Daughter
A/N: A longer chapter for you today. Enjoy! And thank you!
Chapter 69 – Anniversary
When Elda stepped through the gate to a planet named Thrace, she felt comfortable. She was back in Hak'tyl garb. The leather vest she wore allowed her the freedom of movement she missed while wearing a military tac vest. That thing was restrictive in comparison. The only downside to her Hak'tyl wear was the lack of pockets. She had to resort to using arm and thigh straps to keep weapons on her person.
The tan cape she donned had leather pelts attached to the shoulders for warmth. She still felt a bit chilled on Tek'ron. But she was told the weather on Thrace was comfortable at this time of year. The cape's design would allow her body to breathe in the warmer climate.
She was surrounded by Jaffa as she walked. Ishta insisted she bring a guard. Elda politely tried to decline, thinking Agean's company would be enough. However, her Den Mother insisted and even suggested she choose both male and female guardsmen for this trip. Elda was automatically representing all of Tek'ron wherever she went. It would be the ultimate sign of planetary unity and strength to bring both genders with her.
She simply sighed internally and bowed to her Den Mother upon hearing this. She presumed this was how it was going to be from now on, whether she liked it or not. Elda figured she'd have to talk with Lo'zim about formally accepting some of their Jaffa refugees into his ranks so they could start serving as her personal guard. As far as she knew, their previous offer still stood.
For today, Goru and Agean were in the lead. Both Hak'tyl and male guardsmen surrounded Elda. Everyone carried powered staff weapons, including her. Her birthday gift from Teal'c shined brightly in Thrace's two suns.
Agean led them all toward a large marketplace and found a modest structure made of local adobe clay. The Jaffa who lived here honored the planet by using its natural resources to build their homes. Their dwellings weren't made of wood like on other worlds.
The Lead Hak'tyl knocked and waited.
The door opened to reveal an old man. He seemed unsurprised by their presence. "Tek'ronians," he acknowledged. "Come, come."
"Goru," Agean said, "please stand guard outside. We females will be busy."
He nodded to his mate and posted the male Jaffa around the perimeter of the building. All of the Hak'tyl ventured inside upon the man's invitation.
The front room was a large workshop. Various bolts of fabric lined two of the largest walls. Sewing notions were stacked in bins on shelves. Work tables of various sizes inhabited the center of the room. A few Jaffa were seated there, using their own versions of sewing machines to construct garments. Off to the side stood a large mirror. Beyond it was a back room. Elda could see racks and racks worth of clothing hung up in there.
"Tailor," Agean greeted. "Ishta of the Hak'tyl sends greetings. Jasuf of Tek'ron sends greetings."
The old man bent his body forward as much as it would allow. The women could all see he was elderly and frail, even for a Jaffa. Elda guessed he must have been at least 3 centuries old. That was rare. He deserved honor for surviving so long in this harsh galaxy.
"Please, return my greetings in kind." He gazed at Elda curiously. "And who have you brought along with you, young Hak'tyl?"
Agean swept a hand toward her sister. "This is Lady Elda of Tek'ron." She refrained from spouting out all the titles Elda possessed. She knew she didn't care for that much attention.
Elda was more than grateful to her sister. She bowed low to the old man in deference to his advanced age. "Tailor."
He chuckled softly, eyes sparkling at her. "A fine Lady you are. How did the dress we produced for you fare?"
She smiled. "I found it to be beautiful, Tailor. I offer you gratitude for your superior work."
He inclined his head. "You have come at an opportune time. All of your orders are ready for fittings."
Elda blinked. She never ordered anything. She thought she was being sent here to pick a single new frock to commission. Maybe even browse the offerings to start thinking about what she'd wear to Teal'c's wedding. The human blonde glanced at Agean, who merely smiled.
"Show us," the Hak'tyl requested.
The tailor clapped his hands. Two younger Jaffa girls appeared at his side. The old man whispered to them. Then they motioned for Elda to follow them. Agean nodded at her encouragingly.
Confused, Elda went with the girls into the back room. There was a dressing screen nearest the furthest wall. Hooks hung behind it. One girl picked a dress from a rack and held it up for Elda to view. "This is the first of six, Lady Elda. We request that you don it here so that our Tailor may alter it as necessary."
Eyes wide, Elda took in a breath. The dress was green and fluttery. It appeared to be made of several layers of chiffon. It screamed luxury. "Who exactly is providing payment for this?"
"The order states Jasuf of Tek'ron, My Lady."
She raised a brow. Of course it did.
She received the dress and stepped behind the screen to change. Once done, the Jaffa girls led her to the front room for the rest of the group to see. Her sisters gasped quietly in satisfaction. One of them leaned toward Agean, "You chose well, Sister."
"Step here, please," the tailor prompted. He pointed to a simple wooden crate on the floor and slid it with his foot in front of the mirror.
Elda carefully climbed up and gazed at her reflection. She was in absolute awe to be dressed in something so pretty. It was even nicer than the first dress Jasuf had commissioned for her. The tailor pinched the material in different places to assess how it would look hugging her figure. He carefully placed pins to mark where he or his fellow dress-makers would make alterations.
He circled her, gazing at their work-in-progress critically. "It is fortunate you are here so that I may tailor this dress to your form, My Lady. This design is not so forgiving. It must be right before it leaves my shop."
"The other one you made was perfect."
"Yes, that one was easier to let go. Its design is meant to be adjustable and needs little alteration. This, however, is a different matter."
Elda reached up to pull her hair out of the way when he tugged at the straps that crisscrossed along her back. He pulled out a small marking tool to remind himself where to shorten them to. He then attended to the hem of the dress. "We will shorten this slightly so that it does not catch your feet as you walk. Now we will know of your exact measurements. The next round of garments produced for you will need less alteration," he promised.
"Next?"
