The meeting with the Pangarans went as expected. They would not free Egeria unless the Tok'ra brought them either an antidote for Tretonin or a Goa'uld queen.
"I am sorry, but you ask the impossible." Tegar said.
"She is our queen. We demand her release. It is not open for negotiation." Malek was very angry.
"Freeing her would mean the death for many thousands of our people. I am sorry..." Dollen said.
"Her existence is a miracle to the Tok'ra. We would no longer be a dying race if her health could be restored." Anise added.
"She is a sentient being. Using her in this manner is an insult to our very existence!" Lantash said, furious.
"Dollen...Tegar. Please understand...would you not be angry if you had just discovered that the founder of your race had been used for medical experimentation in almost 50 years?" Sam pointed out.
"If she is freed now, she has a very good chance of recovering. If she is kept in a healing chamber for maybe half a year, she would be restored to health. Or, preferably, if she were to be given a willing host, she would heal very much faster - weeks, instead of months. She would then again be well and able to spawn Tok'ra - to save our people!" Malek said.
"She would be restored to health if she were put in a host?" Sam asked.
"Yes, almost certainly...but it would have to be now. Waiting diminishes her chances drastically. Soon it will be too late and she would not be able to survive taking a host, without some period of recuperation in a healing tank first. Even that may soon be too late." Anise said, her eyes flashing angrily as she looked at the Pangarans.
"I am afraid that is impossible until you have either developed a drug to reverse the effects of Tretonin - or brought us another Goa'uld queen." Tegar said.
"Egeria is NOT a Goa'uld!" Lantash was quickly loosing patience with these people, and only Sam's hand on his arm stopped him from grabbing Tegar.
"You do not understand - there is no time. As I said, this is a miracle - a chance for our people to survive and grow strong. It is also in your own interest that we are a force to be reckoned with in the fight against the Goa'uld." Freya said, almost pleading.
While they continued arguing, Sam left the room. She needed to think, and she did that as she wandered the corridors of the facility. Eventually she found herself outside the door to Egeria's room.
She hesitated shortly, then felt for her zat'nik'tel. It was where it should be. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus. Could she do this? The Colonel would not understand her. He would probably yell at her - to hide he was worried for her. Daniel would not like it, he would be reminded of what had happened to Sha're, but he would eventually understand. Teal'c would respect her choice...the Pangarans...they would be angry, but...the more she thought about it, the more she was sure of what she should do. It was the only right choice. The Tok'ra needed their queen, and if she was freed now, Egeria would probably live and be restored to health. She was a sentient being, and from what Sam knew from Jolinar, she was a kind and wise person. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The guard inside immediately turned to see who it was. Sam stunned him before he had time to say or do anything.
She walked to the tank Egeria was imprisoned in. The symbiote raised her head and looked at Sam...questioningly - and sadly, Sam felt.
She walked closer, to stand just beside the tank. She hesitated for a brief moment, then decided to go through with it before she lost her courage. She reminded herself that this was the only morally correct choice to there was to be made. Egeria was Tok'ra - and Sam had long since forgiven Jolinar. She even missed her...
Egeria looked at Sam as she lifted the lid.
"Hello, Egeria. I...I am Major Samantha Carter of the Tau'ri. I am the former host of Jolinar of the Tok'ra. I...I volunteer to become your host." Sam straightened up and held her head near the top of the tank, opening her mouth. She saw the symbiote begin to move.
Moments later Sam was thrown back by the force of the symbiote. She felt something slide over her lips, immediately followed by a gagging sensation, and then a sharp pain in the back of her throat. She passed out as she sank to the floor.
-
A little while later.
The guard had just gotten back on his feet after being stunned. He almost immediately saw Sam lie on the floor. As he hurried to her, drawing his weapon in case it was a ruse, he noticed the symbiote was no longer attached to the external womb in the tank. In fact, he could not see it anywhere. Nervously looking around him, he quickly made sure Sam was alive, then withdrew towards the door. He expected the symbiote to jump him at any moment. When nothing happened, he decided it was probably in Sam, and hurried out to report it to his superiors.
He ran into the negotiation room.
