The next morning, Ashling awoke snuggled deep within comfort of both the feather bed and her husband's embrace. She was half sprawled across his chest, her left leg entwined with his. Her hair flowed behind her onto her unused pillow. She grinned smugly to herself as she remembered the cries she had managed to coax from this strong, quiet man during the night.

She stirred slightly when she heard a soft knocking at the door. The door was pushed very slowly open to let in a bright shaft of light across the floor and onto the bed. Ashling knew from the sound of the foot steps that it was her aunt, so she pretended to sleep.

"Ashling," her aunt whispered, "I know you're awake. By the looks of it, you had a good night?"

Afraid to disturb Daniel, Ashing nodded briefly and flashing her aunt a contented smile.

"I just brought some fruit and fresh bread for breakfast. You should get up soon since you have to travel some distance to the hiding place." Neala grinned and winked at Ashling, then left as quietly as she had entered.

"So did your aunt see enough, or should we call her back and give her a real show?" Daniel grinned down at his wife.

She propped herself up on one elbow. "You were awake?" She snickered at him and gave him a slight slap on the shoulder.

He grabbed his shoulder and rolled around as if in serious pain. "Married only one day and my wife has shot me with an arrow and punched me into submission. I give up! I'll do anything you want! Please, just don't injure me again." Daniel laughed as her eyebrows rose almost to her hairline.

"You'll do anything I want? How about some more of what you did at three o'clock this morning? I liked that." She gave him a saucy grin and slid over so that she was straddling him.

"Um, I think I can arrange that."

XXXXXXXXXX

About an hour later, they finally left the bed. Ashling took the marriage braid from the headboard and placed it on the table, along with the clothes she would be taking for their time away.

Daniel stooped down and added some more wood to the dwindling fire. As soon as it began to heat up, he lifted a kettle full of cold water onto a metal hook and swung it around over the fire.

"That should give us some hot water for a quick wash and some tea before we leave."

He would have traded all the tea on the planet for one cup of coffee right now. He hadn't had much sleep the night before and now that he was no longer touching Ashling, he was beginning to feel it.

"God, I'm getting old." He stood and stretched, trying to work out some kinks and soreness.

"You're old? I hate to think what you could have done to me if you were younger! I'd probably be dead from exhaustion by now." Ashling came up behind Daniel and began kissing him on the shoulder, while running her hands under his arms and over his chest.

"Hey, that's what started that whole thing last night, wife! Keep that up and we'll starve to death with food on the table two feet away." He turned around in her arms and pulled her in for a hug. They just stood there together, holding on to each other and savoring the contentment that the touch brought to them.

(He was lying on a stone altar, bleeding profusely from a wound in his side. She was tied to a stone pillar, unable to get to him. There was smoke and the cries of frightened children swirling around them. A pale face peered at her from beneath a light grey hood. Cold, dead eyes met hers. She doubled over as labor pains hit her again and she tried to stifle her screams. He turned his face toward her, smiling with reassurance through his pain. She watched as the hooded figure poured oil around her husband on the altar. He took a lit torch approached Daniel.)

He knew when she stiffened that she was having another vision. He continued to hold her until she relaxed again. He could feel her cold tears running down his bare chest. He grasped either side of her head with his hands and pulled her back so he could look into her eyes.

"Tell me what you saw."

"I saw the same vision I saw the second time in the forest. Not with you and Sha're, but someone in a grey hood had you strapped down on an altar and was getting ready to set you on fire. I was tied down and couldn't get free to help you." She threw herself back against him and pulled him as close to her as she could get him, as though she could protect him from her vision with her body.

"Ashling, I'm right here. I'm safe. With you. Whatever happens in the future, we'll deal with it when it happens - together." He still had his P-90 and a lot of extra clips for it. He decided it would be a good idea if she taught him how to use a bow. He determined he would continue with the lok'nel Teal'c had taught him over the years. It might also be a good idea to teach Ashling some hand-to-hand combat moves.

"Come. Let's get washed up, get dressed and then we'll get something to eat. After last night we could both use some good nourishment." He grinned at her and was rewarded with a shaky smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

An hour later, they were headed back to the stargate. Tomas had told Ashling how to get to the village's "honeymoon cottage" that was hidden in the mountains, a day's walk past the stargate. They were sent off with a handcart filled with enough food and supplies for a month, when someone from the village would bring fresh supplies for then.

