Daddy's Little Girl -- SG-1 - Part the Four
Title: Daddy's Little Girl
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: General Team fic, with with a bit of Daniel/Jack and original characters
Disclaimer: Ain't mine, don't own um...just like playing with them...especially that Danny Boy...
Summary: DJ accompanies SG-1 off world
Daniel smiled into the mirror as he felt Jack’s hand slip around his waist. The sound of porcelain meeting porcelain brought his attention to Jack’s other hand, setting down a cup of coffee on the sink’s back. “You made me coffee?”
Jack smirked at him in the mirror. “No, DJ did. She’s been up for almost an hour.”
Daniel resumed his shaving. “Nervous?”
“Fidgety, like you used to get.”
“I was never fidgety.” Jack kissed the spot behind his ear that made him purr, then released him and perched on the edge of the tub.
“Yes you were. I was there.” He played with the belt of Daniel’s robe. “You sure about this?”
“What this?” Daniel asked, glancing at him.
Jack opened his hands and shrugged. “I don’t know…all of it.”
Daniel shrugged too. “I don’t know Jack. I’ve never done this before.” He concentrated on his shaving for a few minutes, then turned back to face Jack. “I mean, I know…now, this morning…I know and as much as I want to be cynical and keep her at arm’s length…I can’t.”
Jack smiled faintly. “Doesn’t mean she has to get all involved in this…thing we do.”
Daniel sighed. “I know. But…we need her.” He moved back to the mirror, swiping his razor along his jaw line.
“We? Or you?” Jack’s words were soft, but Daniel reacted physically, stepping back from the sink and closing his eyes.
It was silent for a few moments before Daniel picked up a towel to wipe at the remaining bits of shaving cream dotting his face. Then he picked up the coffee and took a long drink from it. He didn’t look at Jack as he responded. “I don’t know Jack.” His voice too was soft, with an edge of sorrow on it.
Jack nodded and stood up, enveloping the younger man in his arms. “I’m sorry. I just needed you to think about it.”
Daniel nodded against Jack’s shoulder. “I have. Her knowledge is better than mine, and if there’s something in this stuff that can help us defeat the Orii…”
Jack stepped back and let Daniel proceed him out of the bathroom into Daniel’s bedroom. Jack sat on the unmade bed and watched as Daniel picked out clothes for the journey into Stargate command. “No one blames you, Daniel.” Jack said after a long moment.
Daniel stiffened, but didn’t look at him. “No?”
“No. And no one expects you to have all the answers.”
Daniel sighed, and didn’t respond, just went back to pulling out socks. He dressed in silence, though Jack couldn’t tell if it was angry silence or just the usual brooding kind. When he was done he turned back to Jack. “I-thank you. I understand what you’re saying. Really. As much as I could, I made this her choice, Jack.”
“Like she could refuse the challenge?” Jack asked, reaching out a hand for Daniel, who came willingly until Jack could take his hand. “She is, after all, your daughter, Daniel. Could you have said no?”
Daniel smirked, the worry gone from his face for the moment. “As I recall, I demanded.”
“Yes, you did.” Jack agreed with a grin.
Daniel kissed him lightly then and started to pull away. “So, will you be here when we get back?”
“Probably not.” Jack pulled him closer. “So, you best say goodbye properly now.”
Daniel shook his head. “See, I knew you wanted to take advantage of me.”
Jack’s grin was wicked as he pulled Daniel to him for a deeper kiss. “If that’s all I wanted, you’d still be naked,” he whispered. Daniel laughed, even as Jack’s lips captured his.
When he finally was released, Daniel straightened his clothes and Jack cleared his throat. “You had probably better get going, before DJ comes apart at the seams out there.” Jack said, standing. “I’m going to hit the showers before I head in to see Landry.”
Daniel paused for one last kiss before heading for the door. “Lock up when you leave.”
“Oh, Daniel?”
He stopped at the door and looked back. “I want you both back in one piece this time. Be careful.”
Daniel smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
“I mean it.”
“Yes Jack.”
The gate room was a flurry of activity as SG-1 and SG-4 and two mounts worth of equipment prepared for departure. DJ stood between Teal’c and Sam, adjusting her vest and the unfamiliar weight of her pack. Daniel finished checking his supplies on the mount and moved to the rest of his team. “You okay?” he asked DJ as she fidgeted.
