TITLE: The Sought Ones
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13—language, sexual situations (not graphic by any stretch of the imagination), adult themes. More coming later.
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stargatefan14: I have no objection whatsoever to your archiving this story, just send me an email so I know exactly what that entails.
BTW, I may be addicted to angst, but—believe it or not—this story actually does have a plot. It should be making an appearance eventually. Actually, it already has, but I don't think you can tell yet.
Reviews make me happy and thus make the characters happy as well.
--------------------------------------------------
General Hammond gaped incredulously across the desk at what had to be the most unlikely grouping of people ever to grace his office. He knew Jack, Sam, and Daniel, of course, but they had some rather unexpected company: a woman whom Hammond recognized from photos as Daniel's wife, and a young boy who didn't look familiar but whom he strongly suspected was Jack's son. Sam was accompanied by no resurrected loved ones, but still looked vaguely stunned by what was going on around her.
Jack kindly allowed Hammond a second to get over his shock, and then broke the silence by confirming his suspicions.
"General," he announced, "I'd like you to meet my son, Charlie."
The boy tossed a loose salute by way of greeting. Hammond couldn't help but smile.
"And this is Sha're," Daniel hastened to add.
She bowed her head solemnly. "It is an honor to meet you, General."
Hammond finally managed to find his voice again. "Just what the hell is going on here, people?"
"We don't know, sir," Sam said—rather unnecessarily, as it was written all over her face. "Security guards found them on one of the lower levels, detained them, and alerted Daniel and Colonel O'Neill, who have confirmed their identities."
"Thank you, Major." Hammond turned to Sha're, opening his mouth to ask her a question, but was distracted by Charlie whispering something in his father's ear.
Jack nodded in response. "Yes, of course you should be nice to him. Especially since he's my CO."
Charlie asked another question.
Jack's eyebrows shot up in mock horror. "I certainly hope not. But just because he doesn't carry giant needles, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be properly respectful to him."
Daniel and Sam snickered; even Sha're, who didn't get the joke, had to stifle her amusement. Hammond himself snorted before returning to the object at hand. "Sha're, Charles, does either of you have any idea how this might have happened?"
He could've sworn he caught a brief, inscrutable look flash between the two, but it was gone within an instant.
"I do not know," Sha're answered. "I remember Teal'c shooting me—" she flinched at the memory—"and then I found myself here, whole and without the demon inside me."
"You're sure?" Hammond asked, certain she was leaving something out.
Sha're nodded.
Hammond pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. Just when he'd thought everything imaginable—and unimaginable—had happened on this base . . . "I'm assuming this hasn't happened to anyone else, because I haven't heard any other similar reports from anyone else." No one said anything, and he continued. "Still, we don't know why or how this has happened. So I'd like both of you to remain on base until this is solved. Dismissed, all of you. And congratulations," he couldn't resist adding.
They all left, except Jack. (Charlie was chatting happily with the others.)
Hammond looked up and saw he was still there. "Is there a problem, Jack?"
"Well, sir, Charlie wants to see his mother. And I can't keep this from Sara forever." Jack smiled slightly. "She has her ways of finding things out."
"You're right," Hammond agreed. "We will have to come up with some sort of an explanation for her. But I'd prefer it if we could figure out what the actual explanation is first."
-----
"Does General Hammond not trust us?" Sha're wondered out loud as Daniel steered her out of the commissary—where they'd attracted several stares—and down the corridor. "I understand his suspicion of me, but Charlie is only a small child. He's no threat to anyone."
"Hammond doesn't suspect you of anything," Daniel explained. "He just wants to make sure he knows what's going on before he lets you and Charlie loose on an unsuspecting world."
Sha're laughed. "And how long is that going to take?"
"With the people on this base . . . hmm, probably about five minutes. Don't worry—" he opened a door for her—"having returned from the dead myself, I can personally testify that the rooms are very nice."
Sha're walked in and looked around. The room was small, and the walls were stark metal; but the furniture was either dark wood or an excellent imitation, and the bed and chairs, with blue upholstery, looked quite comfortable. "It would seem so," she began, and then stopped suddenly as the rest of what Daniel had just said sank in. "Dan'yer . . . you died?"
"Sort of." Daniel said evasively. He came in after her and closed the door behind him. "It was pretty complicated."
"Tell me," Sha're insisted forcefully, sinking onto the bed and hugging her knees. "I want to know what happened."
"It's a long story . . ." But Daniel came over and joined Sha're on the bed, sitting cross-legged so that she could rest her head in his lap.
"Five minutes, correct?" She was only half-joking. "We have more than enough time."
As it turned out, though, it was a very long story indeed, and it took Daniel the best part of half an hour to tell her, even briefly, what had happened to him over the past four years: finding Shifu on Kheb, leaving him there only to meet him again later on, and eventually dying (his description of this made her shudder) and joining the boy on a higher plane of existence, for a time—and then being forced to leave it again, with no memory at all of either life.
At this point Sha're interrupted: "Why did the Ancients expel you?"