"I presume too much. My apologies. If you are satisfied with the work today, then any further orders will only continue to increase in quality, My Lady."
Elda gasped slightly, worried that she had offended him. "Tailor, it is I who must apologize. I simply did not imagine my sim'ka would do this at all. This is beautiful," she emphasized. She bowed her head to him respectfully. Her hand unconsciously fingered the bracelet Jasuf had given her.
He smiled. "Then we have an understanding. You enjoy my work. And I enjoy having a new muse. Let us continue this partnership for as long as you please."
His enthusiasm only made her smile along with him. "I feel like one of my little sister's dolls."
The Hak'tyl laughed.
They continued on with the fashion show until all six dresses had been pinned and marked for alteration. The Tailor promised to have them ready in time for her to return in two weeks. Elda was expected to come in person to fit them one last time and be certain they were satisfactory. Final payment would be due then.
"I will also need something to attend the wedding of my Den Mother and Uncle," Elda hazarded.
He smiled and clapped his hands again. A tablet was brought forth. "Please, choose among these designs. We can begin work on that as well."
Agean gazed over her shoulder at the device. "We will be placing orders for ourselves, Tailor."
"Of course. Take your time, young ones. I will leave you to it." He gestured to some comfortable seats against the wall for them to inhabit while they browsed.
"My blood sister may want to peruse these offerings," Elda said. "She'll be attending the wedding as well." She was quite aware that they were in public. She had to keep up the charade that Vala was only her elder sister, even though the Hak'tyl knew better.
"One wonders if this shop is receiving orders from all over the galaxy for our Den Mother's event," a Sister pointed out.
"Ohhh. You're right. There might be a limit for how many orders they can take on at once."
"There are other shops as well," a different Sister whispered. "We can show you."
Elda nodded.
When everyone was done choosing what they'd like to wear to Ishta's wedding, they grabbed their staff weapons from the wall and filed out. The guardsmen turned to them, bowing their heads to Elda as she passed.
She looked at Agean. "What now?"
"Have you ever been to this market planet before, Sister?"
"Not this one."
"Goru, are you and the men hungry?" Agean asked.
"We could eat."
"What say you, Lady Elda? Shall we enjoy a meal here?"
She grinned. "Let's."
Goru brought them to public tables large enough for them to sit for an informal meal. They enjoyed food from a local stand while laughing together easily. Elda was happy to be surrounded by these wonderful people, these brothers and sisters of hers. It was more than she could have dreamed of happening when she came to the past. She only wished her mother could be here to enjoy this, too.
When they rose to leave, a new voice called out. "Lady Elda," a male said with mild surprise.
The group turned. It was Amri of Hibradeen, the son and the protector.
"Amri," she greeted with a controlled tone. She bowed to him as a peer.
He bowed back in kind. He wore an admiring smile, taking in the sight of her dressed as a Hak'tyl warrior wielding an impressive staff. "What makes you grace this market with your beauty, My Lady?"
Her eyes widened just briefly, then Elda commanded her face not to move another inch. Her guardsmen shifted their feet behind her and grated their teeth. The Hak'tyl sisters raised their chins proudly and remained in line with her. She answered, "We were just here to visit a famed tailor."
"Ahh. I think I know the one. My sisters favor a tailor on this world."
"And what of you, Amri? What brings you here?"
"I come here regularly to enjoy the offerings of this market," he said nonchalantly, waving a hand around at their surroundings. "I have not observed you here before." He smiled. "Is this new to you?"
She kept her face expressionless. "It is."
"Perhaps then we shall greet each other again. I am certain you have seen how favorable this place is. It always draws one back for more," he said, keeping his eyes locked with hers.
She quietly pushed out a breath now, sensing the hidden meaning behind his words. He was hitting on her, as Smith and Crawford would say. This Jaffa had sort of done it before, when they first met. This time, neither of their tribe fathers was nearby to scold him if he went too far. She refrained from swallowing. That would be a very obvious human sign that he had her surprised.
And maybe a little flattered.
She turned on a measured smile. Jasuf was going to be so angry when he heard about this. His men would surely report on it and her sisters would happily tease him if they ever got a chance. They would be brave enough to do so because Elda was still loyal to them… and she would let them. "I will return here again," she admitted truthfully. "I believe Jasuf will wish to join me next time. He will be rendering final payment for a modest order."
Elda could feel the approval of her brothers from behind her. They would have protested if she did not bring up their superior's name when she did.
Amri's face twitched. He glanced at the bracelet she was unconsciously fingering. Then he returned his gaze to her face. "Jasuf is ordering from the Tailor?"
"Yes, he is ensuring I maintain a sufficient wardrobe for my station," she lied. Elda wasn't exactly sure what his motives were. But it was feasible to imagine he was dressing her for the part of a Lady, as Nesa had suggested before.
Amri hummed. "Perhaps that is appropriate," he granted. "You are the Heir Presumptive among your people, after all. My sisters do the same."
Elda inclined her head in acknowledgement of his statement. "My guard and I will take our leave, Amri. I bid you farewell."
"Send my greetings to your brother Jasuf."
Elda briefly pursed her lips. "I will pass along your greetings to my sim'ka. I am certain he will return them in kind," she assured. She smiled tightly at him.
Amri's face did not move.
Still, Elda could tell this was news to him. She almost laughed.
The Jaffa bowed to her. "Until we see each other again, Lady Elda."
She bowed back. "Until then." Then she breathed in. "Jaffa, kree," she ordered quietly. The guards fell into formation around her, with Goru and Agean once again in the lead. They marched out of the market together, staffs held high and proud.
Once they were through the gate and back on Tek'ron, all the men turned on her.
"Why did that foolish son not know you are mated with Jasuf?" one demanded.
"He is indeed a fool," another grumbled.