She didn’t trust herself to speak, so she nodded. Her heart was pounding, but she took that as a good sign. Mitchell came into the room and the Stargate started turning. This was it. Nothing she had dreamed of and more than she could ever have imagined, the butterflies in her stomach told her. They were worse than the morning of the symposium, when she knew that Daniel Jackson would actually be there. Worse than the moment before she said his name. Worse even than the moment she’d finally blurted out her secret. She exhaled slowly.
Beside her, Teal’c was a tower of silent strength, calm. She latched onto that, literally, as her hand found his. He turned, a ghost of a smile on his face as she looked up at him, and an almost imperceptible squeeze of her hand to let her know he was there for her. The Stargate swooshed and the impossible puddle of light settled into the ring. Landry’s voice interrupted the internal litany in her head of all the things she had to remember. “SGs 1 and 4, you have a go.”
Colonel Mitchell took a spot at the end of the ramp and nodded to his superior officer above him. “You heard him, let’s move out.” The two mounts started up the ramp, followed by Sam and the members of SG-4. Teal’c and DJ met Daniel at the bottom of the ramp and together with Mitchell, they headed up. DJ paused just before the event horizon, her wide eyes looking to Daniel for reassurance. He took her free hand and together, he and Teal’c stepped through the gate, bringing her with them.
On the other side DJ exhaled and Daniel supported her down the steps as Teal’c joined the others in establishing a safe perimeter around the gate. “Breathe slowly,” he murmured as she seemed to start hyperventilating. “It helps.”
She smiled weakly and took a few deep breathes. The nausea was passing. Sam had warned her about it, but it hit her harder than expected. It seemed impossible. That one step could transport them millions of miles across space. Her first impression that the land looked a little like Ireland, with soft, rolling hills of deep, verdant green grasses and the occasional jut of rock adding structure.
She tried to ignore the military goings on around her as she assured Daniel she was fine and began to move around the space. A circle of stones surrounded the gate, plain, but for a carving atop each with a symbol from the gate. A path lead out from the circle, cut from the earth by wagons that had brought the stones from afar. A line of trees cut across the horizon, lining the top of the nearest hill, over which the wagon road disappeared.
“According to Lt. Majors, the village is down this road.” Daniel said as he leafed through his notes.
“Carter.” Mitchell motioned Sam over to his position near the DHD. “I’m going to hold down the fort here until we know what kind of welcome we’re going to get. You take Teal’c, Jackson and Moore and head into town.”
She nodded and collected the others with her eyes. They fell into place beside her easily enough and set out. DJ’s eyes wandered the hills and the fauna they passed, cataloguing it as best she could. They could easily be in Ireland or parts of Scotland, rather than on another planet. The ground was wet, the wheel tracks muddy. The air was thick with moisture and the smell of clover.
The road became more level as they moved closer to the village, less like a wheel path and more like a foot path, almost a road. The hills began to take on different colors as they passed cultivated fields. Stone pillars marked the path at regular intervals and after the first five or six, DJ stopped pausing to read them.
They topped a hill and stopped. The valley below them was like a picture out of some fantasy movie or period piece. The road moved down into the bowl, through fertile fields and diverged, leading east toward what they were presuming was a temple, south toward the village nestled at the base of the next hill, its walls gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. To the west was that which intrigued her most, a site not unlike Stonehenge, though fully complete and presumably still in use. She stared at it until Daniel nudged her elbow.
“We should probably head into the village and meet up with the locals that Lt. Majors spoke with,” he said.
She nodded her agreement. “No playing in the sacred sites without permission.”
All three of them looked at her. “Something my mother used to tell me when I was a kid,” she responded.
“Good advice.” Sam said before she headed off down the hill with Teal’c and Daniel. DJ jogged a little to catch up. They made good time across the valley floor, and weren’t surprised when a small group emerged from the city as they made their final approach. They were about what she had imagined, clad in medievalesque garb, though nothing entirely similar enough to place them in the canvas of European history.
An older man, taller than the others and more finely attired, detached himself from the group and made a formal bow. He cleared his throat and spoke in a heavily accented dialect she recognized, though had a little difficulty following. She stepped forward as well, as he finished and spoke to him in return, though her pronunciation wasn’t as clean as she would have liked. They exchanged names and titles. They spoke for a few minutes before Daniel tugged on her arm. She held up her hand and stepped back to Daniel and the team.
“Okay, I think I’ve got the basics,” she said, her face flushed with excitement. “This dialect is…well…I hope I’ve got the basics. He’s Chancellor Angus, apparently the head of the community here. The rest include his wife and various city elders. They’ve been expecting us, and have prepared us a meal, and rooms.”
