A/N: Here is my next instalment! It may seem a little slow to build up, but I promise you there is a fair bit of action coming!
Massive thank yous for the story follows and favs! Shout out to reviewers jacats and dpdp – thank you so much, I really appreciate them and I love hearing your thoughts!
Please, enjoy! As always, mistakes are mine.
Recap: The men removed their packs and handed them to Sam. The blonde made short work of threading the rope she had removed from her pack through the shoulder straps. With a huff of effort, she loaded them onto Danu's back, two packs hanging either side of her. Once Sam was sure Danu was comfortable, she looked at the men who were regarding her with a look of disbelief.
"Didn't have you down as a horse lover, Major." commented Jack with a smirk. "How very Disney of you."
Ignoring Daniel's chuckle, Sam sneered at him before turning on her heel and following Danu into the forest.
Chapter 3
Walking through the lush growth of the forest, Jack realised he was happy that Danu had the idea to take their packs from them. While the vast array of plants and trees were a botanist's dream, the added weight of carrying his pack would have made the journey even more uncomfortable than it already was. Jack's shirt clung to him like a second skin from the sweat he was producing. Yes, the shade the trees above were providing was a welcome relief from the glare of the four suns in the sky, but the humidity within that shade was stifling.
As they entered the forest, the four of them had been exchanging words and engaging in easy conversation, but as they crawled deeper into the scene ahead, they had stopped talking and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Jack, himself, was grateful for the silence. He was hot and bothered and he knew he wasn't the only one. Daniel's glasses had kept slipping down his nose, irritating him to the point that he had removed them, favouring the risk of stumbling over the roots of the forest floor rather than the ability to see. After Daniel's fourth trip resulting in a nasty graze on his face, Teal'c had kept a strong grip on the architect's elbow.
Jack spared a glance at Sam, walking around two feet ahead of him. He noticed with quiet interest that the hand she wasn't using to hold her weapon kept disappearing underneath her shirt to rest on her back. It wasn't until he caught her doing it for a third time that he realised what she was doing. The heat and the stickiness of their hike was bothering the scars on her back.
In that moment, Jack cursed Prionn and was sorely tempted to reach out to the woman in front of him. He wished that she would open up to him, and while she was yet to do so, he knew she would when she was ready. So instead, he spared a glance over at Teal'c and Daniel on the other side of Danu, content that they weren't listening, Jack picked up the pace to fall in line with Sam.
Sam registered the colonel next to her with a flicker of her eyebrow before focusing on the task at hand.
"You alright, Carter?"
"Yes, Sir. Just hot."
Jack nodded in agreement. "I don't know about you but I feel sorry for whoever's sharing a room with me tonight."
Sam raised her eyebrows before laughing. "Yes, Sir."
"How long have we been walking?" he asked.
Sam lifted her wrist to look at her watch. "Nearly two hours, Sir." she said, almost breathlessly.
"Oh, we have to be there, surely!"
Almost as if on cue, the mare to his right stopped. The team did the same and they were greeted by the sight of the trees thinning and just a quarter click in the distance was the brown and grey hues of the mountain range that they had seen from the gate.
"Nice."
"Impeccable timing, Sir." snorted Sam.
"Hey, you don't complain, you don't get!"
The team watched as the mare continued to walk to the end of the forest. With a renewed gusto, SG1 followed her and came to a halt as the grass and moss beneath their boots seemed to melt away and their shoes met stone and gravel.
Danu regarded Sam with a look and nudged her arm. It took Sam a few moments to figure out what she wanted, but once she did, she relieved the goddess of the load on her back. As Sam crouched to undo the rope connecting their bags, Danu retreated into the forest, leaving the team alone.
Jack took a moment to look up at the sky to see that the first sun was almost gone from the sky and that the second was an hour or so away from following suit. With a nod of thanks, he took his pack from Sam and took a long swig from his canteen.
"Not long to go you reckon?" asked Jack, savouring the refreshing water leaving a cool trail down his throat.