"Commander, there has been a security breach in the manufacturing room. The queen is gone!"
"What!" Tegar said. The Tok'ra looked extremely unhappy. What had happened to their queen? Was this some sort of scheme from the Pangarans, to avoid handing over Egeria?
Everyone hurried to Egeria's room. Teger entered it first, followed by SG-1 and the Tok'ra.
Tegar quickly took in the scene and realised what had happened. "Your Major Carter has doomed tens of thousands of Pangarans to death with her reckless actions! We demand the immediate return of the queen."
Seeing Sam lying motionless on the floor, Martouf ran to her side. "Samantha!" He bent down to feel her pulse, then was relieved as he felt it. He could feel a much stronger signal from her than usual, confirming that she now had a symbiote again. It was obvious she was now host to Egeria, their queen.
*This is very strange, Lantash...*
*I agree. I dearly hope Anise and Malek were correct in their estimate, and Egeria is still strong enough to survive and be restored to health. Loosing both her and Samantha would be too much to bear.*
*Yes. Hopefully they will be fine.*
*I believe it is actually a good sign they are still unconscious. They seem calm and stable. Egeria will need to spend some time fully focused on healing, if she is to be well. If they were dying, Egeria would attempt to wake them, I am sure, to talk to us.*
Meanwhile, the other had approached as well.
"Dammit, Carter!" O'Neill sounded frustrated. "Why did she have to do this? I thought she was the last one who would ever do this, after what Jolinar did."
"She has freed Egeria - given her a chance to live. The Tok'ra owe her thanks." Malek said.
"Indeed. She did the morally correct thing." Teal'c observed.
"Morally correct! She is a mass murderer!" Tegar shouted, furious.
"You will cease referring to Samantha in such a manner, immediately." Lantash said, having taken control. His eyes glowed with a white-golden light, and he would likely have hurt Tegar, had Daniel not grabbed his arm.
"This leads to no where. Sam did what she did, and that is what we must deal with." Daniel turned to Anise. "Will she...will they be all right?"
Anise had been running a scanner over Sam/Egeria. "Yes. I do believe they will. Egeria is currently drawing strength and healing herself. They will awaken when she has repaired the damage from the last many years of medical experiments." Her eyes flashed angrily as she looked at first Tegar, then Dollen. The latter flushed a bit and looked down, obviously embarrassed.
"She's drawing strength from Sam? Will it harm her?" Daniel wondered.
"She is - and no, Major Carter will suffer no permanent damage. If Egeria is able to reverse the damage, they will wake up. I estimate this will take several hours, perhaps the rest of the day, as the injuries to her was extensive. They will then need several weeks to recuperate, but after that they will be fine. If all goes well I expect Egeria should be able to spawn the first batch of healthy Tok'ra larvae in at most 3 months."
"Well, you better start looking for a new host immediately, then, because she's not using my second in command for that!" O'Neill sounded somewhat disgusted.
"I am afraid that will not be possible." Anise said.
"What!"
"Because of Egeria's condition at the time of blending, it would most likely kill them both if she attempted to leave Major Carter. It will be at least a couple of years before it is possible. Leaving a host without killing him or her is...difficult. Even under the best of circumstances changing hosts should not happen more than once a year - at most." Anise explained.
"There is also another matter. When host and/or symbiote is weakened or in need of immediate healing upon blending, this blending is necessarily very deep. It would be psychologically very...difficult for Samantha to be unblended - as bad as if they had been blended for many years, and she suddenly was alone. It is not recommended." Lantash said, joining in the discussion.
"So what you're saying is...this is permanent? I won't accept that!" O'Neill said with determination.
"Listen, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but shouldn't we get Sam home to the infirmary? Have Janet take a look at her?" Daniel said.
"She cannot be moved until Egeria has finished healing. Doing so might kill them." Lantash pointed out.
"We will call for a Tok'ra healer. He or she will do what can be done, but ultimately it is up to Egeria to save them. When they hopefully wake up, and are well, they will, of course, go home with us, to the tunnels. Major Carter is now host to our queen, so she cannot stay at the SGC." Malek said.
