly surprised with how the men treated her. She felt like she suddenly had a ship full of big brothers.
SG1 returned the next day. Jack had threatened to tie Sam to the bed. Sam hadn't objected so Jack had to rethink his strategy. Fortunately a sleepy Charlie had wandered along wondering what was going on. Jack was quite pleased to pop in later to see Sam and Charlie curled up in bed asleep, he soon joined them.
Tara had asked to stay with the Jaffa and SG1 for the day. She was enjoying learning about the Jaffa. Xander had no problem with it, he just reminded her to call if she wanted to come home.
Xander, meanwhile had to arrange meetings with George. They needed to seriously get the new UNSC off the ground. Xander had the full backing of the five nations. The Chinese leader was still having nightmares.
It was agreed that Xander would assemble the first team under his command. It would be comprised of SG1, Sam and himself. The other nations would supply five teams. They would all be under General Hammond's command. But George would be reporting to five superior officers approved by Xander. One from each country.
SG1 was officially on their last mission as US Air Force personnel. They would next leave as Earth Soldiers of the United Nations Space Command.
Tara returned with SG1 later that day. They had decided to sleep at home as it didn't really cost them to use the gate like it did before Xander came along.
It seemed that Jack had finally popped the question to Sam. She was determined to be Mrs. Samantha O'Neill. Jack had managed to gather the courage to propose on Ma'al's bridge on bended knee. Her acceptance was met by much cheering from the Jaffa.
Ma'al of course had slipped Tara a disk for Xander. It seemed he wanted Xander to see the act for himself. Jack was somewhat red faced but took the ribbing with good nature. Sam and Jack asked Xander if they could take them to visit Jacob and give him the news. Xander went and grabbed Charlie first and Tara tagged along too.
Various threats were made by Jacob and Selmak to Jack. These were reinforced by Xander and Charlie. The surprise they had for Xander was that they wanted him to do the ceremony.
"I don't know how to do that!" He said in shock. "I'm just the guy who likes to hit things!"
"Oh can it!" Sam said hitting him playfully. "We want to have a wedding ceremony performed by you. We are hoping God and Hade's can attend. Not to mention our offworld friends."
"Technically you are already ordained. Just not by an official religion… just by one goddess and the Almighty." Jack smirked.
Xander stuck his tongue out at Jack. "Ok. I'll do it so long as I don't have to plan it. You have to help plan the details of the ceremony. I'll just be the… Minister slash MC guy."
Xander was engulfed in a happy hug by Sam.
"This is going to be a very unique wedding." Selmak mused.
Sam turned to Selmak. "Selmak, it's dad's job to give me away… and yes you do have to agree to it! But I would really like it if you would walk me down the aisle."
Selmak was gobsmacked. Tears welling up the two hugged. It was easy to forget that Selmak primarily had female bodies.
"I would be honoured Samantha." She said happily.
Xander arranged a month off for SG1, mainly to give the other countries time to get their teams to the SGC. Each team would accompany a current SG team in order to get a feel for procedure and just how varied each planet can be.
Sam had kidnapped the ladies including Tara and God… well, pretended to kidnap God, so they could spend the week preparing for the wedding. They wanted to use as much of their free time as possible for their honeymoon.
Buffy and Oz would be looking after Charlie for two weeks whilst joining them for a family holiday on the third.
By the Wednesday all the teams had turned up. Jack and Xander were giving orientation lectures. Xander raised the most important subject for them all to understand.
"You will make mistakes." He said seriously. "You will need rescuing. Do not be afraid to request help or just plain retreat. You don't get points for dying trying to hold the line or trying to stop an invasion.
"You die and its over. They will win anyway. You retreat, and you can return with greater numbers or a better plan."
Xander turned around and produced a board covered by a blanket. Jack was a bit confused as it wasn't in their planned notes.