Daniel took a deep breath. "I tried to stop Anubis from destroying Abydos."
Sha're closed her eyes briefly, understanding. "What makes me think you failed?"
"I don't know what I was thinking," Daniel said bitterly. "I tried to bargain with him. For some reason, I thought he'd keep to it. And then, when he didn't, they wouldn't let me stop him. They let everyone on the planet ascend, but then they kicked me out for trying to stop the thing in the first place."
"You did your best," she said, stretching a hand up and touching his face gently.
Daniel didn't seem to hear. "They regretted it soon enough when he started attacking them a month ago," he continued angrily. "Then they wanted me back."
"I thought you said Anubis was dead."
"He is now," said Daniel grimly, "because I killed him."
Sha're twisted around to lie on her stomach so she could see him right side up. "You almost make it sound easy."
He grimaced. "I wish. It's just something I try to think about as little as possible. And then—" the grimace was replaced, thankfully, by a small smile—"there was his friend Aurel, who was more annoying than anything else until she tried to kill Sam. She could be standing right in front of you and still insist on speaking in your mind. I don't know what happened to her."
Remembering the voice of whatever had deposited her in the storage room, Sha're shuddered, wondering suddenly whether Aurel might in fact be responsible for her presence. It was not a particularly encouraging thought.
Seeing her unease, Daniel reached over and cupped her face in his hands. "Sha're, are you all right?"
Was she? "Oh, Dan'yer," she said softly, and suddenly she was in his arms, kissing him deeply again and again, and the world was beautiful once more.
-----
They slept in each other's arms that night, for the first time in what seemed like (and very nearly had been) forever.
Sha're was not entirely surprised when, nearly the instant she fell asleep, she found herself back in the tent on Abydos where she had lived until Apophis came; she dreamt about it often. However, there was a young man—nearly a boy still—there this time; she didn't recognize him, although she thought he looked vaguely like Skaara. Then he smiled widely and said, "Hello, Mother."
Sha're's jaw dropped. "Shifu . . ." she whispered. "But you were born only a year ago."
"Five years, as Daniel sees them," he corrected, hugging her tightly. "For me, nearly twenty-five."
"And what of your father?" a very familiar voice asked from behind them. Sha're turned to see that her father and brother were also with them in the tent, and exchanged warm embraces with them as well.
At last, just when she had finally given up hope and been ready to die, she was home again.
SEQUEL: to "The Lost Ones"
AUTHOR: Cyn(di)
EMAIL: custardpringle@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13—language, sexual situations (not graphic by any stretch of the imagination), adult themes. More coming later.
CATEGORY: supernatural, romance, drama, angst
SUMMARY: They were supposed to be gone forever. But "forever" is a very relative thing.
SPOILERS: I'm pretending "Heroes" and "Lost City" never happened, but anything else is fair game.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stargatefan14: I have no objection whatsoever to your archiving this story, just send me an email so I know exactly what that entails.
BTW, I may be addicted to angst, but—believe it or not—this story actually does have a plot. It should be making an appearance eventually. Actually, it already has, but I don't think you can tell yet.
Reviews make me happy and thus make the characters happy as well.
--------------------------------------------------
General Hammond gaped incredulously across the desk at what had to be the most unlikely grouping of people ever to grace his office. He knew Jack, Sam, and Daniel, of course, but they had some rather unexpected company: a woman whom Hammond recognized from photos as Daniel's wife, and a young boy who didn't look familiar but whom he strongly suspected was Jack's son. Sam was accompanied by no resurrected loved ones, but still looked vaguely stunned by what was going on around her.
Jack kindly allowed Hammond a second to get over his shock, and then broke the silence by confirming his suspicions.
"General," he announced, "I'd like you to meet my son, Charlie."
The boy tossed a loose salute by way of greeting. Hammond couldn't help but smile.
"And this is Sha're," Daniel hastened to add.
She bowed her head solemnly. "It is an honor to meet you, General."
Hammond finally managed to find his voice again. "Just what the hell is going on here, people?"
"We don't know, sir," Sam said—rather unnecessarily, as it was written all over her face. "Security guards found them on one of the lower levels, detained them, and alerted Daniel and Colonel O'Neill, who have confirmed their identities."
"Thank you, Major." Hammond turned to Sha're, opening his mouth to ask her a question, but was distracted by Charlie whispering something in his father's ear.
Jack nodded in response. "Yes, of course you should be nice to him. Especially since he's my CO."
Charlie asked another question.
Jack's eyebrows shot up in mock horror. "I certainly hope not. But just because he doesn't carry giant needles, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be properly respectful to him."
Daniel and Sam snickered; even Sha're, who didn't get the joke, had to stifle her amusement. Hammond himself snorted before returning to the object at hand. "Sha're, Charles, does either of you have any idea how this might have happened?"
He could've sworn he caught a brief, inscrutable look flash between the two, but it was gone within an instant.
"I do not know," Sha're answered. "I remember Teal'c shooting me—" she flinched at the memory—"and then I found myself here, whole and without the demon inside me."