"And what about us? If you leave with the queen, then what happens to those of our people taking Tretonin?" Dollen asked. "She is staying here!"
"If what you said was correct, and she will be in 'optimum conditions' in a host, we should be able to continue using her to breed symbiotes when she is healed. Which should be soon, right?" Tegar said. "This may actually turn out to our advantage."
"Are you considering continuing to breed our queen and crush our brethren to make drugs?" Malek was furious, just barely restraining himself.
Lantash had had enough of the Pangarans, and grabbed Tegar, pushing him hard up against the nearest wall. "You will not use my Samantha...nor my queen, for that...or I swear I will squeeze the life out of your misearable..." his fingers was about to close around the mans throat, when Anise and Teal'c pulled him away from Tegar.
"You know, I actually agree with Lantash here why did you not let him continue - for just a little while longer?" O'Neill looked ready to take over where Lantash had left off.
"Let's take a break, everyone? Why don't we go somewhere else and wait for Sam/Egeria to wake up? We can have both Janet and a Tok'ra healer keep an eye on her. They can call us if something happens. OK?" Daniel suggested.
The Tok'ra, O'Neill, and Teal'c still eyed the Pangarans with a slightly murderous look, but everyone eventually agreed to the sense in Daniel's idea. The Pangarans were slowly starting to realise that they were antagonizing both the people from Earth and the Tok'ra - who were actually their only hope for an antidote.
"We will stay here and look after Samantha until the healer and your doctor arrive." Martouf said. He had taken control, since Lantash had agreed he was the more diplomatic of them.
-
After Egeria had jumped into Sam, she had immediately done a full blending, and connected deeply. She would need it to have the strength and have a chance of surviving and restoring her health fully. It had been a very near thing. In a very short time the damage to her systems would have been so severe that she would have needed to spend time in a healing chamber before being strong enough to survive taking a host. As it was, though, she was confident she would make it.
*Samantha? I am Egeria. I am very grateful for you volunteering to be my host and freeing me from my prison.*
*Hello, Egeria...* Sam sounded a little apprehensive.
*You need not worry, I am not a Goa'uld...but you already knew that...*
*Yes...it's just...as I told you, this is not the first time...I was a host to Jolinar before, for a short time...and...and it was...an accident.*
Egeria 'nodded'. *Yes. You were host to my dear friend Jolinar. An involuntary host...how did this happen?*
*Please, we are blended now - look through my memories, I don't mind. Jolinar died to save my life...and I have long since forgiven her for taking me as host. She did what she had to do - it was an emergency, and I fully understand. This time I am a willing host, and I realise you will not be able to leave me for several years...that you will most likely never leave me, and we will be blended for the rest of my life...I can and will share fully with you.*
*Thank you.* Egeria gave Sam a warm hug. *I am certain we will become very good friends.*
*Yes...Egeria...will you...we be all right?*
*We will. Do not worry. You were unconscious for almost 4 hours after our initial blending. During that time I was able to repair most of the damage to my body. The rest I will heal when I have rested for a little while. I am sorry that I did not inform you first, but I kept you unconscious then since I did not wish you to suffer, should I fail in healing myself.*
*Thank you...I guess.*
Egeria spent some time going through Sam's memories of her experience with Jolinar, and then looking at some of Jolinar's memories. They talked a little about it, Egeria telling Sam a little about how Jolinar was when she knew her.
