A/N – Whoo! Again, sorry for the wait, but I think you'll find this interesting. It's the longest chapter yet and I take advantage yet again of my four years experience in Latin (hey, this is probably the only reason I'll ever have to use it, I may as well take advantage and pull out all the stops…)
And remember, nice long reviews encourage me to write faster :P
Chapter 5: Waypoint
Jack sat near the fire the next morning, sipping at a cup of lukewarm coffee and watching as Janet and Sam sorted through Sam's various pills. While Sam was actually conscious, and didn't look like she was two seconds from collapsing, she certainly wasn't looking her best. After finishing with Janet she walked over and took a seat next to Jack, taking a cup of coffee.
Jack watched her curiously as she took a sip, then promptly looked ready to burst into tears.
"This coffee's terrible…"
Jack sighed and took the cup from her. "It's just cold. Here." Moving the pot he set her cup down on the burner over the fire so it could heat up.
Daniel came out of his tent looking groggy. He joined the others by the fire. "Hey," he muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"Daniel." Jack nodded in greeting. "Got the rest of the addresses ready?"
"You really think we'll be able to get through all of them in one go?" Janet asked, raising an eyebrow and shooting a concerned look in Sam's direction.
"Well, assuming we don't run into anymore bad guys…"
"I don't think we should really be making any assumptions, really…" Daniel said. "We know that this whole thing is supposed to be a test of spirit and character and all that."
"Wonderful," Jack stood up. "Let's start packing up here, campers. The sooner we get going the sooner we finish this whole damn thing."
Half an hour later they were standing next to the DHD, watching as Daniel dialed the address. As the wormhole formed they all were silently praying that they wouldn't come face to face with a battalion of Jaffa the second they stepped through.
Instead they found themselves in a field on the edge of a woods, with a small village just barely visible in the distance. The sky above was clear and the air all around had the faint flowery scent of spring.
"This is nice…" Sam observed quietly, tilting her head up towards the sky.
"Uhuh, very nice." Jack sounded distracted. As the others looked around with curious expressions he was busy getting ready to dial the next address.
"Colonel, wait," Janet said suddenly, putting a hand on Jack's arm.
Jack rounded on her with a warning growl. "Doc…"
"No, I heard something. From over there." Janet pointed off towards their left. "Like someone crying."
"We don't have time…" Jack grumbled, but Daniel and Sam had obviously heard it too for suddenly all three of his teammates were staring at him with pleading expressions. With a resigned gesture he started off in the direction of the sound.
What they found, crouched behind some low bushes, was a small boy. He had one arm over his face and was sniffling loudly, though he looked up when they approached, stopping his crying and blinking at them with wet eyes.
"Uhmm….hello?" Daniel said timidly, taking a step closer.
The boy tilted his head to one side, not understanding, so Daniel waved at him a little, smiling. The boy managed a feeble wave back and muttered, "Salvete."
"That's Latin." Daniel murmured to Jack, who nodded. Crouching down so he was on a level with the boy, Daniel began to speak with him, quietly and slowly. After a moment he straightened back up and turned to face the group.
"So what's the matter with the kid?" Jack asked.
"He says he and his sister were playing in a valley even though they weren't supposed to be," Daniel said. "He said it's a very dangerous place and that his sister….that she got trapped in a small rockslide a few moments ago."
Sam's eyes widened. "Didn't he tell any of the adults?!"
"He's too afraid to." Daniel glanced back at the boy, who was crying again. "He's just a kid…Jack I think we should try and help."
Jack let out a disgruntled sigh, but nodded. "Yeah. Let's see what we can do."
Daniel smiled, then turned to take the little boy's hand. He spoke soothingly to him and the boy led them down the side of a low ravine. At the bottom they immediately spotted a freshly fallen pile of rocks. Jack surveyed them and took his hat off, rubbing his hand through his hair before replacing it.
"Ookkayy…Carter, you sit with the kid and look after him. Danny, Doc, lend me hand."
The three of them set about shifting the rocks, occasionally making comments about how they could really use Teal'c just about now. Sam sat on the ground, holding the little boy in her lap. He was still sniffling, but clung to her in the desperate sort of way that little children can. After a moment he looked up at her.
