Maadi: An Immortal Spacemonkey story
A/N: This story takes place after Nightmare: An Immortal Spacemonkey story. Daniel is taking a break and going on a well-deserved vacation. His destination: Egypt. The usual characters will make an appearance, along with a few original ones. I hope you enjoy this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own SG1. I wish I did, but I don't. I promise to return the characters to their original owner in one piece, once I am through with them. I am just borrowing them for a bit.
Reviews are always welcome, as well as constructive criticism. Please note that I have not been to Egypt myself. I did watch plenty of videos showing tours of the pyramids and other landmarks in and around Cairo. Please be forgiving if I have made some mistakes.
Chapter 1
It had taken Daniel close to three weeks to secure his leave time. While he had amassed a ridiculous amount of vacation and sick time over the years, he couldn't just take two weeks at a moment's whim. Other people had their leave time scheduled in advance, there were missions scheduled that he couldn't shrug off, not to mention his position as the head of three departments meant that he had to work around the needs of his departments.
Finally, he was granted his leave and wasted no time booking it to the airport, right after the end of his work day, to start his well-deserved and much needed vacation. Since he had made arrangements with Cameron to pick up his mail earlier, had cleaned out his refrigerator of any perishable food the previous day, and had packed his bags the night before and left them in his car while he was at work, he didn't have to waste any time running back to his home before going to the airport. He wanted his vacation to start on time and didn't want to lose any precious minutes to unnecessary tasks.
He caught a flight, a short hop really, to Denver. From there he flew to JFK, then on to Rome, and from there, finished his journey in Cairo, Egypt, the home of his birth and rebirth.
The journey took over twenty-one hours and despite his Immortality, he was exhausted by all of the air travel and the hassle of dealing with Immigration and Customs. He also had to deal with the slight anxiety that he always experienced when he didn't have his sword with him. Modern rules and laws expressly forbid him from carrying anything sharp and pointy in the cabin of an airplane, thus forcing him to check the weapon with the rest of his luggage and pray to whatever true god that was out there that the airlines wouldn't lose or damage his belongings. While he didn't necessarily need the sword (he had several in storage that he could easily choose from and the likelihood of being challenged to a fight at thirty-five thousand feet was highly unlikely), he didn't like being unprepared to face another Immortal while on Earth.
From the airport, he took a cab, one without air conditioning, to his home in Maadi, in the El Sarayat district – the oldest part of Maadi. He had been considerate and had called the caretakers of his home earlier in the week, telling them to expect his arrival. They told him that everything would be ready for his stay in the home, but they may not be there. Their son and his wife were expecting a baby to arrive soon and wanted to be there to see their new grandchild. Daniel wished them well and told them to not worry about a thing, he was perfectly able to look after himself. Alima promised him that her baba ghanoush, that he had loved so much the last time he had been in town, would be in the refrigerator waiting for him. Daniel was quite pleased. Alima was an excellent cook.
He made it to his home, close to two in the morning, in one piece, and after unlocking the front gate and then making sure it was secured behind him, Daniel made his way into the house, disabled the alarm, and dumped his luggage by the front door, not bothering to lug it all up the stairs to his second story bedroom. I'll get it in the morning, Daniel rationalized to himself. He did bring his sword with him into his bedroom. He was tired, not stupid.
Quickly, he shucked his boots and clothes, and crawled into bed, sliding between the cotton sheets that were on his queen-sized bed, silently thanking Alima for the fresh bedding, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
~SG1SG1SG1SG1SG1~
Later, once the sun was up, Daniel awoke briefly to the familiar sound of a muezzin calling the faithful to prayer. He was slightly disorientated when he saw the surroundings were not his office at Cheyanne Mountain or his house in Colorado Springs, but quickly his brain righted itself, recognizing the familiar walls and pictures as belonging to his house in Egypt. Home.
Growling slightly, he crawled out of bed and stumbled over to the in-wall zonal air conditioning system his had installed a few years back. He flipped a few switches and turned a dial to start up the system. With a slight cough and rattle, the a/c started up and cool air started to flow out and downwards.
