Chapter 30

2034

Ferretti's soft snores didn't usually keep her awake. Not anymore. Especially not when she'd worked through half the night with the other engineers aboard the Daedalus.

Tonight was the first time in a while she'd decided to sleep in her own quarters. She hadn't seen Torren since they had left the tavern down in the village and she'd assumed he was busy catching up with his people. With his father. No matter how vehemently he'd told her he only wanted to find out where his mother had come from.

His people.

Those words stung.

They separated him from her in a way little else could. Had he been from another country, this issue might never have come up, but as it was, he was from another galaxy altogether. He was an alien. And it didn't matter to her, how could it, when she'd known him all her life, but thinking of the Athosians as his people, made it real. No matter how often she reassured herself that she was being stupid. Torren's life was on Earth. His family was on Earth.

But his roots were here.

And instead of trying to find him and talk to him, Grace had dived straight into work, determined to fix something and keep her mind occupied. Grace had replaced the crystal the first chance she got, and when they returned from the talks in the village she had immediately lend a hand wherever she could. Replacing the crystal was one thing, but it had cost them. Several systems were strained and without them they needed a lot longer to repair the damage done by the Wraith Hive. But work was still good. It was something she was good at: actually getting work done and not sitting around to stare at a screen. Maybe she should just give up writing that doctoral thesis and be satisfied with her life the way it was.

It was okay, wasn't it? She had Torren. Her parents must already know about it by now. They hadn't made a big announcement, but the way her mother had talked about Torren over dinner the other day made it all too clear that the thing was settled for them. And that was fine by her.

And she liked her work. She liked building things and repairing them. She understood the science behind these things. She was no mathematical genius like Carter or Miller, but to hell with that. She could hold her own!

She turned on her side, closed her eyes and tried to pretend that there was no noise. That there was nothing in this room but her. That Torren's arm was draped around her waist. That his soft, warm breath was on her neck.

A particularly loud snore made her snap her eyes open. Without another thought, she threw back the blanket, got dressed as quietly as she could in the dark and walked towards the door, boots already in hand. She'd get an herbal tea with lots of honey and then she'd try to get some more sleep. That was exactly what she needed right now. If push came to shove, she might just as well slip back among the repair crew and try to fix some more stuff.

With a soft hiss the door slid open and she barely stifled a scream when she found herself face to face with another person. She quickly held her hand over her mouth and shook her head at the wide grin on Torren's face.

He stepped to the side to let her pass. "I was about to knock," he whispered as Grace closed the door.

"Bit late for a booty call, huh?" Shaking her head, she put her hair back in a pony tail.

"Not why I'm here," he answered, and he let out a long breath. "Take a walk with me?"

"You know," he said quietly, as though any word he might say would wake their sleeping daughter, "I kind of like that we're not going home for another few days." He was holding Caleb in his other arm while the other was draped over Alex's shoulders. Heavy, warm and comforting.

"Why?" Alex asked. She turned her head to look at him, but his eyes were trained on Grace. Mere hours ago they had been released from the infirmary. With Keller on an off-world mission and Doctor Langdon on leave, it had been Doctor Beckett's turn to deliver their baby. And he'd done a magnificent job. Yes, Grace had been just as early as Caleb had been, but this birth hadn't been nearly as painful as the last one. It had lasted longer, but in return, she'd managed to pull through it a whole lot better.

"I'm glad we get to spend some time alone before the entire family shows up again." He swallowed hard. He wasn't over his mother's death. His mother would never know this child. Yes, she'd gotten to know Caleb, but she'd missed out on Grace.

Alex raised her free hand and brushed away the single tear sliding down Evan's cheek. For all his talk about having his little family to themselves, she doubted he meant it. They'd have plenty of time, just the four of them, when it was time to go back to Atlantis on the Apollo. "You know, we have a huge family here. They'll barge in a couple of hours from now."

Evan nodded once, then leaned over and kissed her. Deeply. A kiss that was enough to make her forget to breathe and her toes curl. His lips were so soft and tender, his breath warm and comforting. He put his hand on her neck, pulling her face closer to his and when he finally pulled away, she tasted the salt of his tears. "I know," he whispered, wiping his face as Caleb stirred in his arms. There was so much he wanted to say. She could see it in his eyes, but he'd only just returned from a mission when he had been called to the infirmary. He was dead on his feet. And so was she. So were the children.

"You should try to get some sleep," she said just as quietly and he nodded. He lay down, his head on her shoulder and her heart seemed to swell at the thought of how much he needed her.

She turned her head and kissed his forehead. She wouldn't get a wink of sleep. She was still too wound up. Her entire body still ached, and the slight weight of their newborn baby on her chest reminded her of every second of it.

But she also knew that Evan wouldn't sleep either.

And so they lay in the dark, listening to each other's breathing and feeling the warmth of their children in their arms.

"When you said walk I thought you meant to the cafeteria," Grace said, nodding to the Sergeants guarding the lowered ramp. They were among friends here, so the ramp remained lowered at all times, but the guards were still a necessity. Just in case. And they weren't the only ones. There must be at least ten more in the immediate area. Luckily neither one of them had been ordered to stay aboard. For all intents and purposes, this was a friendly planet, and Grace had signed out.