*Samantha. I regret that I did not have the opportunity to meet Jolinar again. She was a very good friend...the best I have ever had...as well as a loyal, competent ally. You share many of her traits...and the way Jolinar died in you means she left all her memories and feelings, all that she was - in you. Despite the fact that you can only consciously access a little of it, it still affects you. It has changed you, more than you may wish to admit, I can see that...I hope this is not distressing for you. And...don't take this the wrong way, but in some things you are her...in some small way it is as if part of Jolinar is with me...because I see some of her in you.*
*I knew that already - my friends even sometimes notices it when I do not. It is not a problem for me anymore. I have accepted this part of Jolinar as a part of myself. I am not the same person I was...before...there are some things I dislike now that I liked before, and vice versa. Usually, I am able to hide how much it has changed me...wait...Egeria...did you say Jolinar left a copy of all her memories?*
*Yes. All her memories, all her feelings, all that was her. Given how many years of memories she had, it is a good thing most of it is not accessible to you. You would have become Jolinar, with a very small part of you being Samantha...*
*Of course, because she lived for so much longer than I have, she would have many many more memories than I have. To some degree, we are the sum of our memories...in many ways at least...another thing, could you call me 'Sam', instead of 'Samantha'? Very few call me 'Samantha'.*
*Certainly...as it is, Sam...it is fortunate that you have Jolinar's memories. I will be able to access them and gain knowledge of what has happened to the Tok'ra in much of the time since I was placed in stasis. I will need that to assure our children have all the knowledge they need.*
*Um...just one thing here...how will that affect me? If you access her memories...I mean...will I disappear? Become Jolinar?*
*No, no...do not worry. It will not change you. I will block it all from you. There may be some small lingering change in me, but nothing of importance. Jolinar was a good Tok'ra...a good person. It will not be a problem.*
Sam 'nodded', somewhat reassured, and fell asleep while Egeria assimilated Jolinar's memories. When she awoke several hours later, she found that Egeria had fallen asleep after absorbing all the information, and even finding the strength to heal the rest of the damage. Sam felt tired as well - and hungry, since it had taken a lot of energy for Egeria to heal.
Sam listened. She heard only few sounds - unfamiliar ones. She probably still was in the laboratory on Pangar. Somewhere close she sensed a symbiote - it was a familiar one, she believed. Opening her eyes, she smiled as she saw Martouf/Lantash sitting there on the floor near her. She had guessed correctly and it was Lantash she had sensed. They must have been waiting for her to wake up...or perhaps to see if their queen survived and woke up? She could certainly understand their interest in Egeria's wellbeing...she was the Tok'ra hope for the future. Still, Sam hoped they were also there for her sake.
"Martouf..."
"Samantha!" He smiled happily. "We have been worried. You were unconscious for a very long time...we are both happy that you are awake, and seems to be well. How is our queen, Egeria?"
"She is asleep, exhausted from healing...but she succeeded and will be fine."
"For that we are grateful..." his head dipped and when he looked up again his eyes glowed briefly.
"Samantha...what you did was extremely dangerous. We are very glad that it went well, and you survived. You have saved our queen...the Tok'ra will forever be thankful to you for that."
Sam tried to sit up, and Lantash quickly helped her. "Are you sure you are strong enough?" he asked, worriedly. He took her hand, entwining his fingers with hers when she did not pull it away.
"Yes. I'm fine. Besides, I feel ravenous hungry."
"Of course. Egeria must have used much energy healing that much damage...I am sure there must be a mess hall or something similar somewhere. I shall go and bring you something." Lantash said, getting up.
"Wait. I'm coming with you." Sam smiled at him and started to stand up, Lantash helping her.
"You are not going anywhere, my friend. Not until I say you are well enough." Janet said. Having heard voices, she had come into the room to check on Sam, followed by a Tok'ra healer.
"Janet...I didn't know you were here? And...um...Sian, I think? First healer?"
"Yes, you are correct, Major Carter." The dark-haired man smiled, obviously pleased that she recognized him. He looked at Janet. "Doctor Fraiser is right. You should not over-exert yourself. Is Egeria awake?"
"No, and I would prefer not to wake her just now. She managed to fully heal herself already, so she need to rest."
"Of course." Sian had taken out a scanner and was running it over Sam.
"So do you." Janet observed, seeing that Sam looked very tired as well. She turned to Martouf/Lantash. "Go get her some food. We're not letting her go anywhere until we have finished examining her...them. And please try avoid telling the Pangarans she is awake. I would rather not have to deal with them right now."
Lantash nodded. He smiled at Sam and gave her arm a quick squeeze, before he left to find some food.
Sam looked after him, smiling.
"Earth to Sam...are you listening?" Janet said, obviously not having been heard the first time.
"What?"
"Never mind...how are you feeling? And what about Egeria?"
"I'm fine. Just a bit tired. Egeria will be all right as soon as she has rested and recuperated. She is asleep right now. Janet...you don't need to keep us here...besides, the floor is hard." Sam complained.