"I'm going to have to have someone come out and look things over," Daniel muttered to himself as he stumbled back to bed, craving a few more hours of sleep.
A few hours later, he awoke to the sun shining fully into his room. Stretching, Daniel lay there, listening to the faint sounds of the city making its way into his home, despite the thick walls and double paned windows and doors. It felt peaceful and relaxing. While he could here horns blaring, he didn't hear the jarring klaxon alerting everyone that someone was attempting to come through the gate. He didn't hear an alarm going off, warning people that the mad scientists had set their lab on fire again. He didn't feel the pounding in his head, announcing the presence of another Immortal. Things were calm.
After a quick shower, he put on a pair of track pants, a plain grey t-shirt, and flip-flops and went downstairs to the large common area and kitchen. His private quarters, along with a guest bedroom, a small study, and bath were on the second floor. His caretakers, Paki and Alima Abdullah, both Watchers but with a higher loyalty to Daniel himself, had an apartment on the ground floor, but used the common area and kitchen on the first floor. The house sported four bedrooms and two full bathrooms, along with a half bath. It was spacious but not showy. It also had a basement when Daniel was able to store and secure his more valuable pieces and mementos, along with his journals. His caretakers did not have authorization to enter his vault, but they knew it was there.
After having a quick breakfast, he checked his vault, storing a few newer journals and took out an older one, bound in leather, the paper aged yellow, but in excellent condition. Daniel then took the familiar tome and a paperback copy of the latest Alex Cross mystery out to his garden and sat there by the small pool. Someone had once recommended The DaVinci Code to him. After giving it a once over, he laughed and nearly threw it away. Total garbage fiction. Alex Cross was pure escapism. He also had a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in his bag.
For the next few days, his pattern of behavior repeated itself. He would rise, have a quick workout, read by the pool, and remain quiet. He didn't even bother to go visit the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. Normally, he liked to go there whenever he was in town, just checking to see if they had anything new or noteworthy. In the past few years, he had gone there, looking to see if there were any Goa'uld artifacts hidden among the collections. He had found a few, but luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you looked at) none of the artifacts were usable weapons or Goa'ulds held in captive stasis. This time, he couldn't bring himself to visit the museum. It just didn't appeal to him.
Instead, Daniel chose to stay at home during the day, quiet and subdued. He did go out twice at night for dinner. There was a decent restaurant down the block that specialized in Mediterranean cuisine and he had no desire to cook for himself since Paki and Alima were still visiting their son. He also walked the streets at night, feeling restless, but not wanting to be around other people.
He knew he was struggling with dealing with the visions the snakes on PX2-811 had given him. The memories were not something that he could easily shake. Daniel had experienced betrayal and pain many times over in his long life. The knowledge that those who could be considered friends or family could betray you was not unfamiliar. He had been betrayed by Josiah, his former student, by monks who were convinced he had been an agent of the devil. Daniel had experienced people, whom he only wanted to help, on distant planets betraying him and his friends. He had even done his fair share of betrayal himself, so maybe it was karma or the Universe's way of finding balance. He knew the concept intimately.
This time, Daniel felt hurt to his very core. He knew that Sam wouldn't actually experiment on him like a lab rat. He knew that Jack hadn't actually given orders that led to his imprisonment and torture. Daniel knew that Teal'c, Vala, and Mitchell hadn't turned their backs on him. He knew that Methos hadn't actually fought and killed him in Immortal combat. However, the experience all seemed so real.
He could recall the sounds and feelings, the pain that he experienced. He remembered with complete clarity being experimented on, the operations. He remembered being burned and broken. Daniel could even remember the taste of his own blood and feeling what it was like when he had killed others in the venom-induced fantasy. Hate, anger, disbelief, and the rage that he had felt was as real as the sunshine he was sitting in. It was all real to his mind.
His soul, if he actually had one – that he wasn't too sure about, was wounded in a grievous and very mortal way. One that he didn't know if he could fully recover from. The people he loved dearly, more dearly than anyone else in his long life, had betrayed him, even if it was all in his head.