Elda's mouth dropped open as they complained. She shared glances with her sisters. "I do not know," she admitted. "Those blood sisters of his surely know. They should have told him."
"Not even blood kin show loyalty on Hibradeen," a guardsmen said condescendingly.
She held up two placating hands. "Brothers. You need not worry. Our loyalties here on Tek'ron are secure. Those are the only ones of importance."
"Well said," Agean agreed. "Let it be known that Lady Elda is desired by human and Jaffa males alike. We would all do well to continue to defend her honor."
"I can promise you," Goru said to Elda, "we will. Your security is Tek'ron's security."
Elda bowed to him in gratitude. "You honor me." She gazed around at the group with appreciation. "I love you all. You must know that."
Agean kissed her cheek. "We feel the same, Sister."
"I should go to Hibradeen myself," Jasuf declared with menace.
Elda's head swung back and forth as she watched him pace inside the governance hut. There was no tea table set up in the center of the space today. He had all the room he needed to scuff the floor with angry boot marks. She gazed up at Meil'nor next to her seated on his throne. She was inhabiting her special spot next to him.
Their Tribe Father wore a smile of hilarity. "Control yourself, Jasuf," he said evenly.
His son's eyes shot to his. "He dishonors us by seeking her favor," he complained, pointing at Elda.
She remained quiet. She simply had to give him time to let out all his frustration. She could be patient. The longer it took, the more entertaining it was.
"You should not be surprised, my son. I am certain Amri of Hibradeen will not be the last to gaze upon your mate's beauty in appreciation."
Elda blushed. She bowed her head to Meil'nor at his compliment.
He smiled down at her as he brushed her cheek affectionately. Then he turned back to Jasuf, who was still pacing. "Spread word of your betrothal. That will be enough to stave off inappropriate words of suggestion toward her."
"Father, I sense that will hardly be enough."
"My Love, Amri caused no harm."
Jasuf paused and stared at her. "Perhaps not today. But should he continue to pursue your attention, there will be harm. I will guarantee it."
She grinned. She stood and reached for him. She brought her hands up to cup his face, regarding him adoringly. "That would be fun to watch."
"Kal'ma," Meil'nor lightly chided.
Elda didn't really think she was being scolded. The amused smile on her Tribe Father's face told her so.
Jasuf grabbed her waist. "You will take care not to attract anyone else," he warned.
She gave him a look. "It's not like I was trying. I didn't even know he was at market. He found me."
"I found you first."
Now she gave him a look. "Yes, I know that. On Earth, they have a saying: finder's keepers. You already won, Jasuf. Revel in your victory," she said flatly.
Meil'nor laughed from his throne. "I enjoy these lessons in curious human phrasing."
Elda turned to him to grin. For once, she was the one who knew more about Earth talk than someone else. That was refreshing.
Jasuf's hand turned her face back to his. "Elda," he warned. "You are too pretty for your own good."
"And yet you buy me more clothes to show off my figure," she challenged.
"Do you complain?"
"Nope." She let out a musical laugh.
"Hey, Baby Cakes," Baker greeted in the corridor of the SGC. Their little vacation was now over. Everyone on SG-3 was reporting back to work. "How was your time off?"
Elda fell into step with her 2IC as they headed toward the briefing room. "Pleasant. You?"
"Relaxing. I did absolutely nothing for five days. It was great."
She smiled. "Does absolutely nothing still include four hours of exercise each day?" she asked dubiously.
"Eh. I let it be three."
She laughed. "Got to keep those muscles somehow."
"Damn straight," he replied proudly. He held out an arm to politely let her into the briefing room first. "What did you do while you were off?"
"Oh… I relaxed in my own way, too. First I spent some time with Gracie before she left. Then I went home to Tek'ron. Helped around the villages."
As she was explaining, Smith and Crawford also walked in.
"Oooh. And the Jaffa and I went shopping."
"Jaffa shopping?" Baker repeated with a little surprise.
"Yeah. They need clothes, too. We don't make everything in our own villages. Some things we just have to buy or trade for."
"What did you buy, Baby?" Smith asked. He was well aware of her enthusiasm for shopping. He'd seen it on the space station. She did more window shopping, though, due to their lack of discretionary cash at the time.
"Well, I didn't buy anything. Jasuf ordered all these new dresses for me. I went to this sweet little market to try them on. The tailor is busy altering them now so they'll fit. Meanwhile, my sisters and I picked out outfits for Teal'c's wedding. He promised to start making those, too."
The boys regarded her with mild amusement. "Must be nice marrying the prince," Baker quipped.
Elda sighed. "That's never going to get old, will it?"
Crawford chuckled. "Nope."
"What else did you do?" Smith prompted.
"Ha. You'll think this is funny. I got hit on while I was at that market. Jasuf is so mad."
The boys laughed aloud. "Who hit on you?" Crawford asked.
"Oh some tribe leader's son. He's one of our allies on Hibradeen," she reported offhandedly.
Now their jaws dropped, just as Reynolds was about to walk in.
"You got hit on?" Smith repeated.
"By another prince?" Baker clarified.
"Damn, Jasuf got competition," Crawford said. He was so glad he was already locking himself down and keeping her off his mind. He did not want to get pulled into that sort of hot mess over her.
Elda scoffed. "Hardly. He's just another Jaffa. He's got no chance with me." She looked down at her nails with a smirk. "And if he tries anything again, Jasuf is ready to find him and beat him up."
Her teammates laughed.
Smith pointed at her. "Ay. Let us know so we can watch the show. I'll bring some popcorn."
"SG-3," Reynolds called out. The boys all stood immediately and saluted. Elda also stood out of respect. "What are you all yapping about."
Baker started answering for them. "Elda's just sharing how Jaffa are just like us."
"Yeah, they go shopping…" Smith added.
"They hit on her…" Crawford continued.
"Boyfriend gets jealous…" Smith said.