"Let me be the judge of that...and I didn't mean you should stay on the floor." She pointed at a bed that looked as if she had brought it from the infirmary at the SGC.
Sighing, Sam climbed up in the bed and patiently allowed Janet and the Tok'ra healer to scan and prod her. They had just finished when Martouf/Lantash came back, carrying a tray filled with food. Malek, Anise, Daniel, O'Neill, and Teal'c followed, all wanting to see how Sam and Egeria were doing.
"Did you have to bring everyone?" Janet sounded unhappy.
"You only told me to avoid bringing any Pangarans, which I did." Martouf went over to Sam. "Here. This was the best I was able to find in this place." He put the tray down on the bed.
"Thank you." She smiled at him and began eating, while Janet and the healer brought the rest of SG-1 and the Tok'ra up to speed.
"So, they're out of danger. That's great, but how do we get Carter away from the Pangarans? They're not just going to let her go." O'Neill said.
Just then, Sam's eyes glowed as Egeria woke up. After a few moments discussion with Sam, she spoke up. "I believe I can be of help with that."
The Tok'ra had immediately focused all their attention on their queen.
"Egeria...my Queen." Lantash had been standing by the bed and began to kneel down, as did Malek and Anise.
"Lantash...Malek, and Anise. Please do not kneel. You are not my servants."
The Tok'ra quickly assembled around the bed, eager to speak with Egeria. Janet, Daniel, O'Neill, and Teal'c stayed back and looked on with interest.
"Are you well, my Queen?" Malek said. Then added with some reverence. "It is an honour to meet you."
"Sam has shown me what you have accomplished, and I have also seen much from Jolinar's memories. I am very proud of what you have done. I am quite well. I will need more rest, of course, so I believe I will soon sleep some more. However, first I need to take care of the problem with the Pangarans." She put the tray with the rest of the food away, while she considered how to explain it. "The reason for the Tretonin's weakness, and why you could not develop an antidote for it - as well as why my young lack mental development - is that I sabotaged them. I introduced flaws in some of their genes. I did this in the hope that the Pangarans would stop using them for producing the drug, when it proved useless to them. Also, I wished to protect my children from being conscious of their suffering, so I sabotaged their mental development as well. Unfortunately, instead of stopping their research when Tretonin proved untenable, the Pangarans merely continued making it - and in ever increasing quantities."
"And now they cannot live without it." Daniel concluded.
"True. That was never my intention."
"Their fate is their own doing, not yours. You merely tried to free yourself the only way you could." Malek observed.
"They do not deserve this end...not when I can prevent it."
"How?" O'Neill wondered.
"I created the flaw, I can create an antidote that will reverse the effects of the Tretonin." Egeria yawned, looking tired. "Anise, Malek...I will will go with you to the laboratory, and show you."
Janet started to protest, but thought better of it, sighed, and gave in.
"I understand your concern, but I assure you, they will be fine." Sian, the Tok'ra healer said. He then blushed a little. "I...that is we...my host Ra'if and I...we are feeling hungry, and thought you might be too? Would you perhaps like to accompany us and get something to eat?"
Janet smiled. "That sounds like a great idea. I would like that."
They left the room to find a place to eat. The others had already left, either for the lab, or to go and inform the Pangarans that their people would be saved.
-
Late evening.
Egeria had helped Malek and Anise perfect the formula for the antidote. Malek and Anise were still on Pangar, producing the first portion of the antidote together with the now very grateful as well as shameful Pangarans. They had given Egeria an official apology, which she had gracefully accepted. Sam/Egeria had then been allowed to go to the SGC, with the rest of SG-1 and Janet. Sian followed to keep an eye on Egeria's recuperation, and Martouf/Lantash had gone to SGC as well. Sam/Egeria would stay at the SGC for a couple weeks, while Sam sold her house and took care of any other business she had. Then they would move to the Tok'ra tunnels.
