"Let your love flow outward through the universe,

To its height, its depth, its broad extent,

A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.

Then as you stand or walk,

Sit or lie down,

As long as you are awake,

Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;

Your life will bring heaven to earth."

~Sutta Nipata

One breath in; one breath out. Slowly and methodically, he positioned his hands, and felt his body move as one, twisting slightly to the side. One foot turned on its heel, and then rocked forward, onto the ball. The other foot lifted. His leg continued in the fluidity of the movement, stepping out to the side and steadying himself where it fell. One breath in; one breath out. Mickey had been correct. This was exactly what Merlin needed. Finding his center; a position from which to ground himself.

Martha was right. Nothing he had learned over the past months could erase the core of who he was. He brought his forearms against his chest. His hands were positioned around the invisible ball of energy between his palms. One breath in, as he drew it closer, and one breath out, as he gently pushed it away. It swelled in size, as his hands parted, before it was brought back to his center...once again, small and manageable.

After his tears had run their course, Martha had asked him if leaving the cave would hurt him. He didn't know. He hadn't tested the possibility.

Before his wife had arrived, Merlin had sat in meditation, sending healing energy he received via the crystals, through the link he shared along the threads of life, to Aithusa. The action, at first seemed to infuriate the dragon, but little by little, it had been accepted...and then the link had been cut off. Unlike before, Merlin was still able to sense Aithusa, but he instinctively knew that something had happened at the Supergate. His connection was stretched back to what it had been before the Gate was opened.

Breathe in; breathe out. He felt the coming dawn more acutely than he had in decades...tuning himself in...past the pain...past the uncertainty. Smiling, he felt his movements being mirrored. While his partner couldn't reach the full depth he could, she was still much better at concentrating on the routine than Arthur was. He'd forgotten how comforting it was to share in the silence of the moment, with someone who appreciated the nuances of the katas of Tai Chi.

Arthur was a warrior, and the routines were geared toward survival and leadership. With a weapon in his hand, he could focus. Without one, the former First Knight of Camelot seemed a bit lost. Although, Merlin could tell his friend was in awe of the bare-handed fighting styles, Arthur still joked about a real man needing a sword.

Arthur and the others had arrived back at the cave, just after Martha. While the man had accepted Merlin as an equal, to Arthur it meant that he treated Merlin just as he did his knights...with the same jokes, horseplay, and banter when they were outside of any dire situation.

Merlin knew much of it stemmed from Arthur's continued insecurities. Although, the former king did well to bury them. A few months could not erase the life he lived before the stasis.

When the door finally opened, Arthur was livid about being shut out. Merlin had been the one true constant, even more than Gwen. Like a petulant child, he fell back to his old ways of making himself the center of attention.

Merlin had been ready to share in his and Martha's new-found fortune. Instead, he grabbed his wife's hand, hollered at Mickey to hold down the fort, snatched up his coat, and left.

Feeling himself beginning to tense with the train of thought, Merlin focused back inward and allowed the release of his breath to carry the irritation away.

They walked through the forest, dappled with shadows and light, in the late afternoon. They reached the area of the camp, when Merlin decided that he'd had enough of walking. He was feeling better than he had for a while. Using the spoken language of magic, which seemed to take less out of him, he whisked them away to the house. He had seen the concern in her eyes, but was grateful that she didn't voice them. The slight wave of dizziness quickly diminished, as they re-appeared in their bedroom.

Her breath matched his own, slow and rhythmic, while they continued to move.

First on his list, after returning home, was a hot bath...which felt glorious. The warm food afterward, was delicious, and a night spent in a lover's embrace was just the thing he needed.

There was no Arthur, nor Gwen, nor Aurie around to distract them. No knights popping in and out. Merlin didn't even realize he had forgotten his phone in the Crystal Cave until that very moment. The whole night was quiet.

He bit down a chuckle. Well, perhaps not exactly quiet...Martha certainly wasn't holding back in voicing her pleasure at having her husband all to herself.

They laid together, wrapped around each other, after their lovemaking. Merlin began to tell Martha all that he had learned. For the first time, he truly opened up to her about the white dragon.