"Now, that said, we all need rescuing at some point. I was technically rescued when I first met SG1. SG1 however has a terrible track record for needing to be rescued."
He removed the blanket with a flourish.
"XANDER!" Jack shouted.
Xander had brought the rescue board from the mess.
"You can pretty much guarantee that you will wind up on this board. The fact that SG1 has the highest rescue rate is the reason none of the teams will be paired with us. We may encounter each other on standard runs, but… you might need to worry if you are scheduled to meet us." He grinned.
Needless to say, none of the foreign teams were looking forward to missions involving SG1.
George was a little pissed. The Chinese government had sent over five teams of non-english speaking members. Xander and George had specifically specified English speaking personnel to ease the transition. Once the five teams were fully settled they could then bring in pure Chinese speakers as the original five could train them.
Daniel realised at some point that the Chinese teams were not speaking plain Chinese, they seemed to be speaking a code. Surreptitiously activating his ever present digital recorder he captured their conversation for Xander to hear. Maybe Beta could decode it.
"Idiots are spying on the SGC." Xander said having heard the recording with George in his office.
"You understood that?" Daniel asked.
"Must count as a language." Xander shrugged. "Lock 'em up. They are planning on stealing the gate… no idea how. I'll go have a quick word with the Chinese President." He said grinning maliciously.
"Think he'll kill him?" Daniel asked the General as Xander vanished.
"Maybe, depends on how complicit he is. I know he intends to conquer China silently if they go to far." He confided.
"What about the Stargate? It'll become public knowledge!" Daniel said aghast.
George chuckled. "Xander won't be working overtly. He'll find trustworthy and decent people and then eliminate the current government as necessary."
"Sounds a little… blood thirsty, to me." Daniel said frowning.
"No, it's very blood thirsty. You have to remember that Xander has to protect the rest of the world from the stupidity of one nation. Back in the times of Joshua, God would have simply ordered him to erase every man, woman and child from the country." George pointed out.
"Why doesn't she do it now?" Daniel asked.
"Because this is a very different world. It is much more of a closer community. Like a high school. You have the cliques like America who are essentially the real jocks. Britain comes close but is more the athletics team. Russia is more along the lines of the martial arts club. Europe and the East are leaning more to the nerds and geeks. But China and the middle eastern countries are bullies. They want to rule the school, and they don't care who they hurt."
"But how does that affect God giving Xander a complete elimination order?" Daniel pressed.
"Because when a bullied young man goes on a killing spree to take out his oppressors, the rest of the school will still condemn his actions." George said sagely.
"So it's about public opinion?" Daniel asked.
"No, more about the average person not understanding the need and believing that a person always deserves another chance. Only God knows if a person has what is needed to turn their life around. Xander is her arbiter in this matter."
"But if that wasn't the case and each country was more secluded…?"
"Xander would have conquered the Chinese, Koreans and probably even us."
Xander was gone for most of the day. He returned with a dark look on his face.
"The Chinese President had nothing to do with it. Like us he has problems with rogue agencies." Xander informed George. "He asked that we send him whatever we learn from them, also he is trying to track down the real teams. The ones he sent were his most loyal."
"You trust him?" George asked.
"Yes, he wasn't lying and apparently he still has nightmares from when I took him to Netu." Xander chuckled. "He says he made sure he chose men who would follow his orders so he wouldn't have to worry about seeing me again."
"So how do we do this? These men are likely to be trained in resisting interrogation and I won't authorise torture." George said firmly. He knew though that he couldn't stop Xander if he decided it was necessary.
"I won't do that just for information. Punishment yes, but that's what Hell is for." Xander said growling slightly at the memories.
George poured them both a drink. The alcohol had no affect on Xander but the taste and kick was still there.
"There is an option I've had on hand for a while." Xander offered hesitantly. "Lantesh."
"Is it fair to subject them to that?" George asked in horror.
