Chapter Six
Tilly
The first thing I could remember, after the lights from the box had a hold on me, is a hand brushing my hair away from my face and voices. No, one voice. I felt a hand brush my cheek, and then arms cradling me. After awhile I tried to open my eyes. It was hard at first, because my eyelids felt very heavy, but I eventually did and looked straight into the eyes of my father.
Yes! I had dreamt of this moment. Wait. Was this a dream? I did not care. This was my father...Dad... "Daddy!" I finally exclaimed and threw my arms around his neck for the biggest hug I could give. I held on tight for fear he would disappear.
"Whoa! You sure have a grip there," Dad said with a choked voice. "You think you could loosen that grip so I can look at my daughter?"
It really was him. I loosened my hold and leaned back into his arms to see his face. He was looking at me with a smile. Believe me, I now know what mom meant by lighting up a room. I felt so...alive. Yea, that was the word, alive. I felt the happiest I have ever felt.
"Daddy, is it really you? I mean I've dreamt of this for years," I said with a rush. "But I never thought I would actually see you. This is great. I have so many questions."
Dad laughs and places a hand on her cheek, "Yes, it's really me. You know, you should try taking a breath when you speak. It gives others time to think or speak as well. Like, what is your name?"
"Oh! Sorry. My name is Tillian. That was my Grandmothers name. But everyone calls me Tilly.
"Tilly, very pretty name. Just like you."
I was so happy to see the love radiating out from him and the feeling of him holding me. But finally I started to notice our surroundings. "Uh, Daddy, what has happened to everyone?" as I noticed that they are, other than Dad and myself, were sort of hanging in the air.
Jack
I had forgotten about the situation until Tilly asked about the scenery. What did this mean? Why did Tilly get caught in this predicament? One possibility is her genetics. In fact it is the only thing that made sense. Kanan must have been pretty close to the mark when he said it was my destiny. But that is crap. I don't believe in the destiny bull.
'You're right. It is genetics,' said my subconscious mentally.
'What?' Oh, yea. I had forgotten about my shadow. 'Look, why don't you just move on back into my...ah...you know. It's kind a weird with you standing there.'
'What? Don't like duplicates?'
'What is that suppose to mean?' I had asked, still doing the mental conversation.
'Just that you tend to have a problem dealing with more than one of yourselves, like the android and the clone. O.K. so you are the original, granted, but I am too. I am you. No duplication here. So quit thinking of me like that. I'm here to help you with this problem!'
'Daddy?'
'Yes, sweetie?'
'Why are you arguing with yourself?'
'I'm not...' I stopped there when I realized that every thing that was said was not out loud, even to Tilly.
"Wait, you can hear my conversation with...you know?" I asked out loud while waving my hand in the direction of my subconscious.
"Yes."
"Can you see him?"
"No, not in the normal sense of the word."
"How old are you?"
"Six. I just turned six."
"You sound more like twenty-six," I said as I shifted Tilly around to give her a good look. "So, how do you see him?"
She smiled and pointed to her head, "In here."
My subconscious walked over and knelt next to us and said, "She has the same abilities as we do."
"Oh, great! If NID or the System Lords ever finds out she will be in danger for sure," I said as I rubbed a hand over my face.
"It will be awhile before they discover anything," spoke my sub-buddy.
'Oiy! What a headache,' said another voice.
'Kanan, is that you?' I asked.
'Yes, but quit yelling,' he groused.
'I'm not yelling. I'm thinking!' Geez, who would of thought?
'Well, stop thinking so loud,' Kanan replied.
"Daddy? Who is that?" asked Tilly with a frown on her face.
"Ah...that is Kanan. He is a Tok'ra," I said, trying to figure out how to explain who he really is.
"I remember him from our house. He was the hurt man. But, How can he be here?" enquired Tilly as she looked around for someone else.
My sub-buddy placed a hand on her head and said, 'Close your eyes and see.'
'Jack?' spoke Kanan in a whisper, 'What's going on?'
'SSSh! My subconscious is explaining to my daughter what you are.'
'Oh. Daughter?'
Jack's Sub-Buddy
Having a front row seat in my own mind is kinda weird. But it helps with what I have to do to bring myself back. I have been working for many years in either Black Ops or top-secret facilities, plus personal bad stuff, that I had completely buried most of the important and pertinent information and myself deep inside...me. It is going to take me the subconscious, and the help from the Ancient knowledge to bring us to our full potential, in order to help all of us.
First I will let Tilly know who Kanan is, but just the bear minimal of it. She does not need to know everything.
Tilly looked at her Dad and said, "Oh! Ewww! He is inside your head?"
"Yes," Jack said, knowing it was a mirrored reaction of him not so long ago.
'Jack! I take offense to that,' said Kanan.
'Tough! Deal with it,' exclaimed Jack.
The exchange between Kanan and myself was amusing, but time was of the essence. "Jack, we need to go."
"Go where?" asked Jack.
"What is the one place you feel most at peace?" I asked.
"That's easy, the cabin," Jack said with a frown. "Why?"
