Author's Notes: Thanks to Stonedtoad for betaing.

Real Life is currently hectic so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up.

Until then enjoy.

Nathan listened to the young woman explain her findings on the mysterious box that had somehow transported them to another world.

"And you're sure that when you do this it will…"

"Un-statue?" Jackson suggested when he hesitated before nodding, "Almost completely."

Nathan frowned, "Not exactly the ringing endorsement I was hoping for."

"Unfortunately Ancient devices have a tendency to not work the way they were meant to," Jackson explained, "Although history does suggest that when they have such detailed instructions they should work as described."

Nathan grimaced thinking over everything, "Are you confident you translated it correctly?"

He saw her bristle slightly at the question but Nathan had to ask. She wasn't a member of his crew and he didn't have any previous experience with her abilities.

"Yes," Jackson stated with complete confidence.

Nathan nodded, "Alright. Then let's go and," he rolled his eyes before using her phrase, "Un-statue my crew."

x

Ari followed Bridger into the infirmary going over and over in her head the instructions she'd translated. She was confident in her translation; she just hoped that this was one Ancient device that actually did what it was supposed to.

Wendy was standing waiting for them. She didn't say anything as Ari headed to the small room the box was still sitting in. Tim appeared when she took her seat.

"Are you sure about this?" he whispered softly.

Ari nodded, "Trust me, Tim. I've been doing this since I was ten years old."

Taking a deep breath she began to manipulate the symbols on the side of the box, deactivating the trap and, she hoped, freeing those that had been caught by it. Very gently she began to close the lid making sure she had the full sequence completed before the two sides touched. An audible click sounded through the room and then there was silence for a few moments.

"Doctor Smith," someone cried making them all turn and Ari let out a long breath of relief, it had worked.

"Well, I can confirm that the headaches have stopped," Wendy reported to the ward room containing Nathan, Ford, O'Neill, Lucas and Dr Jackson, "Dr Ferguson and her team are all recovering from their experience well. I'm hoping to release them tomorrow morning if there are no complications."

"Thank you, Doctor," Nathan nodded before turning to his ExO, "Jonathan?"

Ford gave a very slight smile, "Well, the dock we found is stable and we're sure it can hold the weight of the Seaquest. Dr Jackson has noted that she has no memory of this being found by the Atlantis team."

"But," Jackson took over, "The Atlantis team were not sailors and I think we might be at a section of the mainland that wasn't explored in the three years they were on this planet."

Ford gave a small wave of agreement, "Exactly. We're going to surface in a few hours. Since it looks as though we may be here for a while I've set up a team to explore and secure a section of the land."

"Excellent, Commander," Nathan checked this off his list, "Alright, Dr Jackson you have something else you wanted to talk about."

Jackson let out a soft sigh, "We need to find the other box."

"What other box?" Wendy asked.

"A wormhole can't open up without something on the other end to open up to," the young woman explained, "There has to be another box, which I'm guessing is where we arrived."

Jonathan frowned, "Why didn't you mention this at the time?"

"I was unconscious at the time," Jackson reminded them before continuing, "I think if we have both boxes there will be more information which can hopefully help us get home or to another planet that has an actual Stargate."

Nathan mused on this for a moment before turning to Lucas, "How long would that take?"

"Actually," the teenager gave an amused smirk, "Not too long. We're only about three hours by launch from our original co-ordinates."

Everyone in the room stared at him but it was Wendy who finally asked the question floating through all their minds.

"How?"

Lucas held his finger in the air and spun it in a circle as his explanation, "Once we found the co-ordinates we doubled back on ourselves."

"Okay," Nathan nodded, "Then we need some volunteers to retrieve the box."

Tim held up his hand, "I'll go, Captain. I'm not recovering from a headache."

"And with that logic," Jackson noted holding her hand up as well, "I'll join him. Besides as the current expert on Lantean tech I'd rather be there to make sure what happened to the other team doesn't happen again."

x

Ari pulled her hair back before she grabbed the small bag sitting on the bed and headed for the launch bay. She was relieved she'd studied the plans for the boat before joining them; she didn't want to get lost. That would have been too embarrassing.

"Doctor Jackson," Bridger greeted her when she reached the launch bay, "Are you sure you want to go?"

Ari smiled slightly, "It's only a six hour trip. If you give me a thick enough book, I might not even notice we've moved. Unless you feel you don't trust me enough to leave the boat with one of your officers."

He paused and Ari inwardly winced, it was meant to be a joke she hadn't meant to challenge him.

"I just wanted to ensure you were aware of what you were offering," Bridger replied simply, "Lieutenant O'Neill is already onboard."

Ari gave him a quick smile before she started down into the launch. Dropping her bag on the bench she climbed up to the cockpit where Tim was going over his systems check.

"So," she smiled, "Are we there yet?"

Jonathan took in a deep breath when he stepped onto dry land. The air around him smelled fresher than back on Earth. Even the remotest part of the Earth had been touched by some kind of pollution but here the air was fresh and clear.

The science contingent was setting up some monitoring equipment to get information on their new location while Brody and a security team were getting ready to scout out the area so they could set up a camp.

"Commander?" Bridger's voice came over the PAL.

"Yes, Captain?"

"How's the weather?"

Jonathan chuckled softly, "It's blue skies and sunshine at the moment, Captain. Hoping it stays dry for the next few hours."

"Well make sure you stake out the prime real estate," Bridger told him, "We could be here for a while unless O'Neill and Dr Jackson find a way home with the other box."

