Disclaimer: Re: Yeah. I don't own SG-1 or any of its affiliates. Don't sue me, I'm broke.
Author's Note: Alrighty, here we go again. I'm really glad so many of you have read and liked my fic so far, it really means a lot to me. First off, a huge thank-you to Ike, Wraith, G, and Logan, for giving me permission to use your characters. G, I hope I spelled your name right, if not, tell me and I'll fix it. Also, Wraith- that is probably the only time your last name will appear in this fic! Wow that's a paper version of a mouthful. Copy and paste, my friend, copy and paste. Lol. Anyways… here we are. I'm going to do my best to create a good character and keep as true as possible to the ones already there. I am trying so hard not to make a Mary-Sue, but I just want Lily to be able to handle all the things I throw at her! Sigh One last thing- my beginning few chapters may end up being weak and a little rushed and I'm sorry. When I created this fic in my head, all the relationships were already understood to me, so I mainly focused on what happened after. Well, I hope you like it anyway!
The first three years of life at Cheyenne Mountain were unlike anything Lily could have imagined in her wildest dreams. Here she was, part of an undercover military organization that saved the planet on an almost regular basis, and the other 99.7 of the world's population didn't even have a clue. And she was only a member of SG-2. The real heroes were the members of SG-1, the flag team for the SGC. And yet they too weren't without sacrifice. It was common knowledge around the base that Dr. Jackson's wife, Sha'ri, had been taken host to a Goa'uld. To add insult to injury, the latest reports said she had become pregnant with Apophis' child. Now everyone on base seemed to be avoiding the poor man.
Lily sighed. As much as she wanted to help, she didn't know him, nor he her. That was her weakness- helping people. She was always the one others turned to for help. After her mother died, she helped raise her sister while her father worked. All throughout school and the Academy she had been popular, though never had she failed to be kind to the others. Not in jest did her instructors and teachers sometimes accuse her of a hero complex.
With a yawn and a stretch she flopped onto her back with her hands under her head as she lay on her bed in her room, staring at the ceiling. The past week had been rough; SG-2 was working on forming an alliance with a very reclusive group of people whose planet happened to have a large amount of Naquada. However, they didn't want any of the Tauri technology, and were loath to simply give the Naquada away as well. Yet another race that held the precious metal as a holy symbol. Finally, with a groan, she rolled out of bed. She looked around her room and smiled. Word had gotten around that base that she was an artist, and so her room was full of sketches of the personnel. Many were waiting for said personnel to return from off world, so that she could give the portraits to her models. One of her drawings was covered by a black cloth. Striding over to that easel, she pulled aside the cloth. The woman on the canvas was a lieutenant, Susan Saikire, who had been killed in the line of duty. Susan had been a friend of Lily's, and it grieved her to see her smiling face now. Lily took up her charcoal and wrote the dates of Susan's life just beneath her signature. The drawing itself would be unveiled at the memorial service, and would be sent to the family, along with General Hammond's letter. Slowly she recovered the canvas. Knowing her friendship with Saikire, the rest of her team had given her a wide berth. Though appreciative of their thoughtfulness, she was ready for some human company.
When she finally got down to the commissary, she saw the rest of her team and waved, grinning. Ike graciously pulled out a chair for her. "So, Captain, how're you doing?"
She smiled at him. "Fine, sir, thanks for asking. And thanks guys for understanding."
"No problem, Lily, it's cool"
"You're welcome, we've all lost someone."
"Anytime, Aldarin."
She laughed as she looked around the table at her friends. She stood up and placed her hands on the table, winking at them. "Well, I've done my time in solitary. I gave up the nectar of life for my friend." Here she gave a theatrical sniff. "But- I love Saikire, and I'll miss her. But right this moment, I'm missing coffee more! "
Her companions laughed. It was well known that Captain Aldarin loved coffee. Many claimed she would kill for a good cup of joe. Chuckling, she said, "I'll be back in a few."