On his next intake of breath, he caught a whiff of her scent...brought to him by the gentle breeze that caused the leaves in the gardens below to sing a whispered hymn of the coming morning...floral and citrus.

His exhalation sent many of his worries out into the dawn. The future was no longer the uncertainty of 'what might come'...as Martha pointed out...like it had been when Gwaine was first brought back to this time period.

One year or one-hundred years; she said she would be by his side. The child growing within her was a glorious miracle, and it served to pull him even farther out of the hole that he still felt inside him.

It was still there, that darkness, but he had been given a reprieve. It now had a reason and a name...Aithusa...Merlin's first child, in a sense...and the dragon needed him. There was a new focus, a new purpose to his life, and above all, he mused silently...reaching out with his magic to brush the brand new life thread within Martha...a reason to want to live.

"You're not Merlin!" The voice said sarcastically from the other end of the phone that Arthur had answered.

"No, I'm not...Gwaine." Arthur voiced, with an equal amount of cheek.

The Marine snorted, "Well, good thing I needed to talk to you, too. Listen...we've had a few interesting things happen around here. First, my friend, you are going to get to do what you do best. Did Merlin fill you in?"

Scowling at the wall, Arthur smacked his lips together. Merlin had opened the door and come out of the main Gate Room, with his hand in Martha's. His eyes were rimmed with red from tears, but he had a smile on his face. The warlock had started to say something, but Arthur...believing what he had to say trumped the emotional situation...had interrupted and took charge of the conversation. Merlin had glared at the former king, and left the caverns with his wife.

"No. He did not get a chance to."

"Right, then..." Arthur could hear the question in Gwaine's tone. The silent accusation of: 'what did you do now?' hung in the air. Gwaine asked who else was around, and Arthur told him. "Put me on speaker, will ya? I need to fill you all in on this."

After doing as Gwaine instructed, the four men gathered around the phone to listen. He told them about the IOA and UNIT situation, and also explained how...because of the mythology...Arthur was going to be asked to represent the humans throughout the galaxy. For a moment, Arthur found himself feeling a bit overwhelmed, and unsure of how to respond. Deep inside himself, he suddenly began to realize what it was that destiny had planned for him.

He had been born on Earth, and he had ruled a great kingdom; one with people who had lived in a way many others in the galaxy currently did. His upbringing and training without modern technology allowed him to empathise with the way those others lived, in a way unlike the rest of the Tau'ri.

He looked at Leon...his right hand...a man who had been thrown into life with advances far beyond what Arthur could imagine, and taught by the Asgard. Then, there was Gwaine; a man who was from this place and time...a midway point, almost, between how life had been and what was out there in space, including the introduction of Merlin to the evasive Nox.

Percival had helped to bridge the gap, quietly accepting whatever life handed to him, and reminding the former king that he was not alone in his anxieties of the changing world.

Mickey...well, Arthur hadn't been able to figure him out just yet, but his quirks and desire to be a part of something greater stood out like a beacon.

Arthur had yet to see Lancelot, who had accepted Ascension, and thus become one of the revered Ancients, who had seeded much of the life throughout this galaxy. However, he didn't doubt the word of the others as to the knight's fate.

Then, there was Merlin. Arthur had been told the stories about the Great Alliance, and humanity being "The Fifth Race." The fourth one was the Furling…thought to have disappeared, or became extinct long ago. Now, they knew that wasn't the case.

They were all links in the chain...the commonality that could bring many of the various peoples of this galaxy together. Thanks to the rumors and stories of Arthur's personal past, it was a common thread that brought together many of the humans...whether from Earth, or out among the stars. His knights, now including Merlin, provided the connections he would need to reach out to the others.

The other men watched as a visible change came over Arthur, while his thoughts played out. Since his return, Arthur...despite his best efforts...had appeared somewhat lost in the world. He had clung to Merlin like a shield, like a green knight on the training field. Now was the chance to step out from behind that protection. In front of him was an opportunity to be a part of something great, and lead once again. The fabled king within him rose to the challenge.

"Gwaine, please let them know: 'I am flattered by their request, and I will consider it carefully.'" The glint in his eyes told the men watching that he had already made his decision, but a good negotiator never accepted the first offer that was presented.