She smiled at the Chancellor who was apparently doing as she was, reporting back their conversation to the rest of his group. “He asked that we accompany them to his home where a feast will be served in our honor.”
The Chancellor was stepping forward again, so she did so as well. After another few minutes of conversation she returned. “Okay, he said that the other team had told him we would probably come, even mentioned you by name.” She gestured at Daniel with a grin. “They are excited to meet you.”
Sam shook her head and stepped back to radio Mitchell.
“Go ahead Carter.”
“We have made contact with the locals here, sir. They’ve invited us to dinner.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” Mitchell said sarcastically. “Make sure Daniel doesn’t end up married.”
She snickered. “I’d be more worried about DJ at this point.” She looked up to find Daniel being formally introduced to the Chancellor.
“Well, like Father, like Daughter, I suppose. Keep me informed.”
Sam joined her team as DJ introduced Teal’c and then Sam to the Chancellor, then they were following the Chancellor and his people into the village and through the muddy streets. People paused in their daily tasks to watch them walk by, curious, but not threatening or afraid, just curious. The village had the air of many of the other primitive villages they had visited, though she could spot modern materials in the architecture, designs that primitive tools couldn’t forge. Lights, neatly hidden by flora and architectural features dispelled the shadows where the city walls and buildings created them. She glanced aside at Daniel who had apparently noticed it as well. Dusk was settling over the village, and yet the streets they walked scarcely dimmed.
Eventually they stopped outside a large home, the gates swung open by servants in pale blue uniforms. They paused then in an entry way where muddy shoes were removed and warmed slippers stepped into. “Please, do come in. My home is yours,” the Chancellor said, moving out of the entry way and into an open lobby that displayed heavy Roman and Greek influences alongside the anticipated British ones. Daniel looked around him, and Sam could almost see him cataloguing in his head.
“It is the custom of my people to retire to private rooms prior to rejoining for the evening meal. Warm baths help drive the chill of the rains away and ease the mud from our skin. This time of year can be most trying.” The Chancellor smiled at them as his wife disappeared and reappeared with two young servants. “Ah yes, this is Mia and Heston. They will show you to your rooms, get you anything you need and escort you to the dining room when dinner is ready. Dr. Moore, and Dr. Carter, we have a room prepared for you in the ladies wing. Dr. Jackson and Teal’c, yours is down the hall from mine in the men’s wing.”
Mia lead DJ and Sam away, even as Teal’c and Daniel followed Heston in the other direction. They were shown into a spacious room where two large tubs steamed, clean linens draped nearby racks and doors led off into softly lit bedrooms. “This is different.” Sam said as she dropped her pack and started shedding clothes. “Normally, we’re sleeping on the ground in our dirty uniforms.”
DJ grinned and set her own pack on the floor. “I have to admit, this isn’t what I was expecting.”
“No?” Sam started when Mia appeared to gather her shed garments and pack, but recovered quickly as she sank into the hot water.
“The mixed cultural influences are certainly more pronounced than I had anticipated. Which means either that these people left Earth long after we assumed they did, which would mean, long after the gate in Egypt was dismantled, or they’ve had extended contact with those cultures after leaving Earth.” DJ was settling into her own tub now, nodding her thanks to the young girl gathering their muddy belongings. She ducked under the water, wetting her shoulder length hair and resurfacing slowly. She chuckled as she squeezed the water from her hair.
“What?”
“Nothing…I’d forgotten how good a bath could feel. My apartment in DC only has a shower stall, and I’ve been in it for two years.”
“Two years…without a bath?”
DJ rolled her eyes. “The sacrifices we make for our work,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. They were quiet a moment before DJ stretched out, bringing her feet to the end of the tub and propping them up. “The technological level is more advanced than I anticipated as well.”
“Yeah, I’d noticed that myself.” Sam agreed.
“I don’t think these people are everything we’re expected to believe.” DJ said, closing her eyes. “I think the Chancellor and his wife are especially different. He understands English, I could see it in his eyes. His choosing not to speak it is something of a test…for us.”
Sam thought about that. “What kind of test?”
DJ shook her head, but didn’t really answer. “Ever get the feeling that you’ve been manipulated into something, but you can’t figure out what or by who?”
Sam nodded. “Once or twice, since I started working for the Stargate program.”
DJ nodded. “I know this sounds weird, but I think someone wanted me here.”
“You specifically?”
“Yes, and I’m not sure if I feel special…or worried.”
Sam thought about it for a minute. “I don’t sense any malice, yet. Maybe they’re just protecting themselves.”
