2 - Coffee
~~2002~~
~*Malek*~
We meet Samantha later that year. It was not the best situation. I still mourned my loves, while also hurting in my own failure with in Risa system.
:.:.:.:
On the Alpha Base, our very nature still makes many of the Tau'ri uncomfortable and distrustful, if not fearful, disgusted, and even hateful. Most try to hide it, but some don't even bother, and these are the ones that agreed to work beside us. I avoid them in return, protect my host from their loathing, and for this I am called arrogant and Goa'uld-like.
What must their main base be like?
The thought makes me shudder, so being assigned to a mission to Earth makes me very uncomfortable.
I will not hide behind my host, as some Tok'ra symbiotes do. I will not let them pretend he isn't blended, or whatever it is that they tell themselves.
Besides, he doesn't enjoy interacting with most of them either.
I'll be working with Samantha. She was taken forcibly, so I accept her judgement. Whatever that might be. However, I haven't picked up on hate and disgust from her. The one Tau'ri I accepted hate from seems to understand us.
I think you are letting Lantash's worries get to you, Amb thinks.
That is a distinct possibility.
I arrive on Earth. Thankfully, I am able to head to her office right away. People glance at me as I walk the halls. Some are just curious. Some try to hide how they really feel.
My escort leaves me in Samantha's office. She's not here at the moment. Her office has very few personal belongings, but I notice some pictures.
Martouf.
I almost fall to my knees at the sight of him. The council keeps our pictures. I have not seen him since he died. He's so beautiful.
Lantash.
I gasp. She printed them out separately. For all his fears, she clearly cared about him. I misjudged her.
It makes me sick that he died without knowing the truth.
Jacob and his wife. I've seen her photographs in Jacob's quarters. He still clearly loves her. He's young here, and there's also a young Samantha and a must be young Mark.
Mark himself, with his mate and children.
"Malek?"
"I apologize if I'm intruding." I reply with guilt.
Samantha shrugs. "They aren't hidden." She approaches.
I reach for them. It hurts. I want them back.
Did they suffer? The poison is supposed to be instant. Was it?
"I'm sorry, I don't remember how close you were to them."
"Lantash and I were mates almost three hundred years ago. It ended when my host died. My new host did not favor men."
"You reached out for Martouf as well."
I look to her. I try to hide my pain, but she sees through me.
"I'm sorry. That's none of my business." She walks over to the items I had brought.
"We had a brief relationship before he died," I admit. "It was very intense."
She frowns. "With your current host?"
I look over to her. "Is that a problem?"
"No, I… I didn't realize Martouf…" She pauses. "I didn't know a lot about him. Either of them. I feel like, I should have at least known you were married to Lantash."
"The circumstances were not ideal to tell you," I defend.
Sam grins uncomfortably. "No, I mean, I wish I had just…known."
"Jolinar's memories," I realize. I misjudged her once again. She just wants to know. About Martouf. About Lantash. I can see so clearly that she still loves them both.
"Yeah." She glances away. "Is there anything between you and her that I should know about?"
"We disagreed on many things."
She laughs. "That doesn't surprise me."
Was that an insult? I frown.
"I didn't mean that how it sounded. I know she was…not as strict as most Tok'ra."
I raised an eyebrow, not pointing out the obvious. Jolinar took her. Does she truly-?
"Yeah, I realize how that sounded." She frowns. "How are you feeling?"
"I am well."
"I mean…after Pangea."
Pain, but I know she means well. "I was only a larva when Egeria was assumed to have died. To find her just to watch her die…but… She wasn't alone. I was able to tell her that the Tok'ra are still alive, still fighting."
:.:.:.:
Sam makes some coffee as we work.
"Selmak described it once." I shudder. It sounds painful.
"You should try it before you insult it."
"No." I say firmly before Amb chides me for my rudeness. "No, thank you."
:.:.:.:
She drinks a third cup, and that worries me.
"If you are tired, we can take a break."
"I'm fine."
"You are drinking a toxic level of caffeine to stay awake."
"Three cups is toxic?"
How isn't that toxic? Is this normal? I feel an unusual need to protect her for Lantash's sake. Even for Jolinar's sake. We weren't friends, but that does not matter. Samantha was her last host. We watch out for each other's hosts.
She keeps working.
~*Sam*~
He puts the work down as I pour myself a fifth cup.
I sigh. "You don't control my coffee intake."
"If you wish, I will ask General Hammond to let you rest."
"I'm off duty already."
"Then why are we working?" He asks in surprise.
"It's what I do. Now, come on. Let's keep working."
He does not move.
"Malek," I say in irritation.
He sits up a bit. "I am tired."
Bullshit, yet his weird need to protect me from coffee is…intriguing. "No, you're not."
"Amb's body needs rest."
The host. He's never mentioned him before. I've never seen him. "That's the first time you mentioned him."
He frowns. "He usually prefers to introduce himself."
"So…why hasn't he?" Such a personal question. I hope it doesn't offend him.
"He's shy."
I laugh. "Sorry. Oh. I didn't mean… Isn't he over a hundred years old?"
"Yes."
"And he is still shy?"
"Yes," he replies with a serious tone.
"Well, I guess he knows himself then."
Malek doesn't reply.
"Can we get back to work?"
"I need rest."
"You just want me to stop drinking coffee."
He hesitates, then admits. "Yes, but I am pushing his body beyond what is natural."
"You can push him further." I know that from Jolinar's memories.
"I see no need for the three of us to be pushing ourselves. That only increases the probability of making a mistake, and this is a project that will take multiple days. There is no need to rush."
I sigh. "Then I'll keep working without you."
He smirks. "You cannot."
I grin, even though he is right. We need each other for this one. I have never seen him smile though, and for that, I will let him have his victory.
"I'll find you some quarters." I offer.
To be continued…