"Someone gets his butt whooped," Baker finished. He shrugged toward his CO with a small smile.
Reynolds rolled his eyes. He looked at Elda. "Really?" he asked flatly.
She bared her hands outward in her own shrug. "I didn't do anything."
The other marines were quick to refute that. "Uh huh." "Sure."
"Hey!" she protested.
Landry chose that moment to enter. The men stiffened and saluted properly to him. "Take your seats." He passed out some files. "Today, you're exploring a new planet."
Reynolds gazed down at the report. "Just another one off the list, huh, General?"
"That's right, Colonel." He turned to Elda. "We have a database full of unexplored gate addresses. From time to time we send teams out to see what each one is about."
"Well, MALP readings came back fine," Baker noted. "No black holes there."
"Or frozen wastelands," Crawford added.
Smith shook his head. "It's not a space gate."
Elda stared at her team. "You say those things as if you've encountered all that unknowingly before."
"The SGC has stories, Miss Mal Doran. Loads of them," her uncle retorted. "SG-3, go check it out."
As the team walked through a basic prairie toward a structure visible in the distance, Smith and Elda stuck together. The pair was taking point for the moment. The rest of their team was further behind, carefully scanning the area with their eyes.
Smith spoke quietly as Elda gazed down at her data pad, checking for signals. "Hey, Baby…"
"Yeah?" she replied distractedly.
"Did you happen to tell Jasuf about our last op together? Like… in detail?"
She looked up at him with a smirk. "Why. You afraid he'll want to beat you up, too?"
He glanced at her with a look of exasperation. "Uhhh… yeah!"
She laughed a little. She snuck a peek behind her to see that their teammates hadn't heard anything. She kept her voice low. "Our missions are supposed to be a secret, right?"
"Right. Classified. Top secret. All that jazz."
Elda's eye twitched at his use of yet another unfamiliar word. She ignored it, sensing she understood him enough. "So no, I didn't tell him everything. I gave him a general idea of what the result of the mission was… because… well, he's Jaffa and it would matter to him. But I left most other things out."
Smith blew out a breath of relief. "That's called need-to-know basis."
"Okay." She filed that term away for use later. "And right, he didn't need to know all the things that happened." She pursed her lips, thinking back. "That one was fun, wasn't it?"
Her marine tried not to grin, but he couldn't help himself. "Kinda."
She giggled and bumped his shoulder. "Admit it, Smitty."
"Alright, alright. It was fun. We haven't had to do something like that in a hot minute."
"So true."
"If we ever have to do that again, we should have a plan in place. Like a safe word or something."
"Safe word?"
"You know, some way to tell each other that we aren't feeling right or something's off. Without tipping off the marks."
"Hmm… like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. But if one of us ever gets drugged again, that'll be a whole lot better than me trying to…" He coughed, remembering how she kneed him in the balls after he followed her suggestion to kiss her. Smith shook his head. He did not want to have to do that again. "Well, you know."
She pouted. "I said I was sorry. And I mean it. I don't want to be responsible for any problems with you fathering Rellie's children."
His eyes bugged out. "Jesus, Elda!"
She cracked up without sound, knowing they weren't supposed to be loud in this unknown place.
She still got in trouble anyway.
"Psst, hey, knuckleheads," Baker chided behind them. "Lock it down."
Crawford heard the admonishment and glanced at his friends. He stifled the little wave of jealousy that bubbled up in his stomach. He was feeling left out.
They both looked back chagrined. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Smith replied.
When he turned back, they were now a short distance away from the structure. It seemed to have been built into the side of a mountain. Or maybe it was just the size of one. There was so much vegetative overgrowth that it was hard to tell.
Elda's data pad detected a door behind all that brush. Smith saw the same report and stared at the side of the structure as they approached. He held Elda back. "We don't just walk right up to things like this." He looked around and found a large stick. He used it to pull heavy vines aside.
The team arrived behind them. "Whatcha got, Corporal?" their CO asked.
"Looks like an entrance."
"I see a wall," Reynolds said. He gazed down at Elda's pad. "But looks can be deceiving. Lieutenant."
Baker's eyes scanned the ground and found a few rocks. He threw one toward the wall that Smith was exposing. The supposedly solid surface shimmered as the rock disturbed it and disappeared.
Elda's mouth dropped open. "Hologram!"
"Yep," Smith said. "Seems like the door is actually wide open." He dropped the stick he was holding. The vines swung back to where they originally hung.
"Cakes, you think the data pad could deactivate the hologram?" Crawford suggested.
Elda looked down at the device in her hands. "Hmm…" She tapped around in the display for a few minutes, trying to figure it out. She was best suited to the task because she could easily read the Goa'uld writing on the pad. Daniel was nowhere near done getting English loaded into the station database. He predicted it could take up to a year to complete.
Crawford drew closer to observe what she was doing while Reynolds ordered the rest of the marines to take a peek around the perimeter of the structure. Crawford started giving suggestions for what to press. Elda was about to comply but then disagreed. It wasn't long before they began to argue.
Reynolds found nothing of interest in the part he had chosen to look over. He walked back and started eyeing the pair. They were too distracted by their light argument to notice him watching them. Crawford looked exasperated. Elda rolled her eyes repeatedly. The Colonel looked for signs that there was something more, but saw none.
He'd been wondering about Crawford's real reasons for leaving the team temporarily.
Maybe Elda had nothing to do with his decision.
Meanwhile, Baker and Smith wandered further along to explore the outside of the structure. And to make sure there weren't any surprises lurking.
"I'm not getting any more signals like that door back there," Smith reported, looking up from his own data pad.
Baker scraped a stick along the wall from an arms length away. The wall never gave way. "My personal observation would have to agree." He dropped the stick and gazed around at the rest of the landscape. "Ain't nothin' else here."