"We will go there to hang out while we do our thing," I explained.
"But that is on Earth? How can we go there with out transportation available?" Huffed Jack.
"Jack! Close your eyes and concentrate on the cabin." I said.
"But..."
"Jack, just do it!" I shouted. Even subconscious can loss patient.
"Ok, ok, closing my eyes and picturing the cabin."
Within seconds everything sifted, making our stomachs feel a little nauseas, sort of like motion sickness.
"You all can open your eyes now." I said softly, so the scenery could sink in.
Jack
There it was. My cabin in all of its glory with the best sunrise you could imagine coming up from the opposite shore. There were splashes of brilliant colors of pink, purple, and coral with a hint of yellow spilling over the mountains in the distant and landing on the surface of the lake in reflective radiance. The stunned silence is all that was coming from the observers, even me. I could not believe that I could even come close to imagining anything like this.
"Wow!" exclaimed Tilly, "it is beauuutiful."
I could not keep my smile hidden with that out burst. The joy on her face had ignited something warm in my heart. Which seems to be spreading out in all directions. It was awaking something that was dormant for a very long time.
'Kanan? What do you think?' I mentally asked him.
'I am very humbled by such beauty. Not one planet in my lifetime have I witnessed anything even close to this. I see why this place would give anyone peace.' he said with awe that was never expressed by a Tok'ra before.
It felt good to share this with them, but I believe my Sub-Buddy was being patient. Well, patient enough. He was vying for our attention.
"What?" I asked him.
"Now, you eat," he said and he pointed to a picnic blanket with a basket setting near to the dock.
"Oh, cool!" exclaimed a very excited Tilly. She turned to me and grabbed my hand and started to drag me to the blanket. "Come on daddy, let us eat." She let go of my hand and knelt down to open the basket. She then started to pull out bread, fried chicken, pizza, hot dogs, potato chips, salad, fruit, juices, soda and beer. It was a cornucopia full.
I had to laugh, because I knew it was my confliction, of wanting my favorite foods and wanting to feed Tilly health rabbit food, that caused the unique combination of foods coming out of the basket.
My sub-buddy moved to sit next to me as we settled to eat and watch the sunrise. After a moment he turned to me and asked, "Jack?" trying to gain my attention.
"Huh?"
"We need to talk," he said. The tone left little doubt to the seriousness of that statement. I looked at Tilly and watched her eagerly devour a slice of pizza and whooped with delight at the taste. I could not hold the smile back, but I could not shake the feeling that I was not going to like what I was going to tell myself.
"Tilly, I need to go and have a private word with...ah...myself. Please stay here for now and don't try to read our thoughts," I said and stabbing a finger in her direction.
"Who? Me?" she said with a grin smeared with pizza sauce.
"Oy! Now I know you're my kid," I said with a slap to my forehead.
Tilly giggled and said, "Yes, I am!"
"I'll be right back. You save me at least two slices of that."
"Ok, daddy," she answered with a cheese grin, literally.
Jack went into the cabin and looked around. It is just as I remembered it.
"Of course it is. This is your memory," stated Sub-Buddy.
I just nod and sat down on the chair near the fireplace. "All right, let's have it."
Sub-Buddy
'Where to began?' I asked myself. There is so much to tell. We have the time to tell it all, but I guess I should start with that and proceed to Tilly's predicament.
"Jack, we are going to be here for at least a year," I tell him.
"What? We can't. We need to get back to help SG1 and Jacob."
"Yeah! What he said," said Kanan.
Which made both Jacks jump in reaction, because they had forgotten he was there, sort of speak.
"Yes we do," I replied. "But you forget the time dilation between us and them.
"So, what is the ratio," asked Kanan.
"Approximately one day to our year," I informed them. "It will be some very hard times in there too."
"What about Tilly? She won't get hurt, will she?" Jack asked with a touch of anxiety.
"She is my next topic. She will not be feeling very well in a few weeks. Not sure of the exact time line." I said while raising my hand to stop the retort Jack was about to give. "But she will survive with our help. I do not know anything beyond that. She will be changing, but I am not sure at what level. I assume it will be at a smaller rate as us. Her role in all of this is still unclear," I stopped to let that sink in and moved to sit opposite myself. "There may be visitors here within our time of transition."
"Visitors? Who?" asked Jack and Kanan simultaneously.
"You know that the Claviger was created by the original Alliance, right?" I asked.
"Yes. I had assumed that by their markings on that doohickey," quipped Jack sarcastically.
"Well, at some point or other we may also have visitors to help us along by one or all of the races."
"Even the Firlings?" Jack asked.
"Maybe. Each race has their unique abilities that were used in creating the Claviger. So with the metamorphosis that is taking place there might be a time when one of them will need to come to help us through to complete the cycles. Even the Firlings," I stated.
Jack pondered that and said, "I know the Asgards are accomplished in genetics, to a point; the Nox are great with mental illusions; the Ancients had the brain power; what are the Firlings accomplished at?" He asked.
"Time and space," I said.