As she made her way to the coffee table, she eyed the pot. "Aha! Only one cup left and it's mine!" She strode quickly to the coffee maker and snatched the pot away from someone else who would have the last cup. Yet her triumphant grin faded from her face as she turned to face Dr. Daniel Jackson. Birthing his wife's son had done him no good, his eyes were bloodshot and he looked seriously short of sleep. Smiling gently at him, Aldarin poured the coffee into his cup. He protested, and tried to pour it back into her own cup. "Wait, you got here first, it's not fair-"
"I'll say if it's fair, "she interrupted. " Besides, you look like you could use it more than I could." His tired blue eyes showing his appreciation, he turned and started to fix his coffee. Lily nodded to herself and also turned to walk away, but swung back around.
"Look, um, I don't mean to pry, but, I heard about what happened. If, you need to talk to someone, I'll gladly listen. My name's Captain Lily Aldarin, by the way, but please call me Lily." She said, holding out her hand. Daniel juggled the coffee until he freed his own hand. Fixing his glasses which had slipped down, he said, "Thanks, um, Lily, I appreciate it, but I've got people to talk to."
Lily shrugged. "Sure thing, but my offer stands if you ever need it. I'll see you around, Dr. Jackson." She turned and started to walk back to her table. "Wait, um..." She turned back around. Daniel was looking everywhere but at her face as he spoke. "Jack's in Montana, Sam's at a scientific convention and Teal'c's on Chulak with Bra'Tak. But, I do need to talk to someone, if you wouldn't mind…" he trailed off, looking plaintively at her. Lily smiled at him. "Sure thing, Dr. Jackson, I offered, didn't I?" He grinned sheepishly. "Right. Can we go to my office..? There's so many people in here and I..." he gave a relieved sigh at her nod. "Just let me stop by the rest of the team, alright Dr. Jackson?" He nodded. As she walked over to her table, he stepped outside the commissary and waited. In a few moments she also exited the commissary and they made their way through the halls. They chatted about nothing until he finally stopped and said, "Oh, by the way, please, just call me Daniel." With a pleased grin, she nodded. "Sure thing, Daniel."
When they finally got to his office, she followed him inside. He went to his desk and sat down staring at a picture frame there. It seemed as if he had forgotten Lily was there. Quietly she found a chair and sat down, waiting for whenever he felt comfortable enough to talk. He started quietly, and she had to lean forward to hear him at first.
"I met Sha'ri on Abydos, the first mission through the gate. He father Hasouf thought I was a servant of the God Ra, so he gave her to me as a gift. I didn't, I wasn't looking for anything from her, but I found out later that she had been given to me as my wife. When I finally figured out the language- it's actually ancient Egyptian, but because no one on present-day Earth has heard it spoken, it seemed like a different language until I found hieroglyphs on the wall, but anyway. When I finally figured out the language and began talking to her, I started to fall in love with her. She was so… alive. I had never met someone so free and warm before. After Ra died, I chose to stay on Abydos with her. I never wanted to be away from her, I loved her so much. And, even, she loved me, which was something I hadn't experienced since my parents died."
Throughout this monologue his expression was warm, Lily could see the obvious love Daniel had had and still had for his wife. His eyes met hers then and his voice turned cold and harsh by the emotion choking his throat.
"But then Jack and Sam and Kowalski came back through the Gate. I showed them a room I had found that held a number of what were discovered to be Gate addresses. We were so excited, and we rushed back to the Gate, only to find the defenders nursing wounds. Kil'ya, a close friend of Sha'ri's, was the one who told me that Sha'ri and Ska'ra, her brother, had been taken. We followed her to Apophis' home world only to find that his mate had chosen her for a host."
Here he collapsed to his desk, fists helplessly clenching and unclenching as he sobbed onto his forearms. Lily silently unfolded herself from her cross-legged position on the chair and walked over to Daniel's desk. After a moment's hesitation, she gently started scratching his back soothingly. When he looked back up at her, his vivid blue eyes were filled with tears, and more had already stained trails down his cheeks. Sniffling, he fixed his glasses from where he had knocked them askew.