"Hell no!" Xander laughed. "Lantesh wouldn't want to stay with one of them, he is hoping to find someone like Martouf! No, he will simply go in, retrieve the information and return to his incubator till a suitable partner can be found."
"I'm sorry, I know you, Lantesh and Martouf were close." George said.
"Yeah, we miss him. Truth is Lantesh and I would be together happily, but I can't actually take a host. Part of the whole Champion/Angel thing." Xander said sadly.
"I'll keep an eye out for anyone I think might fit the bill." George promised.
"There is someone he has his eye on." Xander chuckled.
"Let me guess. Sam." George said rolling his eyes.
"No, Sam would drive Lantesh nuts! Actually, he thinks he and Jack would be great." Xander smirked.
George meanwhile spurted his whiskey over the desk.
"Jack?" He asked incredulously.
"Why not? They both have great sense of humour, hate the Goa'uld with an unhealthy passion and care for Sam. Although my understanding is that Lantesh only cares for her out of respect for Martouf and Jolinar." He added. "That's not to say he didn't love them, just that Lantesh and Jolinar were together for a long time. He feels that loss as much as he does Martouf's."
"I still think it highly unlikely Jack would agree. Sam would be a push too." George maintained.
"Oh, I agree. So does Lantesh. He won't even mention it to them. He just mentioned it when we were talking one day."
"Anyway, you think asking Lantesh to… 'interrogate' the Chinese prisoners is the right thing to do?" George asked trying to bring the conversation back to where it started.
"I do. They are a huge risk. We need to know who sent them and take them out. People like this will just keep coming back." Xander said emphatically.
George sighed. "I still feel uneasy about this, but I'll approve the procedure."
Xander stood up and gave him an understanding smile. "Don't worry George, always feel free to voice your opinions and concerns, I'm just an angel… not God."
As Xander vanished George couldn't help but mutter, "Not yet a god, anyway."
Watching Xander talk animatedly to a snake in a jar which made no physical or audible response was… disconcerting.
"We're sure angels can't go nuts?" Jack asked Sam quietly.
Sam just rolled her eyes.
"I assume this is how you felt when you had me locked up?" Daniel asked.
"Are you going to bring that up every chance you get?" Jack asked defensively.
Daniel just smirked at him.
They were suddenly distracted by Xander's loud laughter. Apparently Lantesh had made a funny.
"Ok I give! What is sooo funny that you two are talking about?" Jack asked exasperatedly.
Xander just gave him a wry grin. "Nothing, we were just wondering how long it would take you to ask."
"Seriously?" Sam asked.
"Yep, Lantesh suggested loud laughter might push you over the edge. He was right." Xander said smugly.
"Any chance you have been getting the info out of him about the Chinese spies?" Daniel asked trying to prevent Jack's first blood pressure induced stroke.
"Yeah, he told me a lot of it. He has asked for a favour, Jack." Xander said.
"Oh?" Jack said suddenly caught unawares.
"Yeah, he's asked if you would try him out for a companion just for the briefing." Xander said.
There was a sudden thrashing from Lantesh in his jar.
"Shh!" Xander said.
"Why do I get the idea your playing from your wife's handbook of not giving the whole picture?" Sam asked sweetly. The last thing she wanted was Jack out of action for their wedding.
Lantesh suddenly started thrashing about again.
"I'm going to have to agree with Sam on this one." Daniel said.
"Indeed." Teal'c intoned with a wry little smile. He knew Xander would never put them in danger, but he also knew that Xander and Lantesh were rascals of the highest order.
"What! You doubt my-" And Lantesh started thrashing again. "Fine!" Xander said throwing his hands up in defeat. "emI/em would like you to take him for a short ride during the debriefing. I just want him to sort of stretch his legs, if you can spare the afternoon that would be great."
"Erm… what? Why?... and a whole host of other questions." Jack said trying to wrap his mind around the request.