"These vines are like from Tarzan," Smith quipped. He hazarded a grip on one of them. When he pulled, it didn't fall. They both gazed upward, not able to see where the vines originated from. The structure appeared to be a few stories tall.
"Smith, I got a question for you."
"Sir?"
"On the last op… what happened that the rest of us couldn't see?"
He gulped. "Nothing much."
His 2IC regarded him with a hard stare.
Smith hesitantly clarified, "Nothing too much."
"Uh huh." He arched a brow at his subordinate in warning.
"Lieutenant, Elda and I are close. Right? We trust each other. Implicitly." He cocked his head to the side, wondering if he had used that word correctly.
"Tell me more," Baker prompted. His eyes flitted back toward where they'd left the others behind. They weren't within sight nor earshot.
Smith breathed in, sensing himself being cornered. His 2IC resumed staring at him, waiting. "I might have… acted like I was… her boyfriend… for a minute." His eyes were drawn to the sight of Baker's fingers drumming impatiently along the top of his P-90. "Which means… I might have touched her."
Baker's brow raised again.
"A little."
"How little is 'a little'?"
"Uhhh…"
"Enough that her boyfriend would wanna kick your ass, too?"
The way Smith's eyes widened was enough of an answer for him.
The younger marine laughed nervously. "Lieutenant."
Baker got in his face. "I need to know how far you three typically go with each other." He leaned in more. "So I know when things cross a line and can pull you back. Before the Colonel feels the need to step in."
"You mean… you wanna back us up?"
"Mmm hmm."
Smith believed him. "I kissed her."
Baker's eyes went wide. "What."
"No tongue! And it was all of two seconds. She wanted to check her response after being rufied. If she let me kiss her, something was wrong. If she didn't let me, she was good and we could continue the op."
"You're telling me: kissing your teammate was your gauge for her fitness for duty?" Baker asked incredulously.
Smith held up two hands. "Her idea. I swear."
"You gotta be fucking kidding me, Smith."
"Believe me, Lieutenant. I would have never imagined doing that myself." He refrained from suggesting that should have been more Crawford's department, if it were to happen at all. That would have been very unsmart of him to bring up.
"So you never did that before? With her?"
"No, sir. First and last time. I have no intention of trying to kiss her again. She'll kick my ass six ways to Sunday, under the influence or not."
Baker started cracking up.
Smith just glowered.
Then Baker stopped. "Wait a minute. What about Crawford?"
Smith forced his expression to look so innocent he was stupid. "What about him, sir?"
"Does he do that typa shit with Elda, too?"
"Uhhh… he used to. But I don't think they ever actually kissed."
Baker nodded. "Alright. So if I observe you all out in the field… that's the threshold for me to step in."
Smith grimaced. "Okay." He honestly couldn't imagine what situations they would get into that might require one of them to get close to Elda like that again. But the marine knew never to say never. "Just to clarify, are we talking about actual lip-on-lip contact or getting like…" He held up two fingers close together without touching. "…super close?"
Baker shook his head. "I don't fucking know, Smith. You tell me. At what point are things going to cross a line with you people?"
Smith had already been busting Crawford's balls about crossing a line with Elda. It took a lot of effort to try and keep his buddy in check. For his own damn sake. "If it's me, full contact means something's wrong. Potentially."
"Alright, then. We'll go with that. Jesus fucking Christ. You three are really something else," Baker grumbled, motioning for Smith to follow him back. "That space station really screwed with all of you."
Smith sighed. "Not arguing with you there, sir."
Reynolds decided they were better off going in as a full team this time instead of leaving a couple people outside to wait. The SGC knew where they were. This was the only visible structure within sightline of the gate. If they happened to miss their check-in, whoever came to follow-up would know to come here.
For good measure, he made it pretty damn obvious where they entered. He had Crawford hack some of the vines away with a knife. Then they hid his data pad on the ground underneath some brush. Its tracking beacon was available for activation. Anyone else with a data pad could seek out the one they were leaving behind here as a marker.
The Colonel took point as they entered with eyes wide open. He had the most experience venturing into alien structures like this. He could react faster than the others to random surprises based on that experience.
He had sure seen some shit in his time.
The flashlight on his P-90 shined across the walls of a darkened corridor. It wasn't doing a whole lot. He could tell the ceiling was just a foot or two taller than them. The width of the hallway was enough to fit the five of them walking side-by-side if they chose. But that's not the formation they were using today. He took the lead as a singleton while the remainder of the team stayed together in pairs.
They walked slow and steady. Baker and Crawford were just behind Reynolds, P-90s carefully panning up, down, and to the sides. Smith and Elda brought up the rear, keeping weary eyes on their data pads and ensuring nothing crept up behind the team.
The long corridor stopped at an intersection. The next hall seemed to curve in either direction, forcing the Colonel to make a decision. Reynolds looked behind him and made eye contact with Baker and Crawford. Using hand signals, he instructed them to explore to the right. He and the others would go left.
The team split up wordlessly.
The trio commanded by Reynolds adjusted their formation. Smith brought up the rear to maintain situational awareness. Elda kept her eyes on the data pad. She was watching for signals and energy signatures.
They followed the curve of the hall, seeing nothing but more blank walls, floors, and ceiling.
Eventually, Reynolds spied the lights of P-90s ahead. The rest of the marines had circled around and met up with them on what was likely the whole other side of the structure they were in. He frowned. There didn't seem to be anything here.
"Colonel," Elda whispered, pointing her data pad at the wall next to her.
He stepped closer to her and gazed at the wall. He let his P-90 make contact and noted there was another hologram here. He motioned for the team to return to their original formation and follow him through.
They stepped into pitch black, but there were no walls for their lights to shine against.
Elda was the last to step through.
And that's when all the lights turned on.
The marines tensed, P-90s arcing up and around searching for threats. As their eyes adjusted to the sudden onslaught of illumination, they realized they had found something interesting.