DJ shrugged. “Maybe. I definitely want to know more. I can’t wait to get my hands on that circle.”
Sam chuckled, picking up the thick wash cloth provided to dip into the water and scrub at her face. “You sound just like Daniel.”
DJ blushed. “Really?”
“Really. General O’Neill would be having fits.” She chuckled again, imagining her superior’s reaction to Daniel-speak doubled and in stereo.
DJ was quiet then, her face thoughtful. “General O’Neill is pretty protective of him,” she said, after a long time. “Of Daniel, I mean.”
“He’s pretty protective, period.” Sam said, not quite disagreeing.
DJ nodded and slid a little deeper into the water. So much like Daniel, Sam thought. She could almost see the wheels turning as the younger woman sorted through the experiences of the day, and as much as Sam might want, she couldn’t penetrate those thoughts to know what she was thinking.
Mia’s appearance at her side with a thick towel drew her away from DJ and her thoughts. Sam let Mia help her from the tub and wrap the fire warmed towel around her before showing her into one of the two bedrooms. A fire burned cheerily in the fireplace and the room was pleasantly warm. Mia left her to tend to DJ and it took Sam a moment to realize her pack was resting on the floor beside the bed.
An extra set of clothes was usually a luxury she did without, at least in her day pack, but SG-8 had warned them about the muddy nature of the planet and the inhabitants exceptional expectation of cleanliness. Sam sat on the bed and pulled out her clean uniform.
In a few minutes she was dressed and paused at the small vanity to check her damp hair. As she sat, Mia appeared behind her, already lifting a brush to Sam’s head. “I-I can do that.” Sam said, slightly embarrassed.
“Tis no trouble, ma’am. Tis my duty.” Mia said in a soft, light voice. Sam sighed and nodded, submitting to the tender ministrations of the young girl, who brushed her hair thoroughly and even managed to finish it in a close approximation of the style she’d had when they arrived. “Dinner will be ready shortly, ma’am. I’ll see to your friend and return.”
Sam nodded and watched her go. She was probably only 13 or 14. The blue-grey of her uniform was echoed in her eyes. It seemed odd, but somehow she reminded her of Cassie. Sam shook her head and took her momentary solitude to explore the room. The walls were definitely made to look as if they were all built from the same material, but the stone that surrounded the giant oak door and the fireplace was different from the outer wall. A single window opened into a garden that was difficult to see in the dark. Heavy curtains draped either side of the glass.
Mia appeared in the door with a slight bow. “Dinner will be ready. I will take you.”
Sam dropped the curtain she had been holding and followed the girl out into the common room, where DJ waited, also in a clean uniform. Then they were lead out into the hall, down a flight of stairs and through several other corridors before Mia stopped in an archway and gestured into a spacious, open dining room. Low tables formed a large U shape in a sunken area down three steps from the promenade that circled it. Daniel and Teal’c were already there, seated at the short middle table.
An older female servant took over from Mia, escorting the women to the table and gesturing to the sunken bench beside the men. It was softened by pillows in deep burgundy and green, which was surprisingly comfortable as they slid into it. Daniel and DJ, sitting side by side, immediately began comparing notes, their heads huddled together as they whispered fervently. Sam caught the occasional word or two, but for the most part ignored them and looked around. Large platters of fruits and breads already adorned the tables, and food continued to appear around them as servants moved quickly around the slowly arriving dinner guests.
The Chancellor and his wife appeared with little fanfare, moving to their seats at the center of the table where Sam and her team sat. There was a faint murmur as people greeted one another and took their seats. Food continued to flow and servants had begun to pour wine into the simple goblets in front of each place setting. Sam’s stomach growled, suddenly hungry.
The Chancellor stood and held up his hands for silence, which he slowly got. “Friends, tonight we welcome new friends from beyond the Great Circle, from a home that our ancestors knew.” DJ translated under her breath to Sam, hearing Daniel do much the same for Teal’c. “They have traveled far, searching for the secrets our ancestors brought with them, as it was promised.”
He held up his goblet and everyone around the table responded by lifting theirs. “May they find what they search for.”
A murmur circled the room and everyone drank. “Eat, enjoy.” The Chancellor sat back down, smiling at Sam as he began to fill his plate from the platters within reach. For a while only the sounds of eating could be heard, but slowly conversation resumed. Daniel and DJ continued their quiet discussion, their voices lowered so that even Sam and Teal’c couldn’t hear them.