"...Will do." Gwaine responded. The slight chuckle on the other end, let Arthur know his knight understood the message. "Now, are you boys ready to hear about something really interesting?"

"I've been talking to Jack, and I can use the Torchwood equipment to continue working on things like the staff." Martha leaned against the kitchen counter and took a sip of her tea.

Merlin's eyes widened, "The staff? What does the staff have to do with this?"

"Arthur had asked me to look into it. I've been able to do some scans and..." She stared into her cup. Her unease with her findings caused Martha's shoulders to tighten. "The blue stone...it's not a stone at all. It is almost more of a resin, made entirely of crystallized protein."

"Martha, what are you saying?"

"It's the albumen of an egg..." She said quietly. A vision of the dragon in the holographic display made it seem more real, than it had just the day before. "...The 'white' mucous surrounding an actual embryo...of what appears to be a dragon."

Merlin paled and his stomach began twisting, "Are you certain?" He managed to ask after a time.

Martha nodded. She had been dreading telling him, knowing how close he had been to the dragon he called Kilgharrah. After listening to him describe the link that he now knew he shared with Aithusa, the lead balloon in her belly felt even heavier, but she knew she had to tell him.

"They're using dragon embryos...to power their staves?" His mind reeled; his heart clenched. If the Ori had used the dragons from before to do such a thing, he couldn't begin to imagine what they had been doing to Aithusa. Merlin knew the white dragon was in pain, but this went far beyond anything he had envisioned. He couldn't even cry. He was so shocked by the information. He thought about the electronic journals, and wondered if Moros had known. Had the Alteran, whom he was named after, discovered this and hidden it within the information on the Sidhe that Merlin had skipped over for convenience?

All the calm he had regained over the past few days nearly fled from his mind. Underneath the surface, there was now a rage unlike he'd ever experienced. It boiled, and his magic thrummed in time with it. If he only knew where to go, and how to get enough power to the Gate to take him there, he'd be on his way to Celestis to make the Ori pay. The very idea that they were possibly using Aithusa to create more eggs for their twisted sense of self-righteous domination was unfathomable. "If only I could go back in time and find a Sidhe...I'd find a way to make them tell me where the Ori would have taken Aithusa. I will find some way to make them pay for this...For everything they have done."

"I'm still waiting for Carolyn or one of the others at the SGC to respond, but I believe the energy in the staff is how the Priors can open the Stargates like they do. Hey..." She asked thoughtfully. "What about one of the Priors? Didn't the SGC use something to negate their powers, and attempt to get information from one of them?"

"Yes, they did...but, no, that wouldn't work. From all that I have found out, the Priors are as clueless as they come." He stood up from the kitchen chair, and growled in his frustration. Rifling his hands through his hair, he started to pace.

Her hand brushed his arm, when he passed by her. The grounding effect was almost instantaneous. "We'll find a way."

Merlin turned to her. He lifted her up onto the counter. With his arms around her waist, he pressed his face against her chest. Holding her, and breathing in her scent, he felt the calm within her core. Gentle fingertips grazed his cheeks and tipped his face up. Her lips met his, light and loving; a soft reminder that he didn't have to be alone in this.

"Aw! It is so good ta see you kids happy and together again."

"'Morning, Harri!" Merlin said, breaking off the kiss. If he was annoyed by the interruption, he hid it well.

"Oh. Good Morning, Merlin, sir. Now, if you would please remove Madam from my counter, so I can clean it and get brunch made for everyone? I'd appreciate it."

Her statement gave him pause. Merlin turned to her with narrowed eyes. He had hoped to spend at least most of the day with just Martha, and with little to no distractions. "What do you mean 'everyone?'"

Harri had already begun to pull out her mixing bowls and baking sheets. "Well, Mrs. Pendragon called. Mrs. Jones is drivin' her and the baby back out today, along with your sister, marm. From what she told me, the lads are back in town, and will be arrivin' here about the same time. They tried to call both of ya, before calling my phone. Did you have yours turned off?"

Harri looked up, when Merlin released a loud groan, and buried his face in between his wife's breasts.

"Is there somethin' the matter?"

