Chapter Six - Firsts, Backwards.
Daniel headed for Sam's lab, with wide purposeful strides.
He didn't know what to think. Nothing made sense. They had made love for the first time only two nights ago and now she was two months pregnant! It wasn't possible. She had been a virgin, he knew that for a fact! Seen it in her face 'Or had I?... Could I be wrong about that?' She was pregnant, so that was impossible. 'Two months! Virgin? How? She hadn't been here two months ago…hell, she wasn't even human two months ago…Unless she had…lied…But why?' The thoughts tornadoed round his mind, while bitter rage twisted his stomach. Obviously she was lying. He felt so foolish. He had trusted her, opened his heart to her, and now he was going to pay the price for his lack of caution.
Which ever way he looked at it, it didn't add up. He needed answers. And he needed them now! He quickened his pace.
Just as Janet had supposed he found her in Sam's lab. The girls were experimenting with Leesia's ability. The lab lights flickered and Sam was reading the power fluctuation with a look of complete wonder on her face, while Leesia bashfully smiled, clearly embarrassed by the attention the Major was giving her. It was a sweet scene to walk in on and under normal circumstances he would have been grateful to see these two working together, clearly enjoying each others company and getting on well, but now he found it to be a betrayal.
"Sorry Sam, but would you mind giving us a minute?" he asked politely, forcing the anger to stay hidden from his voice.
"Of course." Sam nodded showing her understanding and gave his arm a comforting squeeze before she left her lab, closing the door behind her.
He kept his eyes on the floor as he spoke. "Janet told me…about the baby." Now they were alone he was unable to keep the hurt from his voice.
"And that has displeased you?" she asked with a curious tone.
He ignored the question. It was a stupid one. Of course it had 'displeased' him. He huffed out a humourless laugh and shock his head. "You said it was your first time."
"It was." She frowned, confused. Stepping up to him and staring up into his face.
He met her look and glared back. "Oh, please! She told me it's two months. Who's child is it?" He didn't know why that information was important to him, it was highly unlikely that he would know the father of the child that was growing inside the body of the woman he loved. No, the woman who had deceived him.
She frowned at him. Her hand instinctively hovering over her stomach, as if she could protect it from the harshness of his tone. "It is yours…Wha, what are you implying?"
"Oh don't give me that! Who's is it!" he shouted, waving his arms in desperation.
"I've already told you, the child is yours." She tried to hide the crack in her voice, unsuccessfully, but she couldn't stop the tears that started to spill down her cheeks. "What would give you cause to believe that I would deceive you?"
"It's not possible." he said matter-of-factly, he wanted to shout, but her tears were weakening his anger. He fought to grip hold of it, while fighting off the urge to wrap his arms around her and brush away her tears.
"Woman other than me have gotten pregnant before they had intercourse. I read about them in the stories in your house."
"So what are you're saying? You're the virgin Mary?" he said, his tone heavy with disbelief and sarcasm. He couldn't believe the length that she was going to, to cover this deceit.
"No. I am saying that for an ascended being to father a child does not included penetration."
He froze, frowned. "What?"
"Daniel, I understand that this must be very confusing, but please, I beg you, believe me." her tone was gently, soothing. "I have not and could never lie to you, or hurt you in anyway…I wish you could remember."
It took a while for what she was saying to make it through the confusion in his mind. The fire of his anger drowned by her gently tears and comforting words. It wasn't possible, his mind still insisted, but his gut screamed at him to believe her and his heart told him that she would not lie. 'If what she's saying is true… then that must mean…'
"We were together when I was ascended?" he blurted out, his eyes boring into her.
"Yes." she nodded, refusing to break away from his intense gaze.
"And that's when you got pregnant?"
"Yes." she said again, a brief smile pulling on her lips.
"So it really is mine?"
Her smile widened and she nodded again.
"You're having my baby!" a huge grin broke across his face. He gave a short almost hysterical laugh and then his eyes unfocused, "Oh my god, you're having my baby." he automatically threw his arms out to steady himself as his legs gave way.
She grabbed hold of him and guided him back to the wall so he could lower himself down gently to the floor.
"Breath love." She told him, but she couldn't help smiling.
"I'm okay. Just…shocked." He put his head between his knees and got control of his breathing.
"I know. You reacted the same way the first time you found out."
"I did?" he asked.
She smiled with a nod. "Actually we both did. It was a shock for me also."
"Why didn't you tell me? I can understand you not telling me that we were together and trying to let me remember on my own, but this…surely I had a right to know"
She avoided his gaze and when she answered him her voice was heavy with remorse. "I did not wish to inform you until I was confident that I was still carrying your child. Very few Ancients have returned to their former lives, whether through punishment or through choice and none of them were expecting a child at the time. There was no way of knowing how my returning to my human form would effect my pregnancy."
"B-but you're okay, an-and the baby?" he stammered, suddenly realising that he had dashed away to find her without getting any details from Janet.
