The debate had been quite heated, but sheer dogged determination had finally persuaded Hammond to let him check up on Carter. What could be the harm of a friendly face, he'd argued. He knew that Carter would be all right, but he just needed to prove it for himself. The truth – and everyone knew it – was that he could hardly last a weekend without going mad for not being near her. Even without all the coffee, his heart-rate had become erratic and his blood pressure had gone through the roof. Hammond had all but ordered him to go fishing, but Fraiser had come through for him in the end.
Just five minutes, he'd promised before stepping through the stargate.
The bright sun in the clear sky had blurred his vision. He'd blinked and wiped his eyes, but he would have sworn that he'd seen a tiger leap over the waterfall in the distance. And all that he saw after was a tall, dark man standing by the edge of the lake turn away from the waterfall to look back curiously at him. And then he, too, had vanished.
Which left the girl.
He'd almost jumped out of his skin when she'd said hello. He watched her now, but she spent most of her time with Daniel.
"Hello," the voice had said, "My name is Maya."
He'd spun around, P-90 raised, trigger-finger twitching, but the small girl who'd spoken never blinked, she just looked up at him innocently.
"Maya?" he'd said. Repeating the obvious gave him a few seconds to think.
"My name means many things," she'd said quite seriously. "In your way of thinking it means unreality of matter, of illusion. I am the power to transform; I am transitory and manifold; I am idealism, I am vanity; I..." She'd paused at his frown. "Sometimes, Mother calls me Grace," she'd said, smiling ever so sweetly.
Like the way the temple hovered – uncertain of where it should be – she'd given him the creeps, too. She had flowers in her hair — but not the mass of shrubbery that the Nox did. Her dress was plain and simple — but not as earthy as the Nox wore. Her voice was light and gentle — but more assertive than the Nox ever would be.
"Your Major is gone," she'd said. "But she will return."
He'd stood there with his mouth open as she'd walked toward him, her feet not leaving any impression in the soft grass. Before he could figure out what was going on she'd waved her small fingers in the air to activate the gate, taken his free hand, and had led him through to...
The temple phasing in and out, and the ghostly images of people going about their daily life was bad enough, but the dark red stain close to where Teal'c chose to stand made his skin crawl.
And the girl was worse than Daniel and Carter combined. She spoke in riddles that made Daniel look at her almost with awe. They would stand rooted to the spot or sit quietly out of the way, and all Daniel would say when asked was Zen or Tau, as if that was the answer to everything. And if she ever answered his own questions, the answer would be so long and complicated that he didn't have a clue, or so brief... that he still didn't have a clue.
"This is my home," she'd said... Except that what she'd actually said involved most of the tenses he was familiar with and some that he was sure didn't know whether they were coming or going.
She'd wiggled her fingers and the gate had quietly shut down and just as quietly opened up again. "Please,", she'd said, "Ask your General Hammond to send Daniel Jackson and the Jaffa Teal'c..."
He'd held up his hand, trying to impose his own authority, but all she did was grin when Davis answered his call. When Hammond's flustered voice asked him what in heaven's name he was doing, he mentioned the girl and Hammond had practically choked. But then, "The way that can be taken is not the enduring way." he'd heard the General drawl, his voice loud and clear.
"Ming k'o ming, fei ch'ang ming," the girl laughed back. "Truly you are a most wise man, General Hammond," she'd said.
So here they all were, and he was still none the wiser.
It was, supposedly, all a matter of trust. Hammond wouldn't elaborate, and he couldn't make any sense of what the girl said. Daniel and Teal'c had come through, and the girl had welcomed them both. At least, she'd said something incomprehensible in Goa'uld to Teal'c, and repeated the sing-song thing – and a whole lot more – to Daniel.
Teal'c had inclined his head respectfully, but he'd never let her out of his sight, or out of range of his staff weapon.
Daniel had gone straight to heaven. He was completely at ease walking through the buildings as they came and went. He even stopped and gave way to the ghosts of the girl's people as they walked about — much to her delight. And all the writing, all the statues and icons, the carvings that decorated the walls, the bright silks and the garlands of flowers... Daniel had hardly stopped asking questions the whole of the first day, but whether he got the answers he was looking for...
Jack just wanted it all to stop, period. Carter, so the girl – and Daniel and Teal'c, for that matter – kept telling him, would turn up soon.
The second day came and went – along with mysterious bowls of fruit and vegetables – as did the third and fourth. The fifth day came and brought along with it a tall, well-tanned individual with a thing for tattoos and silk pajamas. The girl called him Father, and he called her Maya. The day went; the man stayed; Jack kept out of their way, kicking his heels.
The sixth day came and so did all the buildings and the people. No one appeared to be at all surprised – not even Daniel or Teal'c – but Jack began kicking at the walls — mainly because of the blisters on his heels. The tall guy had taken up residence in the big temple, there'd been gatherings and speeches and more fresh fruit.
By the time the sun set, everyone had found their place, everyone was happy. Everything had almost returned to normal and the girl had returned to his side, putting her small hand in his.
"There is a connection between us, Colonel O'Neill," Maya said. "We walk among the stars but cannot remain apart. Mother will soon learn that I must die, yet she will walk her path with her head high. But she will not understand, she will not see the truth as I do; that is mine alone."
Of course he'd guessed – only the part about the girl and Carter and the guy in the silk pajamas – but he had guessed. They walked together, neither missing a step, but Jack looked up at the small white moon in an otherwise empty sky. He knew that there was more to the girl; and even more to the quiet guy than he cared to think of.
"Humankind cannot resist interfering. I am my Mother's daughter, in that we are the same," Maya continued. "Daniel in his own way has learned to accept the truth — although Mother will attempt to persuade him otherwise." She squeezed his fingers gently. "And one day, in your own way, you, too, will see it."
They stopped before a low wall enclosing a beautiful garden. Even in the moonlight, Jack could see that the grass was emerald green. A winding path drew his eyes to a tall tree that he knew was as old as the garden itself. And on the grass beneath the tree was a single flower. A ghost of a man sat before it, his eyes shining brightly, but it was clear that they were filled with tears.
"Master Chen lives," Maya said quietly. "He thinks that Mother gave her life for him, that she sacrificed her life to cheat him from me. He sees the flower and weeps for her." Maya laughed gently as Jack glanced down at her. "It was once asked of a Master, 'How does an enlightened one return to the ordinary world?'" Maya smiled up at Jack's frown. "To which the Master replied, 'A broken mirror never reflects again; fallen flowers never go back to the old branches.'"
"It is my time to die," Maya said, "But do not be afraid." Jack felt Maya's fingers wriggle free from his hand. "See," Maya said, pointing, "The stars are alive again."
The moon had been shining in an otherwise dark and empty sky, but one by one, the stars were coming out, creating patterns so different from the constellations he knew by heart. He was a long way from home, yet Maya's quiet explanation – which one day he hoped to understand – had managed to put his mind at ease. The ghost in the garden still stared at the flower, but Maya was gone.