Daniel checked his note on the DHD and found it still hadn't been moved. He hadn't realized how much he'd been counting on a rescue until he knew that there wasn't one coming soon. Daniel remained quiet during the rest of the day's hike, thinking about his home and the friends he'd left behind.

Ashling knew something was bothering him, but decided that he would share with her if he wanted to. She'd just wait for him to say something.

They arrived at the small village honeymoon hut early during the second afternoon. It was just one room and the only furniture was a large down bed, a small table and two chairs. They spent the remainder of daylight cleaning out the cobwebs, hauling water from the stream nearby and washing dishes. Ashling's aunt had packed fresh linen for the bed, but they hauled the down mattress outside and draped it over a line that had been strung between two trees for drying clothes. Daniel beat as much dust as he could out of the mattress before they put it back on their bed. By the time they'd finished preparing the cottage and had eaten a quick meal of bread and cheese, they were both exhausted from two days of hiking and cleaning, - and little sleep - that they simply collapsed together into the bed and were asleep within seconds.

XXXXXXXXXX

Within a week they had established a routine. They awakened when the sun came up and completed necessary chores in the early morning. They spent the afternoon roaming the area; fishing or hunting if needed. Ashling told Daniel about her childhood and how she had been raised to rule her people. She was concerned now about how her father would handle her disappearance. She knew that her aunt and uncle would let him know she was safe, but fear of the Prior's influence over her brother frequently worried her.

Early during the morning of their tenth day in the cottage, Daniel followed the nearby stream to the lake they had discovered their second day there. He stood on the shore looking over the gently moving water and thought about the many places his life had taken him. His life was divided into time periods by events; his parent's death, college, Abydos and Sha're, Jack's return to Abydos, Sha're's death, his first ascension and descension.

He'd closed himself off from people most of his life. His study and work had always been at the center of his life and people had taken second place for him. Even with Sha're he'd been more eager to explore and learn than he had been to let her know him. He'd always kept the very most important part of himself locked away for safe keeping. Only Jack had been able to penetrate through the wall he'd built around himself. Jack understood why he'd closed himself off and he frequently forced Daniel to really look at what he'd been doing to himself, just as Daniel had been able to get through to Jack during that first mission to Abydos.

Daniel was very good at reading other people and meeting their needs, but he'd never allowed himself the luxury of time to get to know himself and find ways to give him what he needed. The past two weeks had been the longest time he'd ever spent thinking about who he was and what he wanted from life. He had always shoved his needs and wants aside for others. He was emotionally exhausted and starved. Maybe Ashling was his second chance at happiness. Maybe she was his last chance.

Ashling had been watching him for some time. He hadn't moved for almost half an hour and she wondered what was going through his mind. She marveled that she was allowed to be a small part of this man's life. Daniel was continuously thoughtful and gentle. And even though she had no one to compare him to, she was aware that when they made love, he always thought of her pleasure before his. Yet, something was missing. There was caring, but no passion. She knew he didn't love her. She hadn't expected him to. He'd been forced into this marriage for her sake. There was a perpetual aura of sadness about him that she wasn't able to break through. She wanted very much to make him feel content and to be happy that he'd chosen to stay with her rather than wait fruitlessly for a way home. It suddenly occurred to her that even though she'd shared a great deal about her life and people, he'd never told her one thing about where he'd come from or who he really was, except that he was an explorer of other worlds.

She rose from the rock where she'd been sitting, watching Daniel from a distance, and quietly approached him. She leaned against his back and slid her hands up under his arms where he had them folded across his chest. She entwined her fingers in his and leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing with sadness for him.

Daniel looked down at the long slender fingers mingled among his and absentmindedly began running his thumbs over her knuckles. They stood together, husband and wife in body, but not in spirit, and both longed for what they were lacking but didn't know how to achieve. Eventually he twisted in her arms to face her. He brought her head onto his shoulder and cradled her snuggly against him, hoping that her warmth would find a crack in the wall around his heart and seep through.

Ashling sensed the loneliness he felt and not knowing any other way to reach him, she offered her body. She reached up and pulled his head down into a soft kiss filled with longing and need. His body responded and he lowered her to the sand along the shore of the lake.

Ashling's eyes flew open. "Here? Outside?"

Daniel gave her a shy grin. "Who's going to see? The fish?"

She chuckled and reached down to pull his tunic over his head.

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