“Dr. Moore, Dr. Jackson.” The Chancellor’s voice drew DJ and Daniel out of their private conversation and they turned. “I imagine you must be anxious to begin your search.”
Daniel nodded. “Yes, sir. We are looking forward to it.”
He smiled. “So I was told. Tomorrow, my son Ashen will take you to the library.”
“Library?” Daniel asked, leaning forward.
“Yes, it houses all of our rarest books and many of our ancient tools and artifacts. It was once home of the Ancestors, where Merlin joined his brethren after completing his mission. If you are to find what you are looking for, it is best to start there.”
“How do you know what we’re looking for?” DJ asked, swallowing her disappointment that they would see the stone ring in the morning.
The Chancellor smiled. “I know only that you seek something of the Ancestor’s. Something hidden and lost in time.” His wife came and touched his arm and her turned away briefly. “It is time for entertainment. Please enjoy. I must excuse myself for the moment and see to some business.”
“So, the library it is.” Daniel said under his breath. He could see DJ’s disappointment and smirked. “No playing in the sacred sites without permission,” he said playful, and was rewarded with her smile.
“I suppose the circle will wait. I mean, its stood there for a thousand years or more, right? What’s one more day?”
Fandom: Stargate SG-1
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: General Team fic, with with a bit of Daniel/Jack and original characters
Disclaimer: Ain't mine, don't own um...just like playing with them...especially that Danny Boy...
Summary: DJ accompanies SG-1 off world
Daniel smiled into the mirror as he felt Jack’s hand slip around his waist. The sound of porcelain meeting porcelain brought his attention to Jack’s other hand, setting down a cup of coffee on the sink’s back. “You made me coffee?”
Jack smirked at him in the mirror. “No, DJ did. She’s been up for almost an hour.”
Daniel resumed his shaving. “Nervous?”
“Fidgety, like you used to get.”
“I was never fidgety.” Jack kissed the spot behind his ear that made him purr, then released him and perched on the edge of the tub.
“Yes you were. I was there.” He played with the belt of Daniel’s robe. “You sure about this?”
“What this?” Daniel asked, glancing at him.
Jack opened his hands and shrugged. “I don’t know…all of it.”
Daniel shrugged too. “I don’t know Jack. I’ve never done this before.” He concentrated on his shaving for a few minutes, then turned back to face Jack. “I mean, I know…now, this morning…I know and as much as I want to be cynical and keep her at arm’s length…I can’t.”
Jack smiled faintly. “Doesn’t mean she has to get all involved in this…thing we do.”
Daniel sighed. “I know. But…we need her.” He moved back to the mirror, swiping his razor along his jaw line.
“We? Or you?” Jack’s words were soft, but Daniel reacted physically, stepping back from the sink and closing his eyes.
It was silent for a few moments before Daniel picked up a towel to wipe at the remaining bits of shaving cream dotting his face. Then he picked up the coffee and took a long drink from it. He didn’t look at Jack as he responded. “I don’t know Jack.” His voice too was soft, with an edge of sorrow on it.
Jack nodded and stood up, enveloping the younger man in his arms. “I’m sorry. I just needed you to think about it.”
Daniel nodded against Jack’s shoulder. “I have. Her knowledge is better than mine, and if there’s something in this stuff that can help us defeat the Orii…”
Jack stepped back and let Daniel proceed him out of the bathroom into Daniel’s bedroom. Jack sat on the unmade bed and watched as Daniel picked out clothes for the journey into Stargate command. “No one blames you, Daniel.” Jack said after a long moment.
Daniel stiffened, but didn’t look at him. “No?”
“No. And no one expects you to have all the answers.”
Daniel sighed, and didn’t respond, just went back to pulling out socks. He dressed in silence, though Jack couldn’t tell if it was angry silence or just the usual brooding kind. When he was done he turned back to Jack. “I-thank you. I understand what you’re saying. Really. As much as I could, I made this her choice, Jack.”
“Like she could refuse the challenge?” Jack asked, reaching out a hand for Daniel, who came willingly until Jack could take his hand. “She is, after all, your daughter, Daniel. Could you have said no?”
Daniel smirked, the worry gone from his face for the moment. “As I recall, I demanded.”
“Yes, you did.” Jack agreed with a grin.
Daniel kissed him lightly then and started to pull away. “So, will you be here when we get back?”
“Probably not.” Jack pulled him closer. “So, you best say goodbye properly now.”
Daniel shook his head. “See, I knew you wanted to take advantage of me.”
