Odyssey's End
Colonel John Sheppard paced along Elizabeth's favorite balcony watching a beautiful sunset over San Francisco bay. "I miss you," he whispered.
"John, it's me Cam. May I come in?" he asked cautiously, knowing he'd interrupted a deeply personal moment.
"Sure," John chirped waving his friend in. "How, do you like heading security here?"
Cam quickly crossed the room that once served as the sanctuary for a remarkable woman. Even Sam had told him of the calm and peace that permeated the atmosphere of "Doctor Weir's" office. He felt like a kid, trespassing on his neighbor's back forty. "This is a beautiful city, my friend. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly content with the SGC, but it's gorgeous."
"Yep," John grinned proudly. "My baby is the most beautiful thing in the universe—" his voice tightened just a hint. "Except one," he whispered.
"Look, we just got a message from Washington. We're getting some major VIP's for a visit," Cam grinned.
"Oh, not the IOA I'll shoot them on-sight with the mood I'm in," John growled.
"Nope. General O'Neill, Daniel, and someone who will give you, 'the biggest surprise you'll ever have,' according to the General."
John arched his eyebrow. "No name?"
"Apparently, the surprise is for me too," Cam chuckled.
"When will they be here?" John asked, feeling his earlier melancholy recede.
Cam started bouncing on the balls of his feet. "By dinner. The General wants to bring in Sam and Teal'c too. It's like Lennon doing one final Beatles album."
John doubled over laughing. "The General is John, Jackson is Paul… how does the rest go?"
"I'm George, Teal'c is Ringo-"
"What about Carter?" a wide grin burst out on his face. "Oh no… you wouldn't! You can't equate Carter with Yoko!"
"HELL NO! Sam's Elvis! Vala's Cher," Cam winked.
"Amen to that, brother!" John laughed.
"Sir!" Samantha Carter cried out, seeing her former commanding officer (and much more) beam into her quarters on the Hammond.
"Surprise!" Jack sing-song-ed. His eyes glittering at the sight of his Carter stretched across her bed in her flannel pajama bottoms, and one of his old t-shirts. "Boy do I have news that will blow your mind, Carter."
"You must have to beam into my quarters without calling first," Sam giggled.
"No giggling, Carter, this is big news. HUGE!" he ordered, stretching his hands out about two feet.
"Tell me, Jack!" she smirked.
"Shifu is back!" Jack grinned watching Carter's eyes widen into two sparkling event horizons.
"How, when, why?" she sputtered, trying to control her excitement.
"He came through the gate this morning. Neither he nor Danny are talking yet. Apparently, the kid wants to meet on Atlantis. So, we'll pick up Teal'c, and then hit Frisco!"
"Atlantis? Why does Shifu want to go to Atlantis?"
"All he'd tell me was, 'on the great path, one occasionally needs alternate methods of transportation.' I think Skaara has been teaching him," Jack chuckled.
"How did Daniel take it?" Sam asked, concern for her dearest adopted brother seeping through her voice.
Jack frowned. "He's being pissy with Vala, more-so than usual. Something's got him so wired it's almost like he's run into Apophos, but he's thrilled to see the kid again."
Sam stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug. "Jack, tell me the truth. Do you think this is good news?"
"I'm not sure, Sam," he murmured, into her hair. "But things are about to get interesting!"
"Well, it has been a little dull lately," she replied, giving him his special smile.
"Speak for yourself Colonel!" Jack groused, letting her go. "If I have to deal with one more IOA rep today I'll shoot them!" Then he smiled. "You know you look really hot in my shirt, Samantha!"
"I have an hour before I have to be on the bridge, let's make it count, Jack," Sam giggled.
"Forgive me, Daniel," Shifu begged.
"For what?" Daniel asked, mussing the boy's longer hair. "Believe me, I know you would never do anything to cause me pain."
He paused, allowing himself to examine his wife's beautiful child now that the shock of seeing him and his news had waned. Although he hadn't chosen to age his corporeal form, Daniel saw many changes in the boy. He saw Sha're's eyes staring back at him, and Skaara's nose. He saw the wild curls his wife had cursed every morning, and the gentle curve of her smile. He also saw Apophos' host's chin and cheek bones, all now powerfully evident on his face. Briefly, his mind conjured his chin, and cheek bones on the boy's face, only for him to push it out. Shifu didn't deserve that.