Merlin stared openly at his friend, attempting to figure out what was different. There had been a change in Arthur, since he and the other men had arrived back at the manor. It was reminiscent of the moment after Arthur had pulled the sword from the stone; a newly found faith in his own skills as a leader, and the destiny before him.

"Merlin, is there something on my face?"

"Nope." Under his breath, he muttered, "Not yet."

"Then, why are you continuing to stare at me like that?"

Merlin shrugged, but didn't offer an answer.

Arthur pulled Merlin's phone from his pocket, and tossed it across the room. "Gwaine called."

"Ah. So, he told you about the whole Alliance lark, then?" That would explain it, Merlin thought to himself, easily catching the airborne device.

"He did. Although, I think I would have liked to have heard it from you, but you were obviously having one of your idiotic moments, and didn't think it was important enough to tell me."

"I had other things on my mind, Arthur." He glanced at the woman next to him on the sofa. They shared a secretive smile. While Merlin had been ready to share the news the day before, it was decided that morning, since it was still very early in the pregnancy, that they would keep it their secret for at least a little while. "Are you going to accept it?"

A thoughtful look crossed the former king's face, reminiscent of the times when Arthur had negotiated peace treaties with hostile kingdoms. Years of memories surfaced, from the numerous times when Merlin had seen that very same look. He knew the answer, and all it took was a smirk from Arthur to confirm it. "He had another interesting tale, as well. I have no idea what half of what he said was, but it appeared that there is another alien thing, at their outpost in the Pegasus Galaxy called Wraiths. By opening a wormhole, in an attempt to disrupt the Supergate from Pegasus, coincidence and luck had simultaneously destroyed one of those Wraith ships...and one of the Ori ships on this side."

That explained the change in Merlin's connection to Aithusa. Unfortunately, it also made it more difficult to try and follow the shared link, in order to save the dragon.

"...Dr. Jackson and Vala were searching through the Atlantis archives for information on the location of the weapon we were looking for on Camelot."

Merlin nodded thoughtfully, barely hearing Arthur. Without the wormhole connection, he had less of a clue on how to find Aithusa. An idea began to formulate on how he could reach Celestis. Though it sickened him, he realized it might be the only way. If the Priors could use their staves to open the wormholes, then why couldn't he do the same?

Should he do that? He wondered. From all he had learned, he began to piece together that the dragons were originally creatures of space, born from a nebula in Celestis, with the natural ability to create wormholes. There were obscure references to the idea in the file from Dr. Jackson, that Mickey had translated months prior. The whole thing appeared to be almost a manual for basic dragon knowledge...or at least parts of it.

Merlin mentally snickered when he realized that it must have been written by Moros. It followed the same meandering thought process as the journals, where some good information was shared, but then the author would skew off on some odd tangent, with little to no bearing on the actual topic.

If Merlin understood it correctly, it was the dragon's power that had first shown the Alterans and the Ori the possibilities of wormhole travel, and perhaps even how to begin their path to Ascension. Neither theory was very sound. Whatever happened had taken place at least a million years ago. So, he wasn't sure if he could truly believe it, but no other possibility made as much sense.

As abhorrent as the idea was, Merlin could see no other way to reach Aithusa. The Priors' staves were different than the Sidhe staff he possessed, as Dr. Lee from the SGC had finally called Martha to explain. While sharing some of the similar protein structures, the Sidhe version was definitely an earlier model, and much more natural. The Prior version had no sign of an actual embryo.

The closest explanation that the Stargate scientist had been able to come up with, was that it was a clone of clone, of a clone. If there had been an embryo at one point, the genetic code had been tampered with so many times, that it was like: "...How a bowl of mashed potatoes, with butter and gravy, matched to a freshly harvested potato. Essentially they were both potatoes, but..." Martha had stopped Dr. Lee, just as he was about to make another analogy with an omelette. She had seen the look on Merlin's face, as he listened in on the conversation.

"I'm not sure I ever want to eat eggs...or potatoes...again. Those poor pitiful spuds." He had stated, after the call had ended.

In an instant, his hand was up, the golden glow filling his eyes, and the pillow that was previously aimed at him, was soaring back toward Arthur's face.