"Apophis. He made her host to his queen, Amonhet. Ska'ra too was taken, as host to Apophis' 'son'. Then, to make matters worse, he made her pregnant. I came back to Abydos to tell Hasouf I failed in finding his daughter and there's Sha'ri, swollen with pregnancy. The only saving grace was that it truly was Sha'ri; Amonhet was sleeping, in order to save the child. He's a Harsesis, a child born with all the knowledge of the Goa'uld. But after the boy was hidden, Amonhet retook control almost immediately and left, and had the boy hidden, my wife's son. He should have been my son!" Again he sobbed. "He should have been my son.
Now Lily wrapped her arms around Daniel's sobbing form. Rocking him gently, she held him until his tears slowly stopped. When they did, Daniel looked at Lily while holding a tissue to his runny nose. "..Why are you here? I.. you don't know me? Why do you care? Say something." She looked at him for a moment before she spoke. "I've known my share of grief, Daniel. After that, I found it was better to talk to someone, anyone, instead of keeping all the emotions in. Ever since I heard about you, I've wanted to talk to you. At first it was simply to talk about the Abydosians and your experiences living on such a different planet. But then, it was because of empathy. I... tend to want to make the world better. I want to know what makes people sad, and do everything in my power to fix it. And that's what I wanted to do for you. I'm not on your team; I don't see what you go through every day as you fight to find your wife. I... want to be your friend, Daniel." She smiled and chuckled softly. "You may not know it, but almost every woman on this base thinks you have the most beautiful eyes ever seen, and that's while you've been so depressed. I... would like to see how you look when you smile…?" She grinned at him and was rewarded by a weak smile in return. "There you go! You've been depressed for a long time. And it's been understandable. But I think it's time you moved on." At his alarmed and slightly angered look she hurriedly continued. "Not moved on from your wife, no. But moved on from what happened to her. No you shouldn't forget it, but you should channel all the anger and whatever else into finding Apophis and making him pay. And Sha'ri, what did she say about her son? Does she want you to find him and take care of him?" Daniel nodded, and she continued. "Then that's what you should do. And you won't accomplish any of it sitting around here and moping." She said almost sharply. Daniel just looked at her, mouth parted as if he were about to argue. She cocked an eyebrow at him in challenge. After a moment he sighed and collapsed his shoulders, all possible rebellion gone. Lily changed her tone to a gentle one. "I'm not saying you shouldn't miss and love your wife, Daniel. Just… don't let it be all you do. She would want you to fight for her, wouldn't she?" Daniel nodded. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out. Finally, he turned to her, but this time with a smile playing about his lips and crinkling his blue eyes. "Why do I get the feeling that you're so good at that speech because you've gotten it before?" Lily threw her head back and laughed. "Because I have, actually, and not so long ago. But maybe I'll tell that later, if you shape up. OK?" Daniel nodded and stood, holding out a hand to help her up from where she had knelt on the floor to comfort him. "Deal." On impulse, she gave him a quick hug, and after a startled second, he returned it with a smile. Their conversation turned from less depressive things. Lily did ask him about life on Abydos, and Daniel, ever the scholar, eagerly told her about it.
Though it started rough, the foundations of a friendship were laid. It was these foundations that would continue to grow and help them through what life, and the galaxy, would throw at them next.
More Authors Notes: Wow that was long. Yay! I know I haven't posted in a long time, and I'm sorry. Kind of had writer's block. My daydreams are about what happens to Lily a little ways down the way. All this background is understood. It takes a certain mood, not to mention time in the day, to write this stuff down. Again, it's possible I have spelling errors, and I'm sorry. But, I do hope you like the chapter! It's getting on to stuff I actually daydreamed about, so the next chapter will hopefully come soon. For those who've read my LOTR fic, that may go on hiatus for a little while. That one also takes a large amount of background which I don't have the patience to write at this time. But anyway, thanks for reading and please, review with any and all criticism!