She smiled and nodded, touched by the concern. "Your Doctor Frasier done many, many tests and confirmed that your child and I are both healthy."
Daniel gave a quiet sigh of relief. He met her smiling eyes briefly with his own. Hesitantly he reached his hand towards her abdomen.
She hid a giggle at his uncertainty and pushed his hand against her stomach with her own. "Daniel Jackson you are to be a father."
'A father' her words repeated through his mind as he grazed his palm over her still flat abdomen. A father. He was going to be a father. It still seemed impossible. Improbable. Circumstances were moving so fast they made his head spin. Beneath this skin was his child. His. Child. She hadn't lied or betrayed him. She had only kept the truth from him to protect him and now he knew.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when the door hissed open.
"Daniel you dog, you never said she was a stunner." Jack smiled and winked at the former Ancient.
"Jack."
"Everything okay?" the Colonel asked watching as the couple got back up to their feet.
"Have I ever told you your timing is impeccable?" Daniel asked, dusting down his BDU pants.
Jack shrugged. "Once or twice. Congratulations by the way."
Daniel turned to his best friend, stunned. "You knew?"
"Course. I was there when she found out. Don't waste time do you Danny-boy?" Jack said, clapping him on the shoulder. "What are you two still doing here anyway? Thought that you would be taking advantage of your downtime and taking this little lady out."
"Don't worry Jack I intend to." Daniel said. He turned to Leesia. "I guess if you're having my baby I should at least take you on a date." he smiled at the absurdness of his own statement, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"A date?" she questioned.
"Uh it means a romantic engagement."
She smiled. "Oh, well then I would be delighted to go on a date with you."
"Hammond said to take some personal time if you wanted. Actually he said something about owing you about four months worth of days off, but I think he was joking."
"Kinda a 'don't call us we'll call you' kind of thing?" Daniel asked shaking his head.
"Something like that. I don't have to remind you about confidentiality do I?" Jack asked slightly hesitantly.
Daniel smiled. "You don't have to worry about this one Jack, clearly she knows how to keep a secret."
…
'I'm doing this all backwards: I knock her up, then I take her virginity and now I take her out for our first date'. he sighed. 'It should have been the other way around and with a lot more steps in between.'
He had decided to take her to O'Malleys. It wasn't as romantic as he would have wanted for their first date, but he would need a reservation everywhere else. He only hoped that the staff wouldn't recognize him. He doubted they would. It had been over three years ago, he had changed since then and thanks to the alien wristband device he had been wearing under his sweater he hadn't needed his glasses at the time.
Leesia sat across the table, smiling with a mischievous grin that made him wonder if she had guessed what he was thinking.
"Something amusing?" he asked.
Her grin widened. "You're expression is very…familiar to me. Your mind is always so busy, even when it is time for you to relax it will not cease. Tell me what is weighing your thoughts?"
"I guess I'm having difficulty understanding how the baby was conceived when we were ascended. I mean we didn't have physical bodies."
"Questioning a blessing can be dangerous, Daniel."
"And ignorance can be bliss, but that doesn't mean that we should stop seeking answers."
She smiled warmly at him. "That is true in most cases. However, I believe that this is not one of those times. Oma removed your memories for your own protection. The human mind is just not capable of holding so much information."
"Then how do you remember?" he asked.
Her head dropped.
"Leesia?"
"I don't. I can only remember approximately the last year of my life. I had to give up a bulk of my knowledge and memories to take this form. I opted to eradicate everything I knew before I met you."
He leaned forward and took hold of her hand. "I'm sorry you had to do that."
"I am not." she said sincerely, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. "It was my choice, Daniel…Before I knew you I only existed, my life really began when I met you anyway. It is no hardship to lose the map when you already have found the treasure."
Daniel blushed at the flattery. "I'd still like to know how this is possible."
Her eyes light up with her smile. "You never could be swayed. So stubborn."
"You're not going to tell me are you?"
"Do not think that I do not wish to. It is just complex to explain."
"Please try."
She thought about it for a while. He tried to be patient, but the curiosity was killing him. His foot was tapping impatiently, his finger constantly fiddling with everything they came into contact with.
Finally she spoke. "The simplest way I can explain it is that it is the same as human conception only with energy instead of cells."
"Well that doesn't sound so complicated."
"I am merely easing you into it. As there is no tangible molecules for interaction, obviously I am using the term 'energy' loosely, for the lack of a precise word for it. It is not utterly accurate, but it will have to suffice. Also because it has not happened to another Ascended couple for as long as anyone can remember, any knowledge is only speculation."
Daniel nodded. "Okay." he said drawing the word out.
"Unlike most energies that of the ascended do not transfer into other forms. They can merge with other beings or be release, but our energy is part of who we are and while we can see, or more accurately, feel theses energies from others they do not become part of our makeup. Now while it is theoretically possible for these energies to impregnate a human or a being with a physical presence for that to occur with another ascended is an impossibility."