"Non habeo mater." He said quietly, then turned to rest his head against her shoulder. "Tu iucundus."
Sam frowned, then called to Daniel. "Daniel…what's 'non habeo mater, tu iucundus' mean?"
Daniel paused in his shifting of the rocks to think a moment. " I think it means ' I don't have a mother, you're nice' or something."
Sam smiled, hugging the little boy close to her and gently brushing his tears away. He gave her a weak smiled before looking back at the others and watching as they shifted rocks.
A few minutes later, just as Janet shouted that she could see the girl, a tall man came rushing towards them, eyes wide. The little boy jumped up out of Sam's lap and began jabbering at the man, who listened gravely for a moment before running over to help Jack and Daniel as they pulled a small girl from the rubble.
Janet immediately set to work tending to the girl the others walked back to Sam and the man bent down to pick the small boy up.
"I suppose I'm in a debt of gratitude to all of you," he said in slightly accented English.
Jack waved his hand. "Ah, it was nothing. And the doc thinks your girl's gonna be ok."
"I have a question though," Daniel said, butting in. "How come your son doesn't speak English?"
"Oh, he can if he tries," the man said, hugging the boy to him. "He prefers not to. The children of our city aren't being taught this tongue in school any longer. Our people want to go back to the ancient tongue."
"Wow…" Daniel's eyes lit up eagerly.
"Danny," Jack said sharply. "No. As soon as Doc's taken care of the little girl we're going to be on our way again."
"But why?" the man asked. "The least I can do to thank you for helping my children is provide you with a good meal and a place to rest…"
"Look," Jack said. "The offer's very kind, I'm sure, but we're sort of pressed for time here." He glanced at Sam. "Carter's very sick…we're on our way to the tree of life to see if it'll help her at all."
"The tree of life?" The man's eyes widened. "You are the first in many generations to come through here seeking that."
"But you've had other's before us?" Daniel asked.
The man nodded, smiling. "Yes. Our city Appia is a waypoint on that journey."
"That's…great…" Jack said in a tone that indicated he failed to see the significance.
"You will have to come with us to the city then," the man said. "I will provide you with a place to rest tonight, and in the morning the Canon will be back from his journey to the eastern lands and you can pay a visit to him to receive his blessing of passage."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Yet again, we appreciate the offer but is that all really necessary?"
"Of course," the man stared at Jack, frowning slightly. "Do you not know? Without his blessing you will not be able to pass to the next planet. The Ancient ones declared it so."
"And is it easy to get this blessing?" Daniel asked.
The man shook his head. "No, the Canon must be very selective of whom he bestows it upon. However I will be happy to put in many good words for you." He glanced at Sam. "And if you truly are seeking only to save the life of your friend, then I'm sure you will be deemed worthy."
At that moment Janet walked over. "You're daughter's going to be fine," she told the man, who looked immensely relieved "She's still unconscious, but I tended to her injuries and she should be up soon."
"Many praises to you," the man said, setting his son down so he could go and scoop the little girl into his arms before turning back to them. "Come with me, you will all be welcome guests in my home. I am Aurelius by the way."
"I'm Daniel Jackson," Daniel said, moving to walk next to Aurelius. "This is Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter and Janet Fraiser."
"Honored." Aurelius turned his head to smile at them. "My children are Julius and Cornelia."
At the mention of his name, Julius grinned. He moved to Sam's side, gripping her hand in his and smiling up at her.
The city of Appia wasn't large, but still too big to be called a town or village. The people walking up and down the streets were dressed much the same as Aurelius in flowing robes or dresses, and they smiled curiously at SG-1 as they passed.
Aurelius' house was large compared to those around it, and when the group entered a servant in a brown tunic came up and exchanged a few words with Aurelius before hurrying off again. A moment later a female servant came and took Cornelia in her arms, carrying her off towards the back of the house. Julius watched with wide eyes, but still clung to Sam.
Aurelius beckoned for them to follow. "Come, let us enjoy a drink before dinner."
They followed him into what appeared to be a sitting area, with a large fire pit in the center and many elegant cushions positioned around it. They all sat and Julius curled up at Sam's side, leaning against her.