It was an Alteran workshop.
Short, wide consoles were spread out within the space. On the opposite wall were various machines lying in wait for someone to pick them up. Reynolds spun around to address Elda directly. "Don't touch anything."
She nodded, eyes wide as she gazed around with a blaster raised.
"What made the lights turn on, Colonel?" Baker asked, becoming more comfortable now that they had an idea of where they were. No one was in here but them. That was obvious.
"Don't know. Maybe something was left active here." The room was expansive. There was a lot to examine. "Spread out. Keep your hands to yourself, people."
"Yes, sir," all the men replied at once.
Elda drew closer to Reynolds. "You don't seem as surprised by what's in here, Colonel."
"Some of this stuff is… familiar," he explained. He pointed. "Those are Ancient control consoles. They have things like that all over Atlantis. And that…" His hand gestured at writing on the support columns spaced evenly around the room. "…is what their writing looks like."
Elda squinted her eyes as she stared at the random-looking squiggles. "Huh. Some of these look like the symbols in Dr. Jackson's office."
"Exactly."
Elda turned to gaze at more things of interest around the room. Her teammates were busy doing the same further away. She drew closer to a few unknown devices, but had no way to tell what they were for. She observed how her teammates had relaxed and already clipped their P-90s to their vests. She took it as a sign that she could sheath her blaster. Elda held her station data pad up to some of the Ancient machines, but got no interaction from them.
She continued walking with the pad held up, just in case it would get a hit from something.
"Research division will have fun in here, Colonel," Crawford commented.
Reynolds turned his head to address his subordinate. "You're probably right, Corporal."
As soon as he turned back around, he instantly darted into action.
"Elda, watch out!" His hand grabbed her tac vest and hauled her back forcefully, just as an Ancient repository shot out from the wall to capture her head.
She let out a yelp of surprise and nearly fell to the ground.
"Fucking Ancient shit left turned on in here!" Reynolds yelled loudly in complaint.
The rest of the men ran over to them. Crawford pulled Elda even further back protectively, staring pensively at the finger-like projections of the device. He pushed her slightly behind him.
"Holy shit. I've only ever seen this in pictures," Smith marveled, staring at the repository from a good distance away. "Does it always do that?"
"Reach out and touch someone?" Baker quipped, quoting an old phone company tag line.
"Yeah."
"Not all the time," Reynolds answered contemplatively. He furrowed his brow. He looked at Elda. "You okay, Cakes?"
She sucked in a breath. "Yes, Colonel. Thank you. I'm alright. What even is that thing?"
"That's the Head Sucker I told you about."
Her eyes went wide. "The thing that did stuff to General O'Neill!?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Don't go near it. Remember?"
"I remember now." Elda stared at the offending device. It was scary-looking, with scales all over its strange shape. It retracted now that it had nothing to grab. She hazarded a step forward.
Crawford grabbed her arm. He shook his head at her. "No, Baby."
"I just need a better look. I won't get too close," she promised.
He stayed with her just in case, no longer trusting a damn thing in this place.
Elda cautiously stepped closer. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. If this thing had endangered her father's life before she was even born, she wanted to know more about it.
The moment she reached a certain distance, the machine burst out toward her again.
Crawford pulled her back instantly. "Shit."
"The fuck," Reynolds muttered. "Elda, stop testing that shit." He eyed the device critically. "Damn thing's sensitive as hell."
"I don't remember hearing about it behave like that," Baker commented. "But what do I know."
"Sir, I'm getting major heebie-jeebies now," Smith said, looking around nervously. "Who knows what else is in here ready to mess with us."
"I have to agree with you, Corporal. This is no longer our department. Take a few photos with your data pads and we'll bring 'em back to the SGC. We'll let the right people know what we found and let them decide what to do with all this," Reynolds decided.
When they began to leave, Crawford insisted that Smith switch partners with him. He stayed near Elda the whole rest of the way back, rattled that she had nearly gotten hurt today.
"Uh oh," Jack muttered at the kitchen island. A work laptop was open in front of him as he sat on one of the barstools.
"What? Uh oh?" Sam inquired from the other side. She was loading dirty plates and utensils into the dishwasher of their Washington home. Gracie was upstairs playing in her room after dinner.
Jack spun his laptop around to show her.
She paused and noted the heading at the top. "SG-3 mission report. Huh." One of her hands was still clean and dry. She used it to scroll through what Reynolds had just submitted about an hour ago. Her eyes grew bigger and bigger as she skimmed. "Ohhhhhh crap."
Sam's eyes shot to Jack's.
He shook his head. "It was inevitable that her genes would catch up with her."
His wife looked back at the text. "It doesn't sound like Reynolds made the connection. Whew."
"But he noticed that the Head Sucker was behaving strangely," Jack pointed out. "He's no fool."
Sam sighed. "No, he's one of the best we've got." Her clean hand reached up to rub her forehead. "We might need to think about reading him in. He's already been asking questions from the start. This might only pile it on."
"If he gets read in, the whole team needs to be read in. Are we sure about that?"
"No," Sam admitted. "But Reynolds is going to connect the dots eventually."
Jack groaned. "I like it better with him not knowing. I don't want him to start treating her differently just because he knows who her parents are."
"I get that. But at some point, something's gotta give."
"Shit."
"And we can't keep SG-3 away from missions like that. Any op could have them running into Ancient devices that her ATA gene could activate. There's just no way to prevent it."
"How strong do you thing hers might be?"
"That's hard to say. The only test I can think of is putting her in the Chair and seeing how well she could operate it. There was a world of difference between Dr. Beckett and Colonel Sheppard's levels of control. And they both inherited the gene naturally."