"You're sure?" Hammond asked, certain she was leaving something out.
Sha're nodded.
Hammond pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. Just when he'd thought everything imaginable—and unimaginable—had happened on this base . . . "I'm assuming this hasn't happened to anyone else, because I haven't heard any other similar reports from anyone else." No one said anything, and he continued. "Still, we don't know why or how this has happened. So I'd like both of you to remain on base until this is solved. Dismissed, all of you. And congratulations," he couldn't resist adding.
They all left, except Jack. (Charlie was chatting happily with the others.)
Hammond looked up and saw he was still there. "Is there a problem, Jack?"
"Well, sir, Charlie wants to see his mother. And I can't keep this from Sara forever." Jack smiled slightly. "She has her ways of finding things out."
"You're right," Hammond agreed. "We will have to come up with some sort of an explanation for her. But I'd prefer it if we could figure out what the actual explanation is first."
-----
"Does General Hammond not trust us?" Sha're wondered out loud as Daniel steered her out of the commissary—where they'd attracted several stares—and down the corridor. "I understand his suspicion of me, but Charlie is only a small child. He's no threat to anyone."
"Hammond doesn't suspect you of anything," Daniel explained. "He just wants to make sure he knows what's going on before he lets you and Charlie loose on an unsuspecting world."
Sha're laughed. "And how long is that going to take?"
"With the people on this base . . . hmm, probably about five minutes. Don't worry—" he opened a door for her—"having returned from the dead myself, I can personally testify that the rooms are very nice."
Sha're walked in and looked around. The room was small, and the walls were stark metal; but the furniture was either dark wood or an excellent imitation, and the bed and chairs, with blue upholstery, looked quite comfortable. "It would seem so," she began, and then stopped suddenly as the rest of what Daniel had just said sank in. "Dan'yer . . . you died?"
"Sort of." Daniel said evasively. He came in after her and closed the door behind him. "It was pretty complicated."
"Tell me," Sha're insisted forcefully, sinking onto the bed and hugging her knees. "I want to know what happened."
"It's a long story . . ." But Daniel came over and joined Sha're on the bed, sitting cross-legged so that she could rest her head in his lap.
"Five minutes, correct?" She was only half-joking. "We have more than enough time."
As it turned out, though, it was a very long story indeed, and it took Daniel the best part of half an hour to tell her, even briefly, what had happened to him over the past four years: finding Shifu on Kheb, leaving him there only to meet him again later on, and eventually dying (his description of this made her shudder) and joining the boy on a higher plane of existence, for a time—and then being forced to leave it again, with no memory at all of either life.
At this point Sha're interrupted: "Why did the Ancients expel you?"
Daniel took a deep breath. "I tried to stop Anubis from destroying Abydos."
Sha're closed her eyes briefly, understanding. "What makes me think you failed?"
"I don't know what I was thinking," Daniel said bitterly. "I tried to bargain with him. For some reason, I thought he'd keep to it. And then, when he didn't, they wouldn't let me stop him. They let everyone on the planet ascend, but then they kicked me out for trying to stop the thing in the first place."
"You did your best," she said, stretching a hand up and touching his face gently.
Daniel didn't seem to hear. "They regretted it soon enough when he started attacking them a month ago," he continued angrily. "Then they wanted me back."
"I thought you said Anubis was dead."
"He is now," said Daniel grimly, "because I killed him."
Sha're twisted around to lie on her stomach so she could see him right side up. "You almost make it sound easy."
He grimaced. "I wish. It's just something I try to think about as little as possible. And then—" the grimace was replaced, thankfully, by a small smile—"there was his friend Aurel, who was more annoying than anything else until she tried to kill Sam. She could be standing right in front of you and still insist on speaking in your mind. I don't know what happened to her."
Remembering the voice of whatever had deposited her in the storage room, Sha're shuddered, wondering suddenly whether Aurel might in fact be responsible for her presence. It was not a particularly encouraging thought.
Seeing her unease, Daniel reached over and cupped her face in his hands. "Sha're, are you all right?"
Was she? "Oh, Dan'yer," she said softly, and suddenly she was in his arms, kissing him deeply again and again, and the world was beautiful once more.
-----
They slept in each other's arms that night, for the first time in what seemed like (and very nearly had been) forever.
Sha're was not entirely surprised when, nearly the instant she fell asleep, she found herself back in the tent on Abydos where she had lived until Apophis came; she dreamt about it often. However, there was a young man—nearly a boy still—there this time; she didn't recognize him, although she thought he looked vaguely like Skaara. Then he smiled widely and said, "Hello, Mother."
Sha're's jaw dropped. "Shifu . . ." she whispered. "But you were born only a year ago."
"Five years, as Daniel sees them," he corrected, hugging her tightly. "For me, nearly twenty-five."
"And what of your father?" a very familiar voice asked from behind them. Sha're turned to see that her father and brother were also with them in the tent, and exchanged warm embraces with them as well.
At last, just when she had finally given up hope and been ready to die, she was home again.