Sam/Egeria had been released from the infirmary, after Janet had made a few extra check-ups. Egeria had taken the opportunity to fall asleep again, still tired from her ordeal. As Sam left the infirmary, she saw Janet go to talk to Sian. He smiled happily at her. Neither of them seemed to hear Sam's good night, and she wondered if something was developing between them? They seemed very attentive of each other.
Sam smiled to herself. She left to go to the mess hall and get a cup of coffee and maybe a slice of pie. Daniel had mentioned they had a very good blueberry pie today.
She was only barely out of the infirmary, when she felt the energy signature of a symbiote. She had not yet quite gotten used to being able to sense them at so long a distance. Before it had only been 5-6 feet, now it was at least 50 feet. Moments later, Martouf/Lantash turned the corner of the corridor, walking towards her. She smiled at them, receiving a warm smile in return.
"Hello...Samantha." Martouf said, somehow already able to tell that it was her in control and not Egeria. It pleased her, somehow. "We were on our way to ask you if you wanted something from the mess hall before sleep-time."
"Thank you...yes, I had thought I would go and get something to eat before going to bed. Janet and Sian finally decided to release me, so I get to sleep in my own quarters tonight."
"Good. Then perhaps we can accompany you to get some food? Lantash and I are hungry as well...Samantha...is Egeria asleep again?"
"Yes. She is still exhausted from healing all the damage, but she is well otherwise. A good nights sleep and she will be well enough that we can go home to my house and start collecting what we want to bring."
"You should not go off-base alone. It is not safe. Lantash and I will be happy to accompany you...perhaps we can be of some assistance as well."
"Thank you. That would be nice, though I don't think we would be in any danger. No one outside of the Tok'ra and a few here at SGC knows about Egeria."
"Nevertheless. We would never forgive ourselves if anything should happen to you or Egeria."
Sam nodded, accepting their offer.
"We were back at the Tok'ra base shortly, earlier today. We managed to get a message through to your father. He and Selmak will return from their mission as fast as possible - within a few days. I assured them that you were well."
"Thank you. I'm glad Dad will be coming back soon, though I don't know how he will react to this."
They walked in silence most of the way to the mess hall. Sam had a lot on her mind. She did not know what to tell Martouf and Lantash. Her experiences on Netu had helped her to see things clearer and she was now certain that she, Sam, loved them. That the feelings she had did not all come from Jolinar. What she did not know was if Martouf and Lantash loved her, or only the leftover part of Jolinar. They did seem to feel something for her. She believed...hoped they wanted her for herself as well. Were it not for Egeria she might have been too nervous about what they would say to talk with them about it, at least she would likely have waited for them to say something first. As it was, she would have to talk to them soon. She had discussed it with Egeria, who had pointed out that as a queen she would need a mate, and soon. The Tok'ra needed more people, and she wanted to give birth to the first clutch as soon as she was fully well and recovered. No more than 3 months - likely less, she said.
Egeria had started to share Sam's emotions - her feelings for Martouf and Lantash - the moment they had blended, of course. The process of synchronizing their emotions would usually have taken weeks, had been great accelerated when Egeria had absorbed Jolinar's memories and feelings. She was now pushing for Sam to make a move and see if Martouf and Lantash would be interested in becoming their mates.
They had reached the mess and now sat at a table, each with a slice of blueberry pie in front of them. Apart from themselves, there was no one else in the room.
Sam was drinking a cup of coffee. Martouf did not like the taste, and Lantash also did not appreciate him drinking beverages containing caffeine or other substances which affected the body's function, however briefly. He had opted for a cup of tea.
"I do not understand how you can drink that." Martouf said, pointing at her cup, "...and Lantash says you should not imbibe substances which interferes with your body's normal chemistry."
"I know...don't worry, it won't keep me awake. I'm far too used to it...it will be hard to be without in the tunnels - perhaps I can bring some, together with various other supplies." She smiled. "Unless Egeria don't like it, of course."
Martouf nodded. "It will take some time to get used to each others likes and dislikes in food and such things. It rarely turns into a problem, though." He was quiet for a while. Obviously thinking deeply about something - or, more likely, discussing something with Lantash. "Samantha...we are very happy that you are moving to the tunnels. We look forward to spending more time with you. Our times together have been too few and far between." Reaching across the table, he took her hand.