Jack thought back to when he sat in that thing. He vaguely remembered having an innate ability to command it and understand all its functions. But then again, he also had the entire Ancient database downloaded into his head at the time. Hard to say if that was genes or bad luck. Probably the latter over the former.
"What do you want to do?" his wife asked.
He stared at her glumly. "Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"We keep everything as is. If Reynolds didn't suspect she has the gene, we'll let him continue to believe the machine was just on the fritz."
Sam pursed her lips, hesitant, but in agreement.
When Daniel awoke to his alarm clock in the morning, he slapped it hard to shut it off. He wanted to snooze for a few more minutes, knowing he was safe at home. However, his mind began to unwillingly rise up out of slumber. Years of constantly having to be alert and ready conditioned him to be this way.
He cycled through a list of things to remember. Today was Thursday. The team had no offworld missions scheduled. Vala had no doctor's appointments. There were no visitors to the SGC scheduled to see him. He pretty much had the work day to himself to catch up on projects. That was a relief. He wanted to make more progress loading English into the space station database today.
Something was tugging at his mind, though. What was so significant about today's date that he had committed it to memory as important?
He tried to think. It wasn't Sha're's birthday converted to Earth time. It wasn't the anniversary of her death either. Nor Janet's. Nor Catherine's. It had something to do with an important female in his life. In Daniel's groggy state, he was struggling to grasp the missing detail.
He breathed in deeply and let his eyes flutter open. When he looked at the clock, eight minutes had passed. The alarm would buzz again when it hit nine. He wanted to avoid that annoying sound so his hand reached out to really shut it off for good this time. He turned over in bed to look at Vala. She was on her side, turned away from him. He tried to think as he kissed her shoulder.
Daniel got distracted when his hand reached over to her belly. Who was in there, anyway? Was it a boy that he could name George? Someone to fill a void he didn't even realize was there until recently? Or was it a girl? Vala hadn't settled on a possible girl name yet. She'd run out of ideas after having two daughters already, each named for a mother from her life. One good. One bad.
A daughter.
That was it. Gracie.
Today was the anniversary of Gracie's arrival to the past.
Oh shit, he thought to himself. So much had happened since then. So much had changed.
Daniel breathed in deep, recognizing that if his other self hadn't done what he'd done, sacrificed what he'd sacrificed… none of them would be here as they are now. Sam would be dead. Gracie would have been lost offworld. Jack would be devastated, eventually to the point of suicide. Vala would have just been plain gone from his life. He could barely fathom how his other self even survived all that loss. It was too overwhelming to consider possible. And he thought he knew loss already.
What might have happened to adult Gracie if she stayed where she was? With her mother? With the other him? Daniel wasn't absolutely sure if she would have been happy or not. There was no way to know.
All he knew was that she was thriving here, now. The girl was making headlines everywhere she went. Making long-lasting friendships. Saving lives. Falling in love.
That last one actually made him smile. He rubbed Vala's shoulder. Love always made things worth it, didn't they?
Daniel dropped kisses down Vala's arm, eliciting a delightful groan from his future wife. She woke up peacefully, without the aid of an annoying alarm. When she turned on her back, she offered him the most adorable sleepy smile. He grinned at her. "Morning," he whispered sweetly.
Vala simply hummed.
He leaned down to peck her lips. "Today is important," he said quietly, feeling it was necessary to tell her.
"I know," she affirmed, voice still heavy from sleep. "It's been a year since she arrived."
The fact that she already thought of it herself was comforting. He brushed hair out of her face and stroked her cheek. "You going to try to do anything with her today?"
"Whatever she wants."
"Okay."
Vala found Elda sitting in the commissary on her own, hovering over a bowl of oatmeal. She was busy staring at some mission report on a tablet.
"Which one are you on now?" Vala asked.
Elda looked up. She knew her mother was there. She'd seen her walk in and obtain a tray of food. It didn't surprise her that she was joining her. This was nothing new. The boys usually didn't come around for breakfast on base unless they slept in their quarters. And Elda knew for sure they went home last night.
"I'm looking at the one where General O'Neill, who apparently wasn't a General here, got victimized by a Head Sucker."
"A what?" Vala asked in confusion.
"This thing." Elda picked up the tablet and turned it around to show her. It featured an image of an Ancient repository.
"Ohh, that thing."
"You've seen one before?"
"Yes, Darling, quite a while back." Vala shivered at the memory. "Daniel let himself get victimized by one, too."
Elda's eyes went wide. "He did!? Why?" Out of all people, she knew her uncle understood the dangers of that device. Even she regarded it with a healthy dose of fear, seeing how alarmed Reynolds became when she got near one. Crawfy, too. He was literally shaking in worry for her.
Vala let out a breath. She spooned some cereal into her mouth. "He wanted to finish the Anti-Ori Weapon because he thought it was our only chance to defeat them." She shook her head. "He was right in the end. But there was a considerable amount of risk involved. If Merlin hadn't programmed that thing just right, we really would have lost Daniel."
"Who's that?"
"Some old Ancient we came across while we were searching for solutions to the Ori problem."
"You met an Ancient?" Elda asked incredulously.
"Mmm hmm. He didn't last long. Died within a few hours of us finding him in a stasis pod."
Elda gazed down at the tablet in her hands. "I'll have to check those reports out someday soon."
Vala patted her hand. She went back to her food.
"Mom," she said very quietly.
Vala's eyes widened as she looked around the commissary, worried someone had heard her. "Shh!"
"Why didn't you ever tell me about that other daughter you had?"
Her mother stared at her for a long moment. "You mean why didn't the other me tell you?"
Elda nodded seriously.
Vala breathed in deeply. One of her hands unconsciously began to rest on her growing baby bump. She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe it was just too hard to explain. You said you were constantly on the run. Could be there was too much going on for her to spare a few moments to relive that pain."
Vala looked away now, appetite suddenly decreasing.