But Torren ignored them all and Grace felt a terrible cold creeping up on her as she followed him out into the dark. He was only armed with a flash light and she'd only just had the sense to stop at the armoury and get a P-90 once she realized he was determined to go outside.

"Not exactly," he breathed as Grace caught up with him. He wasn't heading for the village. Not in a direct line anyway. He'd turned slightly to the East, his flashlight illuminating the path ahead.

Rolling her eyes, she turned on the light sitting on top of her gun and helped him pick a trail.

"How was…" she began, but she trailed off. She hadn't seen Torren in hours. How was she supposed to know what had happened to have him so rattled? She had a vague idea, but she wasn't brave enough to ask.

He bumped into her slightly and she lowered her right hand automatically to touch his. He took it without another moment's hesitation. "How was what?" he asked, a tone of bitterness in his voice.

He wasn't usually bitter.

Never. He might get angry when the occasion called for it, but what he must be going through here was clearly tormenting him.

"Meeting the other Athosians?"

His fingers tightened around hers and she felt a sudden wave of relief wash over her. He trusted her. He wanted her to come with her. He wanted her to know.

"Weird," he said quietly and in the soft light emitting from their torches she could see his frown. "Halling showed me around, introduced me to a couple of people…" he trailed off and Grace watched his face slip into a heart breaking grimace. She didn't speak as they trudged through the forest until they reached a well-trodden path which led them away from the village.

"How're you feeling about all of this?" she asked. Torren wasn't a quiet person usually. Sometimes he was downright chatty.

He scoffed. "About being back?" The emphasis he put on the last word sent a shiver down her spine and she clung to his hand a bit more. With a sigh, he slowed down. They had reached a low fence woven from twigs and by the light of their two torches she could see that it spread around a small meadow about the size of half a soccer field. Someone had planted flowers around the edge, but what struck her, what made her feel a sense of recognition and terror, were the thirty or so knee-high steles set up in neat rows.

The sky was a lot lighter now. Once they'd cleared the trees, she could see a soft pink tinge starting to stretch along the tops of the trees. The sun rose early in this place.

She started to let go of Torren's hand, but he clasped her fingers tighter. "Your dad?" she asked and he nodded just as a ray of sunlight hit his forehead.

"My father died three years ago when a group of bandits attacked this place," he said quietly, pulling her forwards. "I haven't even been here yet."

Grace understood why. He couldn't come here alone. She doubted she'd have the strength to do it either. No matter how unfamiliar that father of his was, he must have been looking forward to meeting him despite everything he'd said. To find this place still existed and to know that he barely missed the chance of meeting him must be devastating. "I'm so sorry," she found herself whispering and she knew the moment the words slipped past her lips that these words weren't enough. They felt like empty shells dropping between them, but he ignored the standard phrase and shrugged.

"Thanks for coming here with me," he said, turning towards her and raising her hand to his lips, before starting to pull her towards the steles. "The Athosians," he said, "normally burn their dead and don't erect monuments."

Grace nodded. It made sense. For generations the Athosians had led a nomadic lifestyle, moving from place to place so as not to present an easy target for the Wraith. "What changed?"

"This alliance with the Wraith," he said. "They settled in this place. Built real houses. Made room for a graveyard." The beam of his flashlight travelled over the dark grey steles, illuminating names set there in Ancient and in Roman letters. A few of them stood out, though neither of them meant anything to her. They would mean something to her parents, though. She was sure of that.

Gianluca Tonini.

Charles de Clare.

No ranks. No titles. No dates of birth or death. Just the names.

Grace shivered in the cool morning air. As they walked past the rows, the sun rose more and more until they finally stopped and Torren's gaze rested on one of the newer steles.

"The Athosians still burn their dead. What's changed is this" Torren whispered, finally letting go of Grace's hand to point at a slightly less weathered stele and kneeling down.

Grace could make out more names now. Names that didn't belong to the Tau'ri, but to Athosians. And there, on the stele in front of Torren, she saw the name of Torren's father.

Kanaan.

"I'm sorry," she said again as she stretched out a hand and placed it on her shoulder.

He didn't shake it off, but he didn't speak either. He just knelt there, staring at the grey stone and the letters etched into it. Like the full stop in the middle of a sentence. An interruption that nobody had expected.

After a while he reached up and put his hand on hers. It was icy cold.

"Not sure what I expected to find here," he said quietly, getting to his feet again. His dark brown eyes were still trained on the stele. "Let's head back."

A gush of wind rippled through his curly hair and they looked up. For a moment there was nothing there but the clear orange and blue sky. And then a shadow passed over them and Grace was reaching for her radio. Her heart wasn't even racing. Her hand wasn't shaking when she pushed the button and nothing but static filled her ear.

A/N: Happy weekend everybody!

Dun-dun-duuuun another cliffhanger. What do you think is going on here? :-)