Title: The Price
Author: Hah
Genre: Romance/Angst
Warnings: None
Season/Spoilers: None.
Summary: Melia left everything for the young Tok'ra. The cost may have been higher than she expected.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.

Chapter 3

The next few days were like a beautiful dream for the couple. All they had was each other, but that didn't matter. Intrigue, wars, and eternal enlightenment with all its rules and regulations were a million light-years away. They settled into a routine of sorts-he would go out in the morning and hunt or fish for the day's meat while she would prepare the grain and fruit cereal. After breakfast, they would pack up camp, such as it was, and explore the planet, looking for better sources of food and shelter, or better yet, a possible civilization, and if there happened to be a pond that required testing as a swimming hole, then so be it. When the sun started going down, they would find shelter for the night, talk around the fire until late at night about places they had been and people they had met, and fall asleep in each other's arms.

Finally, the day she had been dreading came. They came across a clearing and there stood what the Tok'ra called the chappa'ai. The pair stood at the edge of the clearing for a few minutes, just staring at the large ring, both knowing that their lives had changed in a huge way, but neither were sure just how.

"I guess I knew this was too good to last," Pedroche broke the silence.

Melia was slightly taken aback. The ease with which he could just toss all that they had together aside was like a slap in the face. "What do you mean? It doesn't have to end, not here."

He turned to her and took her face in his hands. "I cannot overlook my responsibility to my people and to all those in slavery to the Goa'uld. It's my purpose in life."

She took a deep breath and started in to her sales pitch. "There may be another way. What if I told you that you could have a perfect perspective on the universe and know everything there is to know." Before he had the chance to interrupt her, she hurried on, "There's an Ascended on the planet Kheb whose name is Oma Desala. She helps people ascend to a higher plane of existence." She went on to explain the ascension process and what it meant. "She can help you ascend, then we can be together forever. Can you imagine it - the two of us wandering the universe with no limitations?"

"Melia, I..."

"Wait," she pleaded, seeing the rejection of her offer in his eyes, "you don't have to make up your mind right now. Think about it. You can even go back and tie up loose ends with your people if you need to. Stay with me tonight, go back tomorrow, and then if you decide to ascend, you can meet me at Kheb in a couple of weeks."

Unable to stand her pleading any longer, Pedroche gave in. "Okay, I'll think about it," he replied, gazing tenderly into her eyes. He smoothed her hair back and kissed her on the forehead much the same way as she had done to him when he was sick. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest, knowing somehow that this would very likely be one of their last moments together.

---

The next day, Melia woke with a heavy heart. She rolled over to watch Pedroche as he slept, only to find him watching her.

"I do love you, you know," he said, his voice husky with emotion.

"Yes, and I love you. Part of me wishes that we had never found the stargate."

"It's no use dwelling on what might have been," he replied, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "No matter what happens or where I go, I will always carry you with me in my heart."

"And I, you," she said, tears in her eyes.

There was a melancholy air about the couple as they packed up camp for the last time. They tried to keep the mood light, but their inevitable parting hung over them like a dark cloud. When he finally dialed the home world of a race of Tok'ra allies - for certainly his people would have moved after he had been captured - they stood for a moment, trying to capture this one last memory of being in each other's arms.

"Think about what I said, okay?" Melia made her final plea. "I'll be on Kheb in two weeks. It would mean the universe to me if you were there with me."

"I will seriously consider it," he assured her. Then, after a final embrace, he stepped through the event horizon and she was left more alone than she had ever felt before.