Jack’s grin was wicked as he pulled Daniel to him for a deeper kiss. “If that’s all I wanted, you’d still be naked,” he whispered. Daniel laughed, even as Jack’s lips captured his.
When he finally was released, Daniel straightened his clothes and Jack cleared his throat. “You had probably better get going, before DJ comes apart at the seams out there.” Jack said, standing. “I’m going to hit the showers before I head in to see Landry.”
Daniel paused for one last kiss before heading for the door. “Lock up when you leave.”
“Oh, Daniel?”
He stopped at the door and looked back. “I want you both back in one piece this time. Be careful.”
Daniel smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
“I mean it.”
“Yes Jack.”
The gate room was a flurry of activity as SG-1 and SG-4 and two mounts worth of equipment prepared for departure. DJ stood between Teal’c and Sam, adjusting her vest and the unfamiliar weight of her pack. Daniel finished checking his supplies on the mount and moved to the rest of his team. “You okay?” he asked DJ as she fidgeted.
She didn’t trust herself to speak, so she nodded. Her heart was pounding, but she took that as a good sign. Mitchell came into the room and the Stargate started turning. This was it. Nothing she had dreamed of and more than she could ever have imagined, the butterflies in her stomach told her. They were worse than the morning of the symposium, when she knew that Daniel Jackson would actually be there. Worse than the moment before she said his name. Worse even than the moment she’d finally blurted out her secret. She exhaled slowly.
Beside her, Teal’c was a tower of silent strength, calm. She latched onto that, literally, as her hand found his. He turned, a ghost of a smile on his face as she looked up at him, and an almost imperceptible squeeze of her hand to let her know he was there for her. The Stargate swooshed and the impossible puddle of light settled into the ring. Landry’s voice interrupted the internal litany in her head of all the things she had to remember. “SGs 1 and 4, you have a go.”
Colonel Mitchell took a spot at the end of the ramp and nodded to his superior officer above him. “You heard him, let’s move out.” The two mounts started up the ramp, followed by Sam and the members of SG-4. Teal’c and DJ met Daniel at the bottom of the ramp and together with Mitchell, they headed up. DJ paused just before the event horizon, her wide eyes looking to Daniel for reassurance. He took her free hand and together, he and Teal’c stepped through the gate, bringing her with them.
On the other side DJ exhaled and Daniel supported her down the steps as Teal’c joined the others in establishing a safe perimeter around the gate. “Breathe slowly,” he murmured as she seemed to start hyperventilating. “It helps.”
She smiled weakly and took a few deep breathes. The nausea was passing. Sam had warned her about it, but it hit her harder than expected. It seemed impossible. That one step could transport them millions of miles across space. Her first impression that the land looked a little like Ireland, with soft, rolling hills of deep, verdant green grasses and the occasional jut of rock adding structure.
She tried to ignore the military goings on around her as she assured Daniel she was fine and began to move around the space. A circle of stones surrounded the gate, plain, but for a carving atop each with a symbol from the gate. A path lead out from the circle, cut from the earth by wagons that had brought the stones from afar. A line of trees cut across the horizon, lining the top of the nearest hill, over which the wagon road disappeared.
“According to Lt. Majors, the village is down this road.” Daniel said as he leafed through his notes.
“Carter.” Mitchell motioned Sam over to his position near the DHD. “I’m going to hold down the fort here until we know what kind of welcome we’re going to get. You take Teal’c, Jackson and Moore and head into town.”
She nodded and collected the others with her eyes. They fell into place beside her easily enough and set out. DJ’s eyes wandered the hills and the fauna they passed, cataloguing it as best she could. They could easily be in Ireland or parts of Scotland, rather than on another planet. The ground was wet, the wheel tracks muddy. The air was thick with moisture and the smell of clover.
The road became more level as they moved closer to the village, less like a wheel path and more like a foot path, almost a road. The hills began to take on different colors as they passed cultivated fields. Stone pillars marked the path at regular intervals and after the first five or six, DJ stopped pausing to read them.
They topped a hill and stopped. The valley below them was like a picture out of some fantasy movie or period piece. The road moved down into the bowl, through fertile fields and diverged, leading east toward what they were presuming was a temple, south toward the village nestled at the base of the next hill, its walls gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight. To the west was that which intrigued her most, a site not unlike Stonehenge, though fully complete and presumably still in use. She stared at it until Daniel nudged her elbow.
“We should probably head into the village and meet up with the locals that Lt. Majors spoke with,” he said.
She nodded her agreement. “No playing in the sacred sites without permission.”
