Vala watched bitterly as Daniel walked away with Oma, excitedly reuniting with the sister he never knew. Er, well, knew but didn't…. Vala shook her head. Never mind. She'd only confuse herself.

"Can you blame him?" Sam asked softly from Vala's shoulder. Vala jumped, letting out a squeak of surprise. Sam laughed.

"Sorry. Can you really blame him, though?" she pushed. "I mean, he's indulged himself with studying the Ancients for fifteen year of his life, he's absolutely fascinated by them. You know how much he wanted to go to Atlantis those first years we had found it. Now, not only is he here again, but its back in time when it was inhabited by Ancients and, above all, he finds out he's one of them!"

Vala shrugged, having already seen Sam's point. She just…

Sam grabbed her arm. "Let's go explore," she said, blue eyes gleaming. Something in that shine dug up the old adventurer inside the ex-con and she grinned, hurrying to follow her friend

XxXxX

"Excuse me?"

John turned from the Jumper to see a dark-haired, nervous looking man eyeing the ship.

"Yeah?"

"You're…you're one of the explorers from the future, correct?" the man asked. John nodded.

"What's going on?" Rodney asked from inside the Puddle Jumper. The scientist had immediately started trying to find out if it was the ship that had caused them to jump in time, grumbling under his breath about how Sam had found exploring more important.

"My name is Janus," the man introduced. "I…I am working on a ship like this," he said with a nod to the Jumper.

"Janus?" Rodney echoed, stepping into view. He looked to John. "Isn't Janus the name of the guy Elizabeth—"

"Yes," John replied, voice tense. Sometime in the future, this nervous man in front of him would meet an Elizabeth Weir…not the one John remembered, but an Elizabeth all the same.

"Is this…my design?" Janus asked, eyes brightening with pride. John nodded.

"Yeah. Sturdy ship. You do a good job."

Janus beamed. "Could you give me any pointers?"

John jerked his head to Rodney. "He might be able to."

Rodney looked surprised. "Uh…sure, come on in."

XxXxX

"You should've seen the look on his face!" Vala proclaimed, sending Sam into another burst of hysterical laughter. "'You're really not my type,' he's like, 'and I'm a bit more than uncomfortable that I'm yours.' I started taking off the helmet and he starts yelling 'No! No! You don't have to do that!'"

"Maybe that's why he was so scared of you for so long!" Sam suggested through her laughter.

"Scared?" Vala repeated. "I always thought he was simply annoyed."

Sam shrugged, about to reply when her eye caught sight of one of the Altera in the hallway they were in. She crept towards the familiar man, a look of pleasurable surprise in her features.

"Orlin?"

The man turned his handsome face towards her, a confused frown on his lips.

"Do I know you?" he asked. Sam nodded enthusiastically but stopped, pursing her lips.

"Well, no. But I know you," she told him, beaming. Realization hit the Altera and he smiled.

"You're one of the explorers from the future, aren't you?" he said, taking her hand in his grasp. Sam nodded, eyes fixed on Orlin's face.

"We know each other in the future," she told him. Orlin smiled back, putting an arm over her shoulders and leading her the opposite direction.

"How fortunate of me," he practically purred.

Vala sighed. Well. She couldn't exactly blame Sam. Orlin was quite handsome and obviously was smitten himself. Vala would just have to amuse herself.

XxXxX

"So what did you mean when you said I help you ascend?" Oma asked. She and Daniel were at a balcony, looking out at the beautiful, calm water. Daniel frowned at her.

"Do you know what ascension is?" he asked unsurely. Oma eyed him cautiously.

"I am one of the few who do," she admitted quietly after a while. Daniel leaned forward, intrigued.

"What do you mean?"

Oma avoided his gaze, shifting uncomfortably. "Only recently did one of the Altera ascend. She was…our mother. When she disappeared, it was quite a shock. We didn't quite understand. We had theories, of course, but up until she appeared before you and I and then the council, we didn't know. Since then, a few more have ascended, the numbers increasing. It's supposed to be a secret but…the secret's getting out."

"Why is it a secret?" Daniel prodded, fascinated.

"The council agreed ascension should be achieved by a person's own work," Oma explained. "Which is why I am curious as to what you meant by me helping you."

Daniel's excitement suddenly diminished, eyes clouding with frustration.

"The Ancients, er…you all still have the law that ascension should be achieved by one's own work," Daniel began, "but you, along with a few others, weren't exactly fans of that rule so you bent it a bit."

"And went unpunished?" Oma asked, surprised. Daniel winced.

"For a time."

XxXxX

Vala ended up on the balcony she and Daniel had stood on after meeting with Morgan. She stared out to the dark blue water, marveling at the vastness of it.

"It really is a wonder, isn't it?"

Vala whirled around, eyes widening. "Morgan le Faye?"

Morgan smiled and nodded. "I believe you have the advantage of me. I know you are one of the explorers but I only know Orionus's name."

Vala's mouth twisted at "Orionus" but she smiled. "My name's Vala. Mal Doran," she added as an afterthought.

"It's a pleasure, Vala," Morgan replied. Vala smiled tightly before turning back to stare into the depths of the ocean. Morgan walked up beside her quietly.

"Are you well?"

Vala shrugged. "It's probably just hormones."

"You're pregnant," Morgan commented. Vala smiled, her hand reflexively resting on her stomach.

"Yeah."

"Who is the father?" Morgan asked conversationally. "One of your fellow explorers?"

Vala nodded. "Daniel—er, Orionus."

Morgan gave her a surprised, sideways glance. "Does Oma know?"

Vala frowned. "I don't know." She stared at the Altera. "Why?"

Morgan shook her head. "No reason."

A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!