"I apologize for my son," Aurelius said, smiling bemusedly at Julius. "You see, my wife died many years ago and I'm afraid the children have been without a mother for too long."
Sam smiled, putting an arm around Julius. "It's ok, I don't mind."
Aurelius got up and poured glasses of wine for them, though Sam declined, so he gave her a glass of a sweet smelling fruit juice that Julius also was quite partial too.
They talked for a good hour, Daniel as eager to learn about Aurelius' culture as Aurelius was to learn about that of Earth. Then a servant came to tell them the food was ready, and they moved to another room that had a long low table in it.
Dinner was a refreshing enough alternative to the MREs, and a rather groggy looking Cornelia joined them, though the girl didn't say much more than a mumbled thanks to SG-1. After they were done the children were sent to bed, though Julius seemed disappointed about it.
"You know, Sam and I should probably get to bed, too," Janet said as the adults stood. Daniel too, nodded and said that he should be probably hitting the sack as well.
"Very well, I shall have the servants show you to your rooms." Aurelius turned to Jack. "Colonel?"
"Nah, I'm not quite ready yet."
"Alright."
As the others headed up to the bedrooms, Jack and Aurelius returned to the sitting room.
"I must say you strike me as a very honorable leader, O'Neill." Aurelius said, reclining on one of the large cushions.
Jack grinned at him. "I try."
"That you would put the entire team in danger to save the life of one…some would call that reckless."
"Yeah…" Jack looked down at his hands. "I've got my own little voice that's telling me this is a stupid idea. We already lost our friend Teal'c and can only hope he made it home alright."
"So why do you keep going?" Aurelius asked.
Jack looked up at him, then out the open door at the other end of the room that looked out on an inner courtyard. "Because I care about Samantha. I couldn't live with myself if I let her die."
"I once loved as you love," Aurelius said quietly. "But I had the misfortune to not have the chance to save my wife. Feel honored that you've been given that chance."
"Oh yeah, real honored," Jack grumbled. "I don't even know it exists."
Aurelius smiled wanly. "It does, be assured of that, O'Neill."
Jack found that even after he was shown up to his room he did not feel like sleeping. Instead he asked which room Sam was in and went to say good night to her, assuming that she hadn't fallen asleep yet.
Instead of doors the rooms had piece of cloth over the entryways. Jack stuck his head through the door, whispering, "Carter?"
There was a flurry of movement. She'd been sitting on the end of the bed and was startled when she heard Jack's voice, and quickly tried to pull her knit hat back on.
"Hey, don't bother with that thing." Jack walked over and sat next to her.
"But, sir…" She hadn't gotten the hat on correctly, but looked reluctant to move her hands and re-adjust it.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Look, I don't care how much hair you have."
With a nervous little sigh Sam let the hat fall to her lap, staring down at it as though afraid to meet Jack's gaze. She jumped a little when he put his hand on her shoulder.
"You're gorgeous, Carter, and you don't have to be wearing a sweet little tank top or a crazy blue dress to prove it, either."
"Thanks, sir." Sam looked up at him, smiling weakly. "I still don't understand why you're doing this for me, but thank you anyway."
"Because you're my friend and I care about you," Jack said. He looked down. "Beyond that you're someone that's very near and dear to my heart."
Sam reached out and put a hand on Jack's arm. "I don't want to die on another planet."
"What? Sam don't talk about that…"
"No, sir, listen to me…if we're not going to make it –"
"We'll make it!"
"If we're not going to make it I want you to take me back to Earth. Back home."
Jack looked at her and for the first time truly saw fear welling in her eyes. A single tear rolled down her cheek and Jack put his hand up to lightly cup her face.
"Sam…you're not going to die…"
"I'm scared," she whispered, eyes wide. "Jack, I'm so frightened…"
"Shhh…" Jack pulled her to him, gently pushing her head down to rest on his shoulder. "Sam, I promise you're going to be ok."
"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep!" she sobbed, clinging to him.
"I'm not making ones I can't keep. Look at me."
She looked up, eyes wet.
"As long as I'm breathing I'm going to make sure you are too."
And there it was again. That unspoken moment when they each knew what was going on in the other's head, where their feelings were bared raw and open between them. Had they been normal people in a normal situation Jack would have taken the opportunity to place a searing kiss on her lips, but for some reason this just didn't seem like the right moment.