"So how did it happen for us?"
"The presumption was that how you died effected the way your energies where transferred when you joined that of the Ascended."
"My radiation poisoning made me…fertile?" he asked his tone heavy with uncertainty.
She nodded. "That was the belief."
"That seems a bit of a leap. Who came up with that theory?"
She giggled out loud. It was a beautiful sound like the tinkling of wind chimes in a soft summer breeze. "You did." she told him.
He laughed. "I guess I should have seen that coming."
"And normally you would have, but I imagine that this is a lot to take in."
"Ya think?" he smiled. Even with her description it still seemed impossible to him. He was going to be a father. A father of a child conceived through immaculate conception on another plane of existence. "So does this mean that the baby is an Ancient?" he suddenly asked, startled that the thought had only just occurred to him.
"That would have been a fair assumption, but the scan has confirmed otherwise."
"I missed the scan?"
She immediately saw the disappointment flare in his blue eyes. "Your Doctor Frasier informed me that there will be at least one other."
"So it must have taken human form when you did." he speculated.
She slowly shock her head. "I do not believe so. That is something I could not do alone. It needed your energies to give it life, as such it would also require your cells to give it a physical form."
"Is that why you were so insistent that we made love?"
"Yes, but not the only reason. I was fascinated by how similar, yet diverse the sensations were."
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their food. Daniel had ordered for them both, choosing a wide selection of dishes so they could discover what pleased her pallet.
He found out that she did not share his sweet tooth during desert. He had loaded his fork with a sample of the chocolate cake, but when she had tasted it her face had twisted into a look of disgust and he had chuckled at her expression.
"You know most women adore chocolate." He smiled teasingly and took a big swing of his coffee.
"Clearly I am not most women then."
"True." he laughed. He stood and offered her his hand. "Come on, let's go home."
…
He had barely closed the door behind them when her lips locked onto his.
"What was that for?" he asked, blinking with a shy smile.
"To thank you. For tonight."
"I think it should be me thanking you." he said.
Her head tilted in her usual questioning manner. It was fast becoming one of his favourite of her expressions, tied in first place with that mischievous grin that made her eyes dance with fire.
"You gave up everything for me," he said. "when I can't even remember us. I can't begin to imagine how frightening that must be. Having to deal with everything alone, feeling like you have to keep it all to yourself."
There was that grin. "Are you hinting for information?"
"Subtle huh?" he half smiled. "Just tell me something, anything."
"I cannot." she said firmly. "I have to believe that you will remember by yourself. I feel that telling you would be a betrayal in my faith in you, in us."
"I feel like I'm letting you down by not remembering. I'm sorry. I am trying."
She cradled both his cheeks. Her eyes were firm, emphasising the weight of her words. "I know. Maybe you are trying to hard. Relax. The memories are there. They will come in time and you do not have apologise. You are not at fault. Besides, I find it very flattering that you fell in love with me not once but twice."
That made him smile. "That's a nice way to view it."
"There is no other way to view it." she said softly. "You are an amazing man Daniel Jackson. Even with no memories to go by you had the strength to follow your heart. Thank you" She rose up on her toes so she could press a kiss on his lips.
"You make it sound like it was a hard thing to do…it wasn't. Everything was so confusing at the time, I wasn't even sure I knew who I was, but somehow…I knew you."
She smiled so wide. "That is enough talking. I wish to retire?"
"Tired?"
"No." she giggled excitably and ran off, heading to the bedroom.
He laughed out loud and followed. His life had changed so much in the last few days. Changed for the better. He thanked his lucky stars for allowing her to return to him.
"That's familiar." he chuckled as he entered the bedroom and took in the sight of her. The little minx had stripped off everything she had been warring and was curled on the bed the same way she had been on their first night. The only difference being the look of innocent tranquillity she had had was replaced with one of need and passion.
"I hope you will not be so hesitant this time."
"You don't need to worry about that." he said, stretching out along side her. Pulling her close, he kissed her softly and then more urgently. Her little fingers teasing open his shirt so she could caress his firm chest, sending tingles straight to his heart.
"I love you." he whispered against her skin as he moved his mouth down her neck. Her breath caught in her throat as he sucked gently on the soft skin.
"I love you also." she sighed in pleasure. As she spoke her fingers wondered over his willing flesh, leaving a scorching trail in their wake and causing a warm shiver to course up his spine and his mouth wet dry.
Suddenly the room fell into pitch blackness.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly, peppering her shoulders with light kisses. "I think we had a power cut."
"No, I believe was me." she said, sounding embarrassed and slightly breathless.
He smiled against the sweet warmth of her skin. This woman was definitely going to boost his ego. He smiled as his lips once again claimed hers for his own.
A.N ~ Sorry this chapter took so long, there was a lot of editing needed. But I would like to thank the reviewer for their kind words
P.s Dont forget to check out the new trailer on you tube, link on profile.