"I agree...it will be nice to...eh...get to know each other better. I also look forward to learning more about the Tok'ra..."
"We were worried that we might loose you when you volunteered to host Egeria. Thankfully, you both survived...Lantash and I have become very...fond...of you..." he smiled a shy smile and looked down.
"I...ah...thank you. I'm very...fond of you as well...of both of you." She wanted to kick herself for not taking the opportunity to tell him she loved him...but what if they just thought of her as a good friend? And how did they feel about Egeria?
For a while, neither said anything. Martouf continued holding her hand, caressing it, and drawing circles on it with his thumb. Suddenly his eyes flashed and Lantash was now obviously in control. He smiled warmly at her.
"Samantha, what Martouf was trying to say is that we..." Lantash suddenly felt unsure of how she would react, "...that we have very...strong feelings for you... We hope that spending more time together might lead us to...more than just friendship..."
"I...I think I would like that." Sam blushed, unsure of how to respond. They sat for a little while longer, the silence growing awkward. Then Sam pushed her plate aside. "It is late. I should probably go to bed - Egeria isn't the only one who is tired, I must admit."
"Of course. Forgive us for keeping you up. Please, allow me to follow you to your quarters?" Lantash asked.
*What are you doing? She obviously wants to be alone!*
*I am only doing what you want to do as well, Martouf...if you had the courage. We both love Samantha. I believe she loves us as well - and if that is the case, then so, too, will Egeria. I am convinced we should pursue Samantha now...why else did we return home for the necklace we had bought for her?*
*Yes...but we will scare her away if we are too forceful in our courting.*
*I don't think we will. If you believe me to be in error, then leave me in control and let me attempt this. You can always blame me if she does react badly. I am certain she will not, though.*
*All right. Try then. I dearly hope you succeed.*
Sam had not expected them to suggest to follow her to her quarters, but she could not really turn them down without an excuse. Besides, she did want to talk more to them. Perhaps she would gain the courage to tell them of her feelings while they walked.
They made small talk about nothing in particular on the way to Sam's room. When they exited the elevator, Lantash put his hand lightly on the small of her back. When she did not seem to mind, he kept it there the rest of the short walk to her quarters.
"Martouf and I have something we would like to give you." He said when they stood outside her door. He opened the small bag he had and took out a gold necklace. It was simple, yet beautiful, with a single blue jewel inlaid in gold. "We would be very happy if you would accept it...the colour of the stone reminds us of the colour of your eyes, though it is nowhere near as beautiful as they."
"Thank you so much! It is very pretty. I would be happy to wear it." She smiled at him, her cheeks colouring a little.
"Then let me help you put it on." He leaned in and put the necklace around her neck, closing the clasp.
After doing so, he did not let go of her, but stayed close to her. His hands slowly caressed her neck, then slid down her back. He had a very intense look in his eyes, as he studied her, seeming to consider how to proceed.
*Lantash! We can't just start fondling her like that...as pleasant as it surely is...she will feel we have overstepped the limits...gone too far too fast. We will loose any advantage we might have gained.* Martouf complained, very worried that Sam might reject them.
*Nonsense. If she were unwilling she would have said so already.*
Lantash kept fondling Sam's back for a little while longer, then grabbed hold of her and pulled her even closer. Sam had by now closed her eyes, obviously enjoying what he did. He decided she really did want them, and gently kissed her. Sam immediately put her arms around him and returned the kiss, then ran her tongue along his lips.
Surprised, Lantash gasped. "Samantha...perhaps we should continue this somewhere...ah...more private..."
"I was just about to suggest the same thing!" Sam said, opening the door and pulling him inside.
-
Later.
Egeria awoke to find her host asleep in the bed in their quarters. As she stretched slightly, she felt naked skin against naked skin. She also sensed a symbiote very close by. Gently probing her hosts memories, she found to her delight that Sam had taken her advice. She had pursued Martouf/Lantash and was now sleeping in their arms. Happily - and slightly envious that she had not been awake for the first mating - she snuggled closer to her sleeping mates and soon fell asleep herself again. Tomorrow it would be her turn to be in control...
THE END