"I believe so. We have made good progress in our journey, O'Neill." agreed Teal'c, taking in the surroundings around them. His sharp gaze quickly found a well-worn path into the mountain range. "I believe we are to walk this way." He reported, pointing his staff towards the path.
"Looks like it."
"The Saorsans must have been making the journey from their winter camp to their summer camp for generations." commented Daniel. "It's incredible that there is a path for them."
"As long as it's just them using it." muttered Jack darkly. "We've never come across another people, how do we know it's just them?"
"It is possible." said Sam, standing upright after applying another layer of sunscreen. "We've not been here long enough to explore. We don't know how big this planet is."
"We could always ask Glic." suggested Daniel. "He might know."
"Danu might too." commented Sam. "She has a ship in orbit."
"That I do, Samantha." sounded Danu's voice.
The team turned around to see Danu emerging from the forest, back in her usual form.
Jack nodded at her. "That's some party trick you have there."
Danu smiled at Jack. "It is not a form I often take, but it is one that comes in handy should I need it."
"We're grateful. Thank you for carrying our packs." said Sam with a smile.
"It is the least I could do." replied the Goddess, with a small bow. She looked up at the sky and smiled again. "We are making great time. However, I believe we need a moment to rest. I am a little tired."
"That's fine with me." said Jack immediately, earning an amused, raised eyebrow from Teal'c, a chuckle from Daniel and a snort from Sam.
"I am glad you have agreed." said Danu gratefully. She began walking towards the mountain path, sensing SG1 were yet to follow, she beckoned them with her hand and continued her path.
"Daniel, does rest mean something different on Saorsa?" asked Jack, following the long haired goddess.
"Not to my knowledge."
"Perhaps there is a place she wishes to take us to be able to do so." suggested Teal'c.
With a minor grumble from Jack, the team pressed on, missing the protective shade of the trees of the forest, but grateful to be able to breathe a little better. They followed Danu for what Jack estimated to be a mile before they came to stop at what looked to be a small crater with a width equal to that of the Stargate.
Danu smiled at them as they took the sights in. Beside him, Jack could feel excitement radiating from the female member of his team as the science side of her brain ran through a hundred different explanations and simulations that could explain the dent in the earth in front of them.
"Around two thousand of your years ago, a small meteor shower passed Saorsa. I was on my ship at the time, the shower damaged my ship slightly and one meteor flew off course and crashed here. The Saorsan's ancestors inhabiting here at the time were scared, they thought their judgement day had come and that their Gods were angry with them. The king at the time sought my council and I assured him it was a natural phenomenon, but that did not stop them from upping their offerings to me. I returned everything, of course, but it still makes me smile – how young they were." Danu smiled wistfully. "They still believe in their Gods, of course, though they seem to talk to me more."
"They believe in other Gods, even though they've seen you?" asked Daniel.
"Yes, and that is the way I want it to be. I am not here to decide for them, only to protect them."
"Makes sense."
"Does the meteor shower happen often?" asked Sam, peering over the edge to look into the crater.
"I have not seen it happen since." reported Danu, "but it may do if it is a part of the planet's cycle. My ship has not detected it as of yet, so you are safe."
"As much as I love a history lesson, why are we here?" asked Jack, ignoring pointed looks from both Sam and Daniel.
Danu chuckled softly. "In the late Summer, when the heat rises, the rivers running through the mountains make their way through here. This crater fills with water and the Saorsan's come here. They have a festival to give thanks for the water that gives them and Saorsa life. Left to nature, in a moon cycle's time, the crater will be full of fresh water."
"Left to nature?" questioned Jack and Daniel in unison, completely missing the smile that appeared on Sam's face.
Danu raised her hands and for a moment, nothing happened.
Jack looked at Sam, confused, until Daniel spoke up. "Can you hear that?"