All three of them looked at her. “Something my mother used to tell me when I was a kid,” she responded.
“Good advice.” Sam said before she headed off down the hill with Teal’c and Daniel. DJ jogged a little to catch up. They made good time across the valley floor, and weren’t surprised when a small group emerged from the city as they made their final approach. They were about what she had imagined, clad in medievalesque garb, though nothing entirely similar enough to place them in the canvas of European history.
An older man, taller than the others and more finely attired, detached himself from the group and made a formal bow. He cleared his throat and spoke in a heavily accented dialect she recognized, though had a little difficulty following. She stepped forward as well, as he finished and spoke to him in return, though her pronunciation wasn’t as clean as she would have liked. They exchanged names and titles. They spoke for a few minutes before Daniel tugged on her arm. She held up her hand and stepped back to Daniel and the team.
“Okay, I think I’ve got the basics,” she said, her face flushed with excitement. “This dialect is…well…I hope I’ve got the basics. He’s Chancellor Angus, apparently the head of the community here. The rest include his wife and various city elders. They’ve been expecting us, and have prepared us a meal, and rooms.”
She smiled at the Chancellor who was apparently doing as she was, reporting back their conversation to the rest of his group. “He asked that we accompany them to his home where a feast will be served in our honor.”
The Chancellor was stepping forward again, so she did so as well. After another few minutes of conversation she returned. “Okay, he said that the other team had told him we would probably come, even mentioned you by name.” She gestured at Daniel with a grin. “They are excited to meet you.”
Sam shook her head and stepped back to radio Mitchell.
“Go ahead Carter.”
“We have made contact with the locals here, sir. They’ve invited us to dinner.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” Mitchell said sarcastically. “Make sure Daniel doesn’t end up married.”
She snickered. “I’d be more worried about DJ at this point.” She looked up to find Daniel being formally introduced to the Chancellor.
“Well, like Father, like Daughter, I suppose. Keep me informed.”
Sam joined her team as DJ introduced Teal’c and then Sam to the Chancellor, then they were following the Chancellor and his people into the village and through the muddy streets. People paused in their daily tasks to watch them walk by, curious, but not threatening or afraid, just curious. The village had the air of many of the other primitive villages they had visited, though she could spot modern materials in the architecture, designs that primitive tools couldn’t forge. Lights, neatly hidden by flora and architectural features dispelled the shadows where the city walls and buildings created them. She glanced aside at Daniel who had apparently noticed it as well. Dusk was settling over the village, and yet the streets they walked scarcely dimmed.
Eventually they stopped outside a large home, the gates swung open by servants in pale blue uniforms. They paused then in an entry way where muddy shoes were removed and warmed slippers stepped into. “Please, do come in. My home is yours,” the Chancellor said, moving out of the entry way and into an open lobby that displayed heavy Roman and Greek influences alongside the anticipated British ones. Daniel looked around him, and Sam could almost see him cataloguing in his head.
“It is the custom of my people to retire to private rooms prior to rejoining for the evening meal. Warm baths help drive the chill of the rains away and ease the mud from our skin. This time of year can be most trying.” The Chancellor smiled at them as his wife disappeared and reappeared with two young servants. “Ah yes, this is Mia and Heston. They will show you to your rooms, get you anything you need and escort you to the dining room when dinner is ready. Dr. Moore, and Dr. Carter, we have a room prepared for you in the ladies wing. Dr. Jackson and Teal’c, yours is down the hall from mine in the men’s wing.”
Mia lead DJ and Sam away, even as Teal’c and Daniel followed Heston in the other direction. They were shown into a spacious room where two large tubs steamed, clean linens draped nearby racks and doors led off into softly lit bedrooms. “This is different.” Sam said as she dropped her pack and started shedding clothes. “Normally, we’re sleeping on the ground in our dirty uniforms.”
DJ grinned and set her own pack on the floor. “I have to admit, this isn’t what I was expecting.”
“No?” Sam started when Mia appeared to gather her shed garments and pack, but recovered quickly as she sank into the hot water.
“The mixed cultural influences are certainly more pronounced than I had anticipated. Which means either that these people left Earth long after we assumed they did, which would mean, long after the gate in Egypt was dismantled, or they’ve had extended contact with those cultures after leaving Earth.” DJ was settling into her own tub now, nodding her thanks to the young girl gathering their muddy belongings. She ducked under the water, wetting her shoulder length hair and resurfacing slowly. She chuckled as she squeezed the water from her hair.
“What?”
