Category: Angst, Action/Adventure, Drama, crossover, Alternate Universe

Spoilers: Stargate - Bane, Any with Cassie or Ry'ac, Xena - Friend In Need, Path Of Vengeance, To Helicon And Back

Season/Sequel: Five, after 48 hours, but before Summit - Sequel to Hidden Truths

Rating: PG-15

Content Warnings: Violence and some swearing, (not just from Jack.)

Summary:

Status: Complete

Archive:

Disclaimer: I do not own StarGate SG-1 or Xena Warrior Princess, but the original characters in this story are mine, (luckily else I'd feel pretty useless). And I am making no money what so ever from this. Unfortunately.

Author's Notes: This is the second story in my immortal series, which is looking to continue for some time. I have to apologise if parts of this story are similar to someone else's, I've tried to keep any real influences out of it. One thing I am now going to say, Lily, Will, Coel, Ambrose, and co. are all mine, I own them!! I do have my own original characters, I don't simply rely on other people to supply them for me!! (Sorry bout that, exam stress getting to me.) I feel it necessary that no references are made to my friends habits during the course of the story. There is a bit more humour this time - due to Will's influence, I'm sorry but I have no control what so ever over the behaviour of that particular immortal. All mistakes are mine. I hope those people who wanted to see more of the hidden truths span are happy with this, I try my best!! With every addition this Fic has amazed me, somehow it's already developed it's own mind, and I doubt that this will be the last you will see of this series, it has claimed me, for better or for the worse.

The songs are The Widowing Field Jars Of Clay, Gollum's song Emiliana Torrini (The Two Towers), Put Your Faith In Me Amy Studt, Live and Learn Cardigans

Many thanks to Bex for all her loving and betaing and snarcy comments on how I should be writing faster, couldn't do it without you!!!

This one's for Jessie.

Prologue

It is finished. What is finished?

Much us finished known or unknown:

Lives are finished; time dimished;'

Amen : Christina Rossetti

It was hard to believe that the members of SG-1 had been a close knit, almost family group only two weeks before. Hard to believe that the simple truth that one of their number was a lot older than any of them thought, and immortal, could make such a big difference to the team dynamic after so many years.

General George Hammond sighed as he stood at the window overlooking the Stargate, the briefing table empty behind him. The reactions of their allies to the revelation had surprised them all, as they had then attempted to give reasonable reasons that Doctor Jackson shouldn't remain on Earth, or as a member of an active SG team. The biggest reason of them all, forwarded by the Tok'ra Anise had the general worried, because it was so true. What would happen if the good immortal Doctor were taken as a host by a Goa'uld.

The question had stumped them all, in it's realism and it's meaning. All this time that Doctor Jackson had been out there, there had been the likely hood that he could have been taken as a host. That a Goa'uld could have gained the ultimate advantage.

George shuddered. Doctor Jackson had no idea of the meetings that had been taking place, and no idea that the question had even been presented, thank whatever gods that did exist.

The elderly officer warily rubbed his eyes and turned back towards his office well aware that there was quite a stack of paperwork awaiting him on his desk. Most of which having nothing what so ever to do with the whole immortal situation.

Jack O'Neill stood up as the argument that had been slowly building in pace over the last few hours, became more heated, brown eyes dark with annoyance.

"Damnit Daniel!! You can't not tell us something like that!"

"Like what, that I'm older than you? Would you have honestly believed me Jack?" Daniel's voice was calm, unlike his friend's which carried an air of rage, thickening the atmosphere in the small room.

"If you had proved it yeah, sure, but you didn't even try!"

"Who said I didn't Jack? Hmmm, did my warnings and idle comments not tell you anything over the years?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean Jackson?" Samantha Carter winced slightly glancing at the fourth member of their group before casting a hesitant look back at the other two men.

"It means that maybe, you, just didn't want to believe it anyway! Maybe if I had told you before, you would never have taken it seriously, I mean, come on, the only reason we're here is that some NID agent decided to try and bump me off!"

"That's it isn't it," Jack lowered his voice meaningfully, "That's the whole thing isn't it Danny? You lied to protect yourself."

Daniel starred at the other man in disbelief, shaking his head as he turned away in disgust.

"Yeah, that's it." Jack's voice was low and dark as he spoke, mocking the other man, "You lied to protect your own sorry immortal butt!"

Daniel's shoulders stiffened suddenly and he swung back round, blue eyes suddenly cold. "You know what, Colonel? I have nothing to say to you."

Daniel turned and walked down the short corridor to his front door, opening it with a flourish. He met Jack's gaze, mouth set in a grim line. "Now go."

Without a word Jack moved past the other man, back straight, before turning and looking at his companions. "Carter?"

Sam winced before glancing at Daniel and deciding that it would be best to follow the colonel's example, she stood with Teal'c and made her move towards the door. She felt her friend's gaze rest on her back for a few moments as she followed the other two down the corridor and closed her eyes for a moment. How had it come to this?

Daniel slammed his door moodily once he was sure they were out of range. There was only so much even he could take before he lost it. Having his 'best' friend inform him that he 'lied to protect himself' had been the final straw. He needed a rest from it all himself. Time to straighten his thoughts and get adjusted to the situation.

Though he would never admit it to his friends, the situation wasn't easy on him either.

A gasp escaped his mouth as he shot up-right, brown eyes wide, breathing heavily as though he had just run a marathon, the young man lent heavily against the bed's headboard brown eyes fixed on the opposite wall as he pulled himself back to the real world away from his dream. Sitting up in his bed he opened the top draw of the table beside his bed his hand closing around the wire frames of his glasses. With a sigh a pushed himself out of bed and headed towards the bathroom for a shower.