Jonathan let out a small sigh before he replied, "No worries, Captain. I'll find you a good spot once I have mine."

"Keep in contact, Jonathan," Bridger ordered before cutting communication.

Jonathan took a few more deep breaths before he joined the teams to see if the needed anything from him.

"You're lying," Ari laughed when Tim finished telling her about one of the pranks pulled by Krieg during the first tour. They were about an hour into their journey.

Tim shook his head, "To this day I can't look at a frog without feeling sick."

"That's almost as bad as the time Jack managed to flood part of the base," Ari chuckled, "We have a photo of him sitting on the steps, trousers rolled up with a fishing rod and a hat over his face."

Tim nodded, "Fishing with no fish. I like that idea. You can relax without the prospect of having to move."

"That's what he always says," Ari stared at him incredulously for a moment, "Is there any possibility you're related to Jack?"

Tim stared at her.

"Your name is O'Neill and you have the gene?" she defended her question.

"It's possible," Tim replied before shrugging, "But doubtful since my name isn't actually O'Neill."

"What?"Ari stared at him, "How?"

"How can you do what you do?" he shot back."

She grimaced, "So you'll tell me if I tell you, is that how this works?"

Tim nodded a small smug smile on his lips, "Pretty much."

They continued on in silence for several minutes before Ari swore in her mother's native tongue, "I'm too curious for my own good. Deal."

He smiled slightly but remained silent.

"I guess you want me to go first," Ari noted before letting out a sigh, "Okay. But, I am telling you this in confidence and this is not to be shared with anyone else without my agreement. Understand?"

"Of course."

Ari smiled slightly and leaned back in her chair for a moment, "Okay, my story starts in Ancient Egypt about ten thousand years ago."

x

"In an attempt to remove the Gould forever a group took two children, a boy and girl," Ari explained, "Into each they placed gifts and the plan was that when the children grew up they would have a child. The child would then be the weapon to destroy them."

Tim frowned when she paused, "This was ten thousand years ago?"

"I'm getting there," Ari told him before continuing, "One of the group betrayed them and the girl's family were taken through the Stargate to the planet Abydos. Over the years her gift was passed through to every eldest daughter until my mom and the boy's gift through every eldest son until my dad."

"So," Tim said slowly as the information coalesced in his mind, "You're a weapon?"

Ari shrugged before clarifying, "Was. I was a weapon. The Gould were destroyed when I was sixteen."

Tim stared at her, obviously lost for words at her clarification.

"I don't talk about it much," she said softly, "I had a few issues after it happened but the one good thing that came out of it was my mom came home."

"Your dead mother?"

Ari shrugged, "Another long story and you don't have anything left to deal with just now for that one."

They sat in silence for several minutes before Tim whispered, "Sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"Tim, its fine," she cut him off, "I made the decision to tell you."

He nodded softly, "So, that's why you can move things with your mind."

"It's also why I can sense when people are lying to me," she told him, "As well as their emotions and I'd know if anything happened to my parents."

"Can they…"

"No," Ari cut him off, "Dad is telekinetic but my mom's gift is empathic. She can sense that I'm alive and safe but nothing beyond that. Before...when I was still a weapon I was much stronger. I could influence people to do what I wanted, though it always disturbed me, and I could find my dad no matter where he was. I could even talk to him when he was in another galaxy."

Tim glanced at the controls for a moment taking in the information.

Ari gave him a smile, "Now you. What do you mean your name isn't actually O'Neill?"

"I have one more question before we change the subject," he said.

Ari let out an amused chuckle before nodding, "Alright, one more then you tell me."

"Why could Dr Smith not sense you when you were unconscious?" Tim asked.

"Camouflage," she explained, "To ensure the children and their descendents couldn't be found we were hidden from all psychics, telepaths, empaths etc. When we're around people with these abilities we have to allow them to sense our presence."

x

Tim let the information Ari had given him sink in for a moment.

"Is that where your confidence comes from?" he couldn't stop himself asking, "Because you know no one can read your mind?"

"It was meant to be one more question," she gave a mock annoyed sigh, "But no, it's a Jack thing. My dad taught me how to translate and speak quite a few languages, my uncle Jack taught me how to keep people off balance and act as though I know exactly what I was doing no matter how little I do."

"That's handy," Tim mused.

"Especially at the moment," Ari stated softly before smiling at him, "Now it's your turn. And remember I can tell when you lie."

Tim let out a small sigh; he honestly hadn't meant to tell her but it had slipped out while they talked.

"I don't remember my parents," he started, "All I know is their names and that they were addicts. Until I was eight they kept me pretty much the same."

Ari stared at him, "You were high until you were eight?"

"It's one of the reasons I became a vegetarian," he told her, "And I drink very little."

"So what happened?"

"We were in a car accident which killed them and landed me in hospital," Tim continued, his voice a monotone.

"Which is where the injury on your brain scan came from," Ari realised.

Tim nodded and brushed his hair back slightly so she could see the small faded scar, "To this day I have no idea what happened. My first clear memory is waking up in the hospital and a nurse smiling at me."

Ari said nothing more silently encouraging him to continue.

"I was sent to a foster home," Tim said, "Which is where I met one Father O'Neill. He taught me that I didn't have to be a slave to what my parents had done to me. So when I graduated and decided to go to the Academy I took his name as a fresh start."

"You became Tim O'Neill."

"I became Tim O'Neill."