"I altered my corporeal form when we first met," Shifu bluntly stated, as if reading the older man's thoughts. "Oma told me that if you saw my true likeness had I'd been able to live on this plane, it would add to your burdens. My very existence and the dreams I gave you, had already caused you pain. Perhaps I should have kept my false face."
"No!" Daniel assured. "Shifu, I don't remember if we ever discussed this when I ascended, but I do not resent you! I never have! Not even when I first saw your mother pregnant. Yes, I was angry, I still am, but all my anger, resentment, and hatred is for Apophos. Not you, not your mother, and not even the host. The fault lies with Apophos!" he sprung to his feet, only to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Not a day passes that I don't wish I was the man who helped to give you life," he choked out. "However, I have never, ever, wished you didn't exist. From the moment I felt you move in Sha're's womb I decided that however it happened, your life was as precious and vital to me as my own or your mother's. I don't love you because you are Sha're's son. I love you for yourself, as much as I would love my own flesh and blood. The fact you actually have your mother's eyes in your corporeal form is a bonus."
"But all that Apophos was, is inside of me," Shifu whispered.
"You once told me the only way to defeat the evil inside of you was to deny it battle. Well let me tell you something, over the past fifteen years I have only grown prouder of your resolve after seeing how many things could have made you change your mind," Daniel spoke in his most soothing tone, slowly sitting back in his chair.
"Explain," Shifu asked confusion clouding his eyes.
"Well, the situation with Anubis for a start. Surely, the temptation to use your knowledge against him must have become overwhelming at times. Especially when you saw the incredible pain he caused Oma," Daniel answered.
"Oma kept me hidden from Anubis, fearful that he would try to appeal to the evil inside of me. I didn't know anything of him until Abydos was destroyed and they cast you out," Shifu sighed.
"But after you knew, and after Oma left to fight him, you must have thought of it," Daniel replied, with full confidence.
"Yes, I thought of it. To my shame I felt a need for vengeance," Shifu admitted, shame bleeding into his voice. Then I remembered Oma telling me how you showed great mercy to Apophos' host while he was on Earth dying. You could have killed Apophos and taken revenge, but instead you chose to put the needs of earth ahead of your desire. I realized that the only way to destroy Anubis was to free mother. While she too has the knowledge of Amaunet, it isn't not a part of her in the same way. Years of fighting Amaunet while a host prevented her to succumbing to the temptation such knowledge gives."
"You did the same thing I did. You put aside your own desires to do the right thing. You did the same by not confronting the Orici when you mother told you not to do so, and I know it couldn't have been easy for you. Think about it, although I'm eternally grateful to your grandmother for making sure you could live a life without your genetic memory turning you into a tyrant, you've been raised in an environment where the people around you are collectively as arrogant as any Goa'uld I've ever met; yet you demonstrated patience and willingness to see your own limitations by not trying to free your mother before you were ready." He reached out taking the smaller hand in his own. "Shifu, one thing I've learned over the years is that no matter how advanced or enlightened a being can become, perfection is unattainable. All any of us can do is our best and accept our flaws for what they are. Here on earth, a group that helps people with substance abuse problems has a motto… 'God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.' I've always liked it because in the end we all need serenity, courage, and wisdom to make our choices. Although I admit, I've never had much wisdom to know the difference," Daniel finished with a self-deprecating smile.
"This is a very wise teaching, like all the others you have given me Daniel," Shifu replied, squeezing his hand.
Daniel straightened to his most correct posture and spoke in his most accurate 'Ancient' tone. "I cannot teach you that which you already know."
"No wonder Grandmother dropped you back naked twice!" the boy squealed through uproarious giggles.