"Look, Lantesh doesn't want to join with just anyone. He wants someone like Martouf who will be able to be his best friend. You are the closest thing after me. Consider it a test drive." Xander said.
"You want to put a snake in my head?" Jack asked disbelievingly. "Hey!" Lantesh suddenly managed to splash Jack.
"He prefers Tok'ra." Xander corrected.
"Question still stands." Jack said.
"I want to put Lantesh in for a little while. The briefing at the least. We can bring a flask so he can leave when George says 'Dismissed'." Xander gave a very bad impression.
"I dunno, it's just… I still have issues." Jack said wincing.
"Perfect chance to get over them. Let's face it Jack, Lantesh never wanted to ask you and I'll be there to help get him out." Xander said.
"For what it's worth, I believe Lantesh would gladly leave if you asked him to." Daniel offered.
"I concur. I also believe that none of the Tok'ra would dare risk Xander's wrath." Teal'c added.
Jack seemed to bounce and shake on the spot as if trying to argue with himself.
"FINE!" He exploded. "Do it! But you check on me regularly and only for the briefing." He said.
"Sweet!" Xander said rubbing his hands together as he prepared to lift Lantesh from his tank.
Xander held Lantesh towards Jack's face… Jack tried to open his mouth but was clearly fighting instinct.
Lantesh suddenly turned away from Jack to look back at Xander. He made some squeaking noises.
Xander rolled his eyes.
"Lantesh asked if you're really sure, and would you prefer he went in through the back?" He said tiredly.
"Of course I'm not sure!" Jack said with great annoyance. "I thought the Tok'ra didn't like going in the back of the neck?"
"That's only because of what it means to the Goa'uld. Some people find it discomforting, like gagging, plus the sore throat for half an hour." Xander explained.
"Sounds like the back of the neck would be best, plus I… we, have to speak during the briefing." Jack said turning around. "WhAT-!"
Lantesh had suddenly jumped at Jacks exposed neck.
Jack fell to the floor as the sharp pain turned to a burn and then an ache.
It was surprising that there was no blood.
"Jack!" Sam cried as she knelt to check him.
"I'm fine… little weird… but fine." Jack assured her as he sat up.
"Is Lantesh in there?" Daniel asked.
"Erm… hello? Lantesh?" Jack asked himself.
"Ok, now can we have Jack locked up?" Daniel asked with a grin.
"Shut it Danny boy." Jack scowled, he then got this weird look on his face. "Huh, I think I heard him. Laughing?"
"He probably just figured out what Daniel was talking about." Xander offered.
"Yeah, can you guys hear him?" Jack asked curiously.
"No, he's probably leaving control to you till your ready." Xander said.
"This is weird, it's like I've got two conversations going at once." Jack said.
"Jolinar would talk to me whilst we were locked up. She kept assuring me that she would keep me safe and that I would be fine." Sam said sadly as she remembered the being that sacrificed itself for her.
"Yeah sure." Jack said to himself.
"Jolinar could never have lived with herself if she purposefully allowed an unwilling host to suffer because of her." Jack said as with an unnatural voice as he stroked Sam's cheek.
"Lantesh?" Sam asked.
"Yes, Jack allowed me to speak to you regarding Jolinar. Perhaps I can leave him with my memories of Jolinar, it will give you much to speak of at a later date." He said with a fond smile of remembrance.
"Ok, weird feeling." Jack said as he regained control. "Kinda like watching the Blair Witch Project in broad daylight."
"Urgh, I know that feeling." Xander said.
"You do?" Daniel asked.
"Hyena possession and Wash." Xander clarified.
"Ah."
"You feel up to walking around? Getting to the briefing?" Xander asked.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Sam asked as he started sniffing her.
"I can really smell you… you smell really good." Jack said.
"I apologise, Jack is still adjusting to the advantages of being blended." Lantesh said as he backed Jack away.
"Sorry, it's all a bit brighter and clearer… knees feel pretty good too." Jack said as took back control.