On day four, Paki and Alima came back home. Their youngest son and his wife were the proud parents of a bouncing 3.4-kilogram baby boy, making them grandparents for the fourth time.
Alima came in, her long black hair held back in a practical bun, a bit greyer than it was the last time Daniel had seen him, hugging her Immortal charge and employer. She tutted over him, saying that he was too skinny and she would fix him a nice dinner.
Paki, a gentle man with sharp eyes, looked Daniel over, noticing his eyes looked tired and beat, more so than when he had visited the previous time.
"Ustaaz," Paki began, calling Daniel 'professor.' "What has brought you home? You look too weary for an Immortal."
Daniel briefly debated telling Paki anything, but quickly decided to give him an abbreviated explanation, one that did not involve alien planets. "I got exposed to a toxin at work that briefly gave me hallucinations of my worst fears. It didn't last that long, but in my mind, it went on forever. I dreamed, for a lack of a better term, that I had been kidnapped and experimented on by the government, that my friends betrayed me, and I had been killed by an Immortal friend." Daniel did not want to tell them that he was friends with and was in constant contact with the legendary Methos.
Paki looked disturbed by this revelation. "Maybe it was your subconscious telling you that you need to leave your work behind and start over elsewhere. Working for the American government it dangerous."
Daniel smiled tiredly. "No. I was told by the people behind the poison that bringing out your deepest fears was a common side effect, just before your death. Besides, I have too much unfinished work. I can't leave things now. It wouldn't be right if I left. I've tried it before, but I couldn't stay away."
"But when will you be able to? And did you die in front of others? That is dangerous Ustaaz," Paki wisely counseled Daniel.
Daniel laughed a little. "Yeah, I died in front of my teammates, but they knew about me before this."
"You play a dangerous balancing act, Beih," Paki muttered, worried about the well-being of his friend and Immortal charge. Yes, he reported to the Watchers, but he didn't report everything, just like his ancestors before him, and those before them. He counted Daniel to be a friend first and foremost.
"My work is important and I'm not ready to walk away," Daniel said, shaking his head and picked up his copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. "I'll be okay, Paki. I'm a survivor. I've gotten through worse stuff than this. I just need a slight break from everyone right now."
Paki shook his head at the words Daniel spoke. While he did believe the Immortal, he also knew that the wounds he had suffered would take more than just a little time to heal from. Daniel was one of those Immortals who felt things deeply, both the good and the bad. He was a passionate man, driven by his convictions and a deep seeded need to make things right and just for others. He loved deeply and could be just as easily and deeply wounded by the acts of others. In Paki's opinion, it was this very trait that made Daniel one of the best candidates to be the One in the end.
"You worry too much Paki," Daniel said, laughing and focusing on his book, letting Paki know that he wasn't going to talk about it further without being rude.
"You do not worry enough," Paki muttered, looking at the Immortal with fondness before also leaving the other to his thoughts. He wanted to talk to the gardener today about the flowers near the small in-ground pool that was on the property.
The rest of the day, Daniel spent his time either reading, walking around the property with Paki, listening to his recommendations for upgrades or repairs, and eating Alima's delicious food.
By the end of the day, Daniel felt satisfied that it was a day well spent and happily drifted off into a deep sleep in his bedroom, until he was awoken by an all too familiar whine, he associated with Asgard beaming technology.
"What the hell are you doing in my bedroom," came Daniel's grumpy question, far from pleased that his slumber had been rudely interrupted.
"Well, aren't you Mister Grumpy Pants," Jack said snidely. "Is that anyway to greet your best friend?"
"Fuck," was Daniel's reply as he fell back and pulled his blanket over his head.
A/N: What did you think? Good, bad, indifferent. Feel free to leave me a review and let me know what you think. I can take criticism, as long as it is constructive. Flames will be ignored.
Translation:
Ustaaz means professor and Beih is an honorific given to educated or white-collar people.
Maadi is a leafy suburban district south of Cairo , Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) upriver from downtown Cairo (source: wikipedia).