Vala Mal Doran didn't make a habit of taking her frustrations out by shooting Tau'ri weapons at paper targets, but nobody would let her have access to her own weapons unless during mission, and she had to shoot something! Really, she didn't know why she let Daniel drive her to this point. He'd had the annoying habit of doing it from the day they met, and the only the knowledge that she could drive him just as crazy made it bearable. At first, she'd just thought of it as sexual tension, easily handled with a quick tumble into bed and then brushed away. She was a sexual creature, always had been, and until she met these Tau'ri men she'd been completely confident in her ability to have any man she chose, at any time, for any reason. Then she'd met Daniel Jackson. She fired another magazine into a target and sighed. The fact that Daniel hadn't responded to her advances despite their one "date," probably wouldn't have affected her so much if she hadn't wanted to belong somewhere as badly as she now did. He'd changed her when they'd been bound by the bracelets. Seeing this world, this team, the experiences she'd had through the short years with him, Sam, Teal'c, and Cameron made her yearn to belong with the same fierceness she'd once possessed to be free from Qetesh. Now that his wife appeared to have the same habit of coming back from the dead her husband possessed, Vala couldn't think of a single reason why Daniel wouldn't tell her that she had to find another place. The thought made her miserable and murderously angry.
After all the ammunition had been spent she put the gun away careful to follow the SGC protocols exactly. The Tau'ri were as fanatical about rules as the Goa'uld were about power. She couldn't say she felt better, but her rationality had returned. Now she could think and plan her next move, and she always did her best thinking in a bubble bath. Making her way to her quarters she smiled at everyone she passed, whistled at the young new Airman who didn't know her, and fooled everyone into believing her false mood. She'd brood in complete private. She stepped through her door, kicking the sneakers she wore on what her teammates called 'down time' and stripped off her jacket before she noticed the boy sitting serenely on her bed.
"Gods preserve me!" she shrieked in her native tongue. "What are you doing in here, little man?" she gasped in Tau'ri English, trying not to take her anger out on him.
"Forgive me, I felt I must speak with you," the boy answered, blushing with embarrassment.
"Where's Daniel, and does he know you're here?" Vala demanded, putting her jacket back on.
"Daniel prepares for his journey, and I believe the Tau'ri have a saying, 'what he doesn't know will not hurt him.' In any case, why I have sought you out has very little to do with Daniel."
"Look, if you're worried I'll try to get between Daniel and your mother don't!" Vala snapped bitterly. "I don't throw myself at married men who don't want me, it's too humiliating."
A soft look of deep compassion infused the boy's eyes. "You are mistaken, Vala. My concern is not for Daniel, or my mother, my concern is for your pain. I only wish to help you."
Looking at him she felt all the anger and fear sap out of her. She sighed, flopping herself down on the bed with a groan. "No offense, handsome, but I don't think you're quite old enough to understand my problems, even if you've been raised with the Ancients and all their wisdom."
"You want a home," Shifu stated, his compassionate tone growing even stronger. "You think that because Daniel would not take you as a mate, and that my mother has returned, he will cast you away and the Tau'ri will have no use for you."
"Now I think you're getting a little personal, young man, and it isn't polite to barge into a lady's bedroom uninvited. Didn't anyone bother to teach you that on the higher planes of existence?" she retorted, her voice turning cool, but not angry.
"There aren't many bedrooms where I'm from," Shifu grinned, brushing her resistance aside. "Why do you think you can only have a home here as Daniel's mate?"
"If you're using some ascended powers to dig inside my head I'll thank you to stop!" she shouted, quivering with anger and fear.
"I have no such powers, Vala," Shifu assured, gently stroking her long dark hair. "You are valuable in your own right, the home you seek has already been given to you. You only need to recognize it."
"The Tau'ri only let me join them because of Daniel. I have no outstanding skills they need. My talents extend to criminal activity and things that I am certain Daniel would strangle me with his bare hands if I told you about them. Daniel is my 'guardian' on this planet. I can't move outside this base without his consent, and-" she trailed off taking a deep breath. "Now, the only reason I can think of for him keeping me around is gone. No Goa'uld, now that Ba'al is dead, no Ori, nobody on this planet has any reason to let me stay here."
Shifu remained silent listening very carefully to the beautiful woman's words. He continued stroking her hair hoping his ascended family might have some advice for him, but unfortunately. they all remained annoyingly silent. He didn't particularly like using instinct in emotional situations, but no rational option presented itself. "Daniel has no reason to accept me either, but he does," he blurted out, hoping for the best.
"I beg your pardon?" Vala sniffled, bolting up to a sitting position.
"Apophos had his host brutally rape my mother to impregnate her with me. I carry all his genetic knowledge. I'm a living symbol of everything Daniel has suffered all these years, but he was the one who caught me in his hands at my birth. He wanted to raise me here on earth but sacrificed that desire to keep me safe. He taught me many things during his ascension and treated me as if I was his son. There is no reason for him to love me, but he does."