The sound of running water filtered out from beneath the door as he showered, humming a random tune idly. Long fingers rubbed the shampoo into his hair, as he lent under the spray to rinse it off he glanced towards the mirror on the opposite wall looking away moments later as he remembered that there wasn't a mirror on the wall anymore. It was broken beyond repair and he had had nothing to do with it.

Hauling himself out of the shower, he carefully dried off pulling on the clothes that he had left in there the day before. Moving over to the sink he quickly shaved and washed his face never once glancing into the mirror.

With a sigh he turned and walked out of the room towards his kitchen, turning on the kettle and swiftly tossing a teabag into his mug ready for the hot water. Wandering back into the main room of his apartment he hit the play button on his answer phone knowing that there were a few messages waiting for his attention. The same typical messages from friends and ex-girlfriends who had never really known him carried on the air as he searched his cupboards for anything edible paying little attention to the voices coming from the machine knowing that in all reality none of them mattered. They would only be around for a few more years and then he would have to move on as always.

Brown eyes drifted to the mirror on the wall above the phone a tiny smile wandering onto his face. It amazed people how many mirrors he had in his apartment, well it amazed most people, he knew of at least four people who thought he would be better off without them.

Shaking his head sadly he pulled the only offering he could find from the last cupboard in his kitchen, a rather sorry looking can of soup. Glancing at the best before date on it's lid he smiled, he had a week to eat it, lucky, he had expected to find that it was at least two years out of date.

Levering himself upright he pulled a saucepan down from the rack above the main kitchen unit, before going in search of a can opener to open his find. Brown eyes narrowed in annoyance as he battled with the ancient piece of kitchen equipment that he decided was very close to being worthy of his teacher's present collection of all things ancient, including himself. The young man smiled at the thought, knowing that had he spoken it aloud within the old man's hearing he would have been beaten for such a nonsensical thought.

He grinned as he finally won his battle relived that he didn't have to search for his old Cornish blade in a final ditch attempt to beat the can to submission. Turning the front ring of the cooker on to what he thought to be a suitable heat, he turned the can upside down depositing it's contents into the pan as the stream of messages continued.

He groaned as his latest ex's whine started up. She was the one responsible for the broken mirror in his bathroom. She hadn't liked it, so she had broken it. The final straw that had broken the camel's back.

After three months of hell with the attention seeking bitch from hell as a girlfriend he had thrown her out making his thoughts on her behaviour and the likelihood of a reunion known. Had she understood? Nope, not one word.

He ran a hand through his dark brown, almost black hair, leaning back against the work surface listening for the last message to run so he could delete them all. He froze, brown eyes widening as he listened to a very familiar voice and it's message, only moving to take the soup off the heat when it tried to boil over.

As the message ended he reached around the door and grabbed his phone's handset, hitting the off button on the answering machine and dialling a well known number and waiting. As the person on the other end picked up he straightened, pulling a bowl out of a cupboard and pouring the soup in, waiting to be sure that the right person had picked up the phone.

"It's me, I just got a message from Tom... Lily's gone."

The sound of his phone ringing was enough to bring Daniel out of his thoughts and back to the real world and he hurriedly pulled himself upright and made his way to the telephone table, grabbing the phone before whoever was on the other end could hang up on him.

"Hello?" He knew he sounded tried, but in all honesty he didn't care.

"It's me, I just got a message from Tom... Lily's gone."

"Tintagel." Daniel's voice was soft.

"Yeah old man, it's me, I thought you would want to know."

Daniel nodded slowly before remembering that the other man couldn't see. "Yeah, thanks. What else do you know?"

Daniel heard the other man sigh. "Nothing, the message was pretty vague to be honest. Anyhow, I've got to go."

"Thanks, Will."

Daniel stood perfectly still for a few moments, letting the facts sink in before setting the now dead phone gently down on it's base. Blue eyes retained a fixed gaze on the opposite wall as he worked through his immediate reaction to the news.

This wasn't good. Nothing that contained the words 'Lily' and 'Missing' in the same sentence could ever be good.

Thomas Lane rested his head on his hands, a sob of despair escaping his mouth. After all this time, he had slipped up, he had left her undefended for a moment and they had taken advantage of it.

He should have known better than to let her go out, especially if none of them were going, it wasn't safe, her normal friends and comrades didn't understand. Would never understand.

She couldn't defend herself from it all. From the evil that people were so blind to. The evil that seemed to be everywhere, no matter what any of them did.

He'd lost her. His lover. The healer. The defenceless young one who would never hurt another soul. Never. It wasn't her nature. Her father was right, it wasn't her nature now, and never would be, or that would be the end. If she ever changed those believes they were all doomed.

But now he was the one who was doomed. He had lost her. He had lost her and her father would know soon enough.

The father who was never anywherenearover-protective where his youngest was concerned. She would never be able to defend herself from what she needed to be defended from. She had to be protected from the darkness in the reality she had been born into. Luckily, she had been born to the right parents. Her mother, though mortal, had understood the other side of the everyday world and had hidden her daughter from it as she had grown up. Her father, one of the wisest, and surely the eldest, living immortals was an ever dependable guardian for his daughter, always there for her when ever he was needed. Ready to help with what ever she needed. Always looking out for her, without her even being aware of it.

Tom shook silently as he cried, needing her to be there for him, for her to not be anywhere but with him, where he could protect her, and ask her what he had been waiting to ask for so long. But he couldn't and she wasn't.

It never worked the way you wanted, he had learned that at a young age. But it still hurt.

It hurt even more now. With his soul-mate gone, and her fate uncertain.