A/N: Company's gone! Yea! Love to see family come - and love to see them go. Back to your regularly scheduled program.
The months passed – sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly. Daniel learned how to relax a little more and just enjoy the life he was living rather than worry about where he couldn't be. He taught Ashling to read and speak English and found that she had a talent for languages. She taught him to play a celtic harp and the flute – something he picked up quickly as he already knew how to play the piano. They spent the cold winter days and nights bundled up warmly in front of the fire and in the large bed. They marveled at each change in Ashling's body as their child grew.
Early in the spring, when Ashling was about seven months pregnant, they knew it was time to hike back to the village. If they waited much longer, she wouldn't be able to make the trip and the possibility of an early birth concerned them both. They packed what they needed into the handcart they had come with and said a bittersweet farewell to the honeymoon cottage, knowing that their life was going to be very different from this point on.
It took them three days to hike back to the village, rather than the one-and-a-half days to get there, due to Ashling's slower pace. Daniel saw that his note was still fastened to the DHD and he knew for certain that Landry had quit looking for him. He also knew that Sam, Jack and Teal'c would never quit harassing their allies or give up hoping that he might be found.
When they reached the village, Neala hurried them into her home quickly. Once inside she threw her arms around Ashling for a welcoming hug and a pat on her large stomach.
"I'm sorry I've hurried you inside, but over the past few months the worshipers of the Ori have been coming to the village frequently and I didn't want them to know you are back. Iollan's men have scoured the village several times, looking for you." Neala pushed them both over to the benches around the table and began scrounging around for some food while she talked.
"Iollan told me that your father has become very ill due to worry about you," Neala hissed through her teeth in a sound of disgust. "I think he's hidden your father away so he can search for you unencumbered. I hear he'll be taking a bride in a few days. I'm sure he intends to crown himself as heir apparent at the same time."
Neala set two plates of food before the stunned couple. She nodded toward them and gestured for them to eat. Wiping her hands on her apron she sat down on the bench next to Ashling. "And that's not all! Your sisters are no longer allowed in court. He's keeping all of them locked away in their rooms. Says they're in mourning for you and in prayer for the illness of your father. I think he's planning to get rid of all of them so they can't possibly threaten his take over of the throne."
She stopped long enough to take a deep breath and appeared to be ready to continue when Ashling stopped her with a wave of her hand. "Aintin, stop for a minute and give me have time to take this all in." Ashling picked at her food and looked across the table to Daniel, who was quietly eating.
Daniel reached across the table and took Ashling's hand for a moment, giving her a supporting squeeze. "Neala," Daniel turned to his wife's aunt, "what about the Prior? Has Iollan let him convert more people?"
"Oh, don't get me started on that subject! Iollan has let the Prior do whatever he wants as long as the Prior supports Iollan in his quest for control of Aeire. There have been mysterious sicknesses that only the Prior could heal. Many people took this as a sign that he does represent the "true" god. I swear people have lost any good sense they had!" Neala threw up her hands in a display of frustration. "The whole world's gone crazy! Ashling, you've come back just in time. You've got to stop Iollan's marriage and find your father."
"Neala," Daniel answered, "she's not in any physical shape to take power now. The baby's due in about two months and I'm not going to allow her to risk her health, or the baby's, right now."
Ashling set her spoon down quietly in her soup bowl, folded her hands carefully in her lap and faced her husband. "Daniel, you know how much I respect you, but this is my business. I was bred and raised to rule Aeire and I'll not allow a big belly to keep me from saving my people." Ashling's voice rose in volume as she stood and leaned toward her husband. "You'll not stop me from going home and facing my brother. He must be stopped and stopped now! If you don't like it, then you can stay here and hide, but I'm leaving tomorrow with or without you, Daniel Jackson!"
Daniel sat blinking at his wife who, at the moment, towered over him threateningly. He finally recovered his voice, stood and faced her square on. "I will do what is necessary to protect you and our child. If that means that I have to tie you to the bed for the next two months, then so be it. I will not watch another woman I'm responsible for die!" Daniel's face lost all color and he fled out the door.
Ashling stood still, shocked and speechless. Neala hurried out the door after Daniel. She found him at the back of the hut, leaning against the wall, hands covering his face. Reassured that he wasn't leaving, she went back inside to Ashling, who hadn't moved since Daniel left.
"Ashling, you have a habit of speaking before your brain catches up to your tongue! Do you have any idea what you've just done to that man? Do you not remember that he saw his first wife killed in front of his eyes? Do you not understand that he will do whatever he must to keep that from happening to you?" Neala ran her hands down Ashling's arms and clasped her hands. "Go and talk to him. The two of you will work something out that will satisfy both of you."
Ashling walked slowly out the door to the back of the cottage where she found Daniel still leaning against the whitewashed wall of the hut. His ankles were crossed, his head was down and his arms were folded across his chest in self-protection. Ashling's stomach lurched as the enormity of how she had hurt him struck her.
She walked over to him and stood a whisper away while he continued to ignore her presence. She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "Daniel, I'm so sorry. I didn't think…"
He interrupted, "No, you didn't think! My 'job' in this marriage is to get you pregnant – done that – and to keep you safe from your brother. If you won't allow me to do that, I might as well disappear into the woods and never be seen by you again." His eyes narrowed with anger. "You've got what you wanted from me. Go, do whatever you want." He turned and stalked into the woods behind the cottage.
Ashling stood in shock. She'd lived with him for almost eight months and never had she seen him come close to being that angry. She walked slowly back to her aunt, who waited inside.
"Aintin Neala, I've never seen him so angry. I've driven him away."
Neala drew Ashling into an enfolding hug and let Ashling cry for several minutes. Finally, she pulled Ashling away and asked, "Now, what are you going to do about it? Are you going after him, or are you going to wait for him to come back to you?"