The blond man let out an 'oof' as it caught him square in the nose. Uproarious laughter spilled from everyone in the room, including Arthur. "So, you were paying attention!"

"Um..." Merlin cringed and admitted, "Actually...no, I wasn't."

"What were you thinking about, Merlin?" Gwen asked.

Merlin's mouth dropped open. He hadn't even noticed when she had arrived with Martha's mother and sister. He stood up and made his way toward his friend, giving her a hug; mindful of her growing belly. Gwen was well over halfway through her pregnancy, and, according to her doctors, in perfect health. He couldn't wait to see the same glow that Gwen had...that of the soon-to-be mother...on Martha.

Gwen made a sound of approval as she wrapped her arms around him. "You look so much better than I thought you would, after what everyone told me." Gwen cupped her friend's cheeks in her hands. "Are you alright? Really?...And don't you dare lie to me!"

"I'm alright." He answered honestly. For the time being, he was. Martha caught his eye and smiled. While a part of him was still missing, he would never be completely well, and she understood that. But, for the moment, he felt rejuvenated by the distance from Aithusa's pain, and the energy from the crystals. Martha's news had made his heart swelled with hope for the future.

"You shouldn't be here, Lancelot." Ganos Lal's consciousness sensed the space around her. Her friend was alone, for now.

"What happened?" He asked, his mental desire for answers reaching out and telling her that it was more than just a question of her current circumstance.

"I was caught passing information to Daniel Jackson on the last two planets. He knows how to find them now. I just hope he can put the pieces together."

"I thought you were just going to take the place of the hologram of yourself on Atlantis and, uh, nudge slightly."

Ganos Lal sighed, "I was, but Daniel is much more astute than even I gave him credit for, especially after having spent time among us. I slipped up and called him by his name. He had his answer! Why couldn't he have left well enough alone?"

"...But, he understands we are trying to help him?"

"He tried to challenge me...challenge us. He, and you, my friend, are correct in that we can't stand by much longer. Your friends must find the power, while Daniel and his people discover the means."

Lancelot tried to reach out and brush his consciousness against hers, but the prison she was in wouldn't allow for it. "There are more who have begun to realize the direness of the situation that the Ori have brought upon us." He said encouragingly.

"It's still not enough, Lancelot. You know this. There are not enough of us who understand what is at stake. I am beginning to question my own wisdom in destroying Moros' weapon, centuries ago."

"You didn't destroy it all, though, did you?" The former knight said, reminding her of an earlier conversation.

She shook her head minutely and whispered softly into his mind. "I did not even destroy Moros, as I was ordered."

"Where...?" He started to ask, but stopped as they felt another one of their kind coming closer.

They waited until the entity had passed, before Ganos Lal spoke again. "The others, who believe as we do, are too afraid of the consequences. It is up to you, Lancelot, but you must be careful."

He knew their time was short, and he pressed the equivalent of his hand against her prison wall. "I will...My Lady."

Author's Note:

Well...here is where (at least for the HoC and AO3 postings) Part Five comes to a close. I will be doing everything I can to complete this story in Part six...which doesn't have a title yet...) This part may seem a little shorter than previous ones, but I don't want to try and break 6 off anywhere, so it is planned to be the longest yet. Part 6 beginning at chapter 60 and hopefully concluding somewhere around chapter 75...is my current plan...and we all know how well that goes *rolls eyes*

However, I think now that all the mythology and most of the technology foundations are really laid out for you all, I don't have any excuse hehe

Responses from 58:

Aerist! Thank you so much for all the catch-up reviews! *squeals*

Nance: Squirts out an egg? ROFLMAO You are just too much!

FeedtheFlames: teehee yeah, now he really has something to fight for!

AWanderersHaven: Yes, it was predictable, but I had to throw some sappy feels in...and yes, you could write it...but, just wait until you see what I have in store!

Thanks for reading, fav'ing, and following! Each alert in my email just helps to spur me onward!

Proofreading done by the wonderful Prairie-Dog Puffin, Nance. Without her this story wouldn't be as wonderful as it is. And to IcarusLSU who helps me to remember what has been put in notes and what has been put in the actual story.

Please leave a comment if you would be so kind!