"Shifu, I can call you that right?" Vala sighed, not really waiting for permission. "Daniel is good to the very core of his being. There is no way he couldn't love you. Even if you let the genetic knowledge of Apophos take over, he'd fight you, but he'd never stop loving you. You're a part of your mother."
"Did you love the Orici because she was a part of you?" Shifu asked, still gentle, still with pure compassion.
The question startled her. She'd never labeled her feelings for her Ori hybrid child, not knowing enabled her to fight. She considered telling him to leave her room and stop prying into her life, but something deep within her gave the answer compelling her to speak. "Adria was never mine," she croaked as her heart shattered. "I knew that when I named her. My step-mother was an evil woman, just as I knew Adria was pure evil the moment I first saw her. I admit, a very miniscule part of my heart hoped I could've reached any goodness in her, but I knew she didn't have any to reach. I suppose you could say I tried to love what might have been. That's what makes Daniel better than I am, he doesn't have to try to love, he just does."
"Vala, you were just a small part of Adria as my mother is only a small part of me. Just as a blood bond couldn't completely join your heart to the Orici, so my blood bond to Sha're cannot completely bond Daniel's heart to me. It is the same with a mating bond, Vala. The Goa'uld mate as you well know, but it doesn't guarantee any of what you search for."
"Okay, I don't care how sweet and cute you are, this is over!" Vala snapped.
"I will only say what I said before, you have already found the home you seek. You need only accept it," he whispered gently, and faded.
"I still think he's too young to understand any of my problem," Vala mumbled, burying her head in a pillow.
On Dakara Teal'c, Ishta, Rya'c, and Kar'yn, sat down to their evening meal. "We are so grateful to you for coming to visit, father," Kar'yn smiled, proudly serving her finest dishes in honor of her father-in-law.
"As I am grateful to be here, and for this marvelous feast. Your efforts here to rebuild Dakara are nothing short of extraordinary," Teal'c replied, tenderly taking his daughter-in-law's hand in his own.
"It would be even greater if the Council stopped allowing itself to be mired down in petty squabbles," Rya'c snorted in disgust. "I don't understand how such self-interest and intolerance can flourish now that we are free."
"It is precisely because we are free that they do," Ishta replied, arching an eyebrow. "Now that we're not fighting each other in the names of false Gods, rivalries that festered for thousands of years need new outlets."
"But, it only serves to weaken our new nation!" Teal'c sighed sadly, pouring a drink for Ishta. "We should be celebrating our differences, using the differences in traditions to form a new and unified culture."
"Father, if you would only return permanently to help lead our people that day will come faster," Rya'c growled in frustration.
"Rya'c you promised this argument would not take place on this visit!" Kar'yn snapped, tears flooding her eyes.
"I am sorry, Kar'yn, truly my darling," Rya'c soothed, wrapping his arm around her.
"Please, this is to be one of the happiest moments of our married life. I will not let petty differences spoil it."
"Kar'yn, there is no need for worry," Teal'c assured.
"We have a very important news for you," Kar'yn whispered with a shy smile. "News that I hope will bring you great joy, Father."
Teal'c and Ishta gazed at each other with joy and anticipation of the joyous moment approaching. A beautiful smile blossomed on Ishta's face as sweet longing filled her heart. She too shared Rya'c's desire for Teal'c to return to Dakara and help lead their fledgling nation, but she also wished fervently to formalize their union. She did not expect him to wish for more children now with a soon-to-announced grandchild on the way, but now that they had true freedom, she longed for the stability of family life.
"You should not keep your elders waiting, Kar'yn," she teased, her voice sparkling with mirth. "What is this news?"
"In the spring, a child will come," Rya'c exclaimed, with a bright smile.
"This is indeed joyous news, my son," Teal'c answered, tears of happiness falling to his cheeks. "Are you keeping well, Kar'yn? Perhaps you should be examined by the healers of the Tau'ri."
"Do you distrust the healers among your own, Teal'c?" Ishta asked, her mouth drawn into a tight line of frustration.
"Of course not," Teal'c assured. "But very few female Jaffa who use Tritonin have born children as of yet. I only wish Kar'yn to have every advantage available to her, and all our women."