Jack strained his ears and he could pick up the sound of rushing water. SG1 watched in awe as a torrent of water rushed towards them. They watched as Danu manipulated the element to sit neatly in the crater; fresh, mountain water lapping at the edge of the crater as it settled.
"Well, I'll be damned." muttered Jack, taking his cap off to survey the newly appeared addition to the scenery before them.
"Incredible." Daniel bent to dip his fingers in the water. It was cool and refreshing, just what they needed on a hot, Summer's day.
"You did that?"
Danu shrugged. "I merely encouraged the water to speed up its descent from the mountains. You can see it is running now." Danu pointed to her left. Sure enough, there was a steady, running stream from the mountains running into the crater at their feet with a small stream continuing its journey through the rest of the mountains to their right.
"We can rest here for a moment." said Danu, removing her cloak and leaving on a rock. She grasped the material of her dress around her thighs, lifting the hem of the material away from her feet, revealing her bare feet. She dipped one foot into the water and smiled.
"Is that a hint?" Jack asked Sam out of the corner of his mouth.
"I think so, yes, Sir." Sam laughed.
Jack made a show of pulling his shirt from his torso, grimacing as it peeled away. "I'm not going to say no."
"I'm sure the people of Saorsa will be grateful." mocked Daniel, pulling off his boots.
"Nobody asked you, Space Monkey!"
Sam laughed again and grabbed Daniel's pack and moved it to rest next to Danu's cloak. Following suit, Jack and Teal'c deposited their packs to lay next to Daniel's. They removed their weapons and boots and walked towards the edge of the crater.
Sam smiled and took off her own boots and socks before rolling up her pant legs to reveal her calves. She watched as the boys hesitated about getting in. She walked up to them, ignoring the gravel under her bare feet.
"Everything okay?"
"I'm not sure it's appropriate to go for a dip in front of a goddess." commented Daniel, watching as Danu lifted her dress even higher to stand in the water.
Sam stifled a giggle. "She's been around for some time, Daniel. I don't think she'll mind. There's no need to be shy, you guys have bathed around me before."
"But that's different, Sam, you're not a Goddess."
While Sam laughed, Jack raised his eyebrows and shot a glare Daniel's way. This didn't go unnoticed by Teal'c, who merely raised an eyebrow in amusement at Jack's reaction.
Daniel raised his hand in defense as he regarded Sam with an apologetic expression. "What I meant was-"
"No offence taken here, Daniel." said Sam, a laugh lacing her words. "Look, I'll have a word with Danu, you guys get in and wash your clothes, they'll be dry by the time you've finished washing yourselves. Okay?" She asked, looking at Jack.
Jack nodded his consent. As much as he wasn't keen on the idea of sharing a bath with the goddess, he really wanted to freshen up.
"Okay." sniggered Sam, walking away from them and over to Danu.
Jack watched Sam leave before rounding on Daniel. "Really?"
Daniel's opened and closed like a fish out of water. "I didn't mean… Jack, that's not what I meant!"
Teal'c remained silent, entertained by the exchange in front of him. His eyes quickly landed on Sam, who was crouched at the water's edge, speaking to Danu. He watched as Danu quickly looked towards them before back at Sam. She exited the water gracefully, her feet dry as they were before she got in before both women walked back towards them.
"I apologise. I will leave you to bathe." said Danu, registering Daniel with an amused look.
Jack groaned and rolled his eyes at Sam, who kept her amused look on the floor at her feet. "Great. Carter, you okay putting our clothes out to dry?"
"Sure." said Sam sweetly. "I actually had the foresight to bring a pack of cards with me this time. Do you want me to get a clean set out from your packs?"
Jack grinned at his 2iC, a memory of a conversation from their last visit replaying in his head. "We'll manage."
Sam raised her hands in mock surrender. "If you're sure." At that, she began to walk away from the boys, Danu following her. They sat down behind the rock that had Danu's cloak on it, obscuring the crater from their field of vision: far enough away to give them privacy but close enough to aid them should they need it.