"Get some sleep," he said quietly. "We're going to have a big day tomorrow."
Sam sniffed and nodded, not saying anything as Jack stood up and left the room.
The next morning as the alien sun was just beginning to climb over the tops of the trees Aurelius led them down the empty main street to what appeared to be a large marble temple. Once through the façade of tall Corinthian columns they could hear the faint sounds of music and catch whiffs of incense on the air.
Inside was a long, open space. At the far end they could see a large alter, and it was towards this that Aurelius led them. An older man stood before the altar, singing in a smooth bass voice and accompanied by a group of musicians off to the side.
Aurelius knelt on the floor, bowing his head and motioning for the others to do the same. They waited until the song had finished and the man turned to face them.
"Aurelius! Surrexite, amica meum!" The Canon boomed in his deep voice.
Aurelius got to his feet and the others stood by as he and the Canon exchanged a few words in Latin before the Canon turned to face SG-1.
"I have only twice in my life," he said. "Generations ago when I was young, met people who wished to find the arbor vitam. Both times I did not give them my blessing and they failed. They were not worthy."
"We are." Jack said, staring into the old man's eyes.
A smile passed over the Canon's face. "And what makes you so sure?"
"I don't know."
"Your grace," Aurelius said, stepping forward once again. "They are not doing it out of selfishness, they do it to help their friend." He beckoned Sam forward and put his arm around her shoulders. "If you examine her you would see that she has an illness for which there is no cure."
The Canon gave Sam a brief look of pity, then turned to the other three. "And truly the only reason in your hearts to find the Tree is to save your friend?"
"Yes." They all said quietly.
"I do not know you," The Canon said, a little regretfully. "I do not know whether you are good and true people."
"They are!" Aurelius cried. "Canon, they responded to my little son's plea for help and saved the life of my daughter! They spent time at my home and I know in my heart that they are true."
For a long moment the Canon was silent. He stared at them, then walked over to Sam, lightly touching her cheek with his bony fingers, staring deep into her eyes as though he could see some bit of her illness. Then he moved to Jack to stare into his eyes, though the old man was forced to tilt his chin up to do so.
"I see fear in you, Colonel," he said. "You do not normally have fear. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Jack said in barely more than a whisper.
The Canon tilted his head to one side. "I also see love in you. You do not normally have love either." He waited, as though expecting a response, though continued when he didn't get one. "You have fear because now that you have love, you are terrified to lose it again."
Again, Jack whispered, "Yes."
The Canon stepped back, glancing only briefly at Daniel and Janet before smiling broadly. "I will grant upon you all my blessing of passage. May you find well what you are seeking."
A sigh of relief swept through the group and Daniel gave the Canon a courteous sort of bow. "Thank you."
"First I must perform the rite," the Canon said, holding up a finger. He produced from beneath his robes a necklace. "This charm must be set in its proper place on the altar."
It was only now that they actually looked around the Canon to see the altar. Daniel let out a soft gasp as he saw the Ancient writing around the base of it. "It's some sort of machine, isn't it?" he asked. "I bet it triggers something that will let us dial the next planet."
The Canon gave him a quizzical look. "I do not know. It is merely something that has been passed down through the generations of Appian Canons."
"Right…" Jack waved his hand. "Continue."
"Patients, Colonel," the Canon said, turning to face the altar. "I am old. I need to take my time." He walked over and began muttering under his breath, closing his eyes as he removed the charm from around his neck and placed it on a small indentation in the altar. There was a low humming noise and the charm glowed briefly, then there was nothing.
"That's it?" Jack asked after a moment.
The Canon turned. "Were you expecting more, Colonel?"
"No, I just…" Jack shook his head. "Can we go now?"
"Yes, yes, go now." The canon laughed, making a shooing motion with both hands. "And Samantha?"
Sam turned back to face him. "Yeah?"
"You are too good a person to have life leave you now," he said with a sad smile. "And your friends are too good of people to let that happen. You will overcome this."
Sam opened her mouth to speak, but was too choked up to do so, so she merely closed her mouth again and nodded, before turning back to leave the temple with the others, and head out into the bright morning.