Elda pursed her lips in concern, worried that she had brought up too sore a subject. She could see the anguish in Vala's eyes at the simple reminder that Adria had even once existed. She grabbed her mother's hand, making Vala look up at her. "Sorry. I just have a hard time understanding all the things that have happened to you. I thought I knew everything. But I guess I barely know anything."
Vala squeezed her hand. "It's alright, Darling. You have a right to know." She bit the inside of her cheeks, summoning bravery. "Ask me anything. I'll tell you right now."
Elda donned a sad, but encouraged look. "Not here."
"Quarters after breakfast then?"
Her daughter shook her head. "How 'bout we take a little trip offworld? We could just fly around in the Firefly. Speak freely." Elda shrugged. "Find a market to shop at or something."
Vala smiled. "Sounds perfect, Darling."
Daniel pointed out the significance of today's date to General Landry, who then turned around and made it clear to Colonel Reynolds that Elda was unavailable for the day. He didn't explain why. And her CO chose not to ask. They technically had no missions scheduled. It was a paperwork and catch-up-on-exercise type of day anyway for the team.
Reynolds pushed the curiosity out of his mind, choosing to focus on all the other million things he had to get done instead.
Daniel would normally protest to Vala going offworld without him in her pregnant state, but he knew he should make an exception today. Elda was protective of Vala. She wouldn't bring her anywhere that had even a lick of danger. He saw them off at the wormhole to Tek'ron and returned to this work.
The pair acquired Elda's ship and took off directly from the planet. They were taking the long way through hyperspace toward their intended destination. Elda described it as a market she remembered visiting in her youth. It had the most amazing sweet bread. Now that she could afford it, she had every intention of buying up an entire batch to share with everyone she knew.
While the forward port featured the swirling blue colors of hyperspace, Elda set the ship to autopilot. Vala was next to her in the co-pilot's seat, shifting her wait constantly to get comfortable.
"So…"
"Well? What do you want to know?"
"Did you love her?"
Vala swallowed. "Of course. She was my child. My flesh and blood."
Elda grimaced in sympathy for her mother. "Did she love you? I mean, I know you both tried to manipulate each other. But was there an actual, real connection?"
Vala locked eyes with her for a moment, then looked away. Her gaze became unfocused as she let memories wash over her. "Adria was a complex, troubled individual. She tried to love me, yes. But I think her genetics just got in the way of it being true human love." Vala marveled at how easily she was able to express that. Normally one would have to claw this sort of heavy, emotional detail out of her.
"Her genetics?"
"She was more Ori than human."
"No real father," Elda said, reiterating what she'd learned from the mission reports. "I know a little something about that growing up."
Vala reached out to rub her arm. "But now you have many father figures in your life. And one actual father who will do anything for you."
Elda smiled genuinely at this. "I know. That's the sort of thing that makes coming to the past worth it. On top of seeing you be happy and safe."
"You do realize what the date is, don't you?"
Elda shook her head in innocent confusion.
Vala tucked hair behind Elda's ear. "It's been a year since you arrived."
Her eyes widened slightly and her lips parted. "Has it?" She focused on nothing in particular as she tried to manipulate numbers in her mind. "You mean by Earth measure."
"Yes. Daniel remembered, too."
Elda nodded slowly. "That's why he didn't mind you coming with me like this today." Now Elda smiled wistfully. "You know… I don't think I'm the same anymore."
Vala squeezed her arm. "No, you're not. You were a scared little girl when you came to us. Now?" She shook her head in awe. "You're on your way to becoming some sort of queen."
Elda scoffed. "Ugh. Let's not focus on that." She put up a pleading hand to emphasize her exasperation with the concept.
Her mother laughed aloud. "I will say this, though: I think nothing but good has come from your arrival here."
"Really?"
"Really."
"What makes you think that?" Elda remembered Vala saying something like this before but hardly believed that her presence was actually so significant. She was just here to live. To be with her family.
"Well, for one, Reynolds is alive."
"What? The boys would have figured out a way to get to that space station without me. I'm sure of it. They would have saved him."
Vala just looked at her. "Sure about that? Think back to how they were before you started training them."
Elda did and realized her mother was right. She blew out a breath. "I don't know if he was alive in my timeline." She looked back to her mother worriedly. "He has a family." Elda's face contorted at the thought of them losing him.
"Now consider events on Tek'ron," Vala moved her along.
"What about them?"
"Don't you think you had some influence over the way the Hak'tyl and your mate's village regard each other?"
"Ha. That stems from Ishta taking advantage of me being with Jasuf."
Vala raised a brow at this, not having heard it in those terms before. But if she tried to press Elda for details, it would bring them away from her actual point. "Yes, and who would have replaced your role if you were not there to make Jasuf fall in love with you?"
Elda scrunched her face, cycling through all the sisters in their age range. She bit her lip, struggling to find one who didn't actually despise him before she came and turned his life upside-down. She gaped, unable to supply a decent answer to her mother's question.
"Mmm hmm. Thought so. See, Darling? Your presence has changed things. For the better, in my opinion. For everyone."
Elda puffed out a breath of surprise at the whole thing. "Mom… I don't know what to do with that." She felt overwhelmed.
"There's nothing to do but to accept it as the truth. You coming here has been some sort of blessing. You don't even have to try to do anything. You just need to be you."
Elda hid her lips in her mouth. "That's it?"
"That's it." Vala offered her a soft, encouraging smile.
They grasped each other in a strong hug and held on for a few minutes, just savoring the security and safety they both now had. Elda squeezed Vala tight. She dug her face into the crook of her neck and just breathed.
She simply could not believe she was here. Again.
Elda jumped when she felt something strange impact her stomach. She pulled back slightly. "Was that…"
Vala chuckled. "Your little brother or sister trying to say hello with a kick." She tilted her head. "Or saying stop squishing me."