"We cannot become dependent on the Tau'ri for all our needs! We are Jaffa!" Ishta snapped.
"Without the Tau'ri you would still be organizing raiding parties for Prim'tah and hiding in the forest!" Teal'c thundered, slamming his hand against the table.
"STOP IT!" Kar'yn cried out in anger. "I will have no quarrels in my home! If you all insist on carrying out these stupid debates you can all LEAVE!" she yelled, bolting up from her seat and charging to her bedroom.
"Father forgive me, but I must go to my wife," Rya'c apologized, rushing after her.
"We have ruined this joyous moment for them," Teal'c sighed, his eyes dropping closed in grief.
"I appreciate your loyalty, Teal'c, it is one of the many reasons I love you," Ishta whispered. "But I cannot understand why you refuse to return to us! Our people need you, your family needs you, now that the Ori and the Goa'uld have been defeated, I fear your refusal to return to us permanently can only mean that you do not wish to be among your own. Are the Taur'i worth more to you than us?"
"Can a man love one brother above another? Can a man put two families against one another?" Teal'c sighed. "Ishta, everything I have done has been out of love for my family and my people, but you must try to understand that the Tau'ri, that SG-1 is just as much my family as Rya'c, Kar'yn, their child, and you. When they call me, I must go to them."
"I understand. You would not be the man I love if you did not live up to your convictions." She rose from her seat and crossed over to his, slowly lowering herself on his lap. "I love you. Your children love you, and soon your grandchild will love you as well. We just want you with us," the warmth and affection in her voice soothed and comforted them both.
Teal'c wrapped his strong arms around her, relishing Ishta's softness and grace. He knew how much she wished to formalize their union, and they were still young enough to have children of their own. Now with a grandchild soon to be born his longing to remain with his family and lead his people began to grow stronger. "I will tell the Tau'ri that I will only be available to them under extraordinary circumstances. You are correct, Ishta. Our family and our people deserve more than I have given."
"Teal'c, forgive me for my lack of understanding. I only wish for you to be happy. The Tau'ri are great warriors, and many have irreproachable honor, but their ways confuse me, and I find being with them extremely uncomfortable," her voice hesitant, and touched with a hint of shame.
"Even after these many years I still often feel the same way," Teal'c chuckled into her ear, burying his fingers in her golden hair.
As they settled into a passionate embrace the chirp of his communicator sounded. "YO! Teal'c," the irreverent cadence of Jack O'Neill filled the room.
Ishta glared at the device as if her eyes would destroy it as surely as her staff-weapon. Teal'c growled, but reluctantly reached for it. "O'Neill this is a very inconvenient time!" he said through clenched teeth.
"Sorry, buddy, but I've got news. Can we beam you to the Hammond? The news is HUGE!"
"General," Ishta snapped harshly, as she suppressed her urge to shout. "Is earth or any of the Tau'ri's allies under attack?"
"Um hey, Ishta, how are you?" Jack chirped. "Nope, no bad guys at the door-"
"Then you will explain why it is necessary for Teal'c to leave his people and his family at this time!" she snarled, gripping the communicator with all her strength.
"Well, Ishta," Jack said sheepishly, and with a laugh in his voice. "You might say it's a matter in the other side of his family. Teal'c, Shifu is back and apparently, he needs Daniel on Atlantis. You know I don't want him within ten trillion light years of that place without backup, so what do ya say we get the gang back together?"
"Who is Shifu?" Ishta asked, still incensed that the Taur'i wished to call him away.
"Shifu is the son of Sha're, and the host of Apophos," Teal'c answered, gently guiding her to her feet and standing himself.
"The Harcesis!" she gasped.
"Why has he returned?" Teal'c asked.
"He's not saying, Teal'c. At least he's not talking to me. All he'll tell me is that he needs a ride somewhere and insists that he and Daniel go to Atlantis. So, I figured you would want in."
Teal'c stared into his mate's beautiful eyes and smiled. "I do indeed, O'Neill. However, I would like permission for Rya'c, Kar'yn, and Ishta to accompany me. I swore I would remain with them until the next full moon, and I will not break my promise."
"Roger that, buddy. Let me know when you're ready and Carter will beam you all up," Jack assured.