“Nothing…I’d forgotten how good a bath could feel. My apartment in DC only has a shower stall, and I’ve been in it for two years.”
“Two years…without a bath?”
DJ rolled her eyes. “The sacrifices we make for our work,” she said with an exaggerated sigh. They were quiet a moment before DJ stretched out, bringing her feet to the end of the tub and propping them up. “The technological level is more advanced than I anticipated as well.”
“Yeah, I’d noticed that myself.” Sam agreed.
“I don’t think these people are everything we’re expected to believe.” DJ said, closing her eyes. “I think the Chancellor and his wife are especially different. He understands English, I could see it in his eyes. His choosing not to speak it is something of a test…for us.”
Sam thought about that. “What kind of test?”
DJ shook her head, but didn’t really answer. “Ever get the feeling that you’ve been manipulated into something, but you can’t figure out what or by who?”
Sam nodded. “Once or twice, since I started working for the Stargate program.”
DJ nodded. “I know this sounds weird, but I think someone wanted me here.”
“You specifically?”
“Yes, and I’m not sure if I feel special…or worried.”
Sam thought about it for a minute. “I don’t sense any malice, yet. Maybe they’re just protecting themselves.”
DJ shrugged. “Maybe. I definitely want to know more. I can’t wait to get my hands on that circle.”
Sam chuckled, picking up the thick wash cloth provided to dip into the water and scrub at her face. “You sound just like Daniel.”
DJ blushed. “Really?”
“Really. General O’Neill would be having fits.” She chuckled again, imagining her superior’s reaction to Daniel-speak doubled and in stereo.
DJ was quiet then, her face thoughtful. “General O’Neill is pretty protective of him,” she said, after a long time. “Of Daniel, I mean.”
“He’s pretty protective, period.” Sam said, not quite disagreeing.
DJ nodded and slid a little deeper into the water. So much like Daniel, Sam thought. She could almost see the wheels turning as the younger woman sorted through the experiences of the day, and as much as Sam might want, she couldn’t penetrate those thoughts to know what she was thinking.
Mia’s appearance at her side with a thick towel drew her away from DJ and her thoughts. Sam let Mia help her from the tub and wrap the fire warmed towel around her before showing her into one of the two bedrooms. A fire burned cheerily in the fireplace and the room was pleasantly warm. Mia left her to tend to DJ and it took Sam a moment to realize her pack was resting on the floor beside the bed.
An extra set of clothes was usually a luxury she did without, at least in her day pack, but SG-8 had warned them about the muddy nature of the planet and the inhabitants exceptional expectation of cleanliness. Sam sat on the bed and pulled out her clean uniform.
In a few minutes she was dressed and paused at the small vanity to check her damp hair. As she sat, Mia appeared behind her, already lifting a brush to Sam’s head. “I-I can do that.” Sam said, slightly embarrassed.
“Tis no trouble, ma’am. Tis my duty.” Mia said in a soft, light voice. Sam sighed and nodded, submitting to the tender ministrations of the young girl, who brushed her hair thoroughly and even managed to finish it in a close approximation of the style she’d had when they arrived. “Dinner will be ready shortly, ma’am. I’ll see to your friend and return.”
Sam nodded and watched her go. She was probably only 13 or 14. The blue-grey of her uniform was echoed in her eyes. It seemed odd, but somehow she reminded her of Cassie. Sam shook her head and took her momentary solitude to explore the room. The walls were definitely made to look as if they were all built from the same material, but the stone that surrounded the giant oak door and the fireplace was different from the outer wall. A single window opened into a garden that was difficult to see in the dark. Heavy curtains draped either side of the glass.
Mia appeared in the door with a slight bow. “Dinner will be ready. I will take you.”
Sam dropped the curtain she had been holding and followed the girl out into the common room, where DJ waited, also in a clean uniform. Then they were lead out into the hall, down a flight of stairs and through several other corridors before Mia stopped in an archway and gestured into a spacious, open dining room. Low tables formed a large U shape in a sunken area down three steps from the promenade that circled it. Daniel and Teal’c were already there, seated at the short middle table.
An older female servant took over from Mia, escorting the women to the table and gesturing to the sunken bench beside the men. It was softened by pillows in deep burgundy and green, which was surprisingly comfortable as they slid into it. Daniel and DJ, sitting side by side, immediately began comparing notes, their heads huddled together as they whispered fervently. Sam caught the occasional word or two, but for the most part ignored them and looked around. Large platters of fruits and breads already adorned the tables, and food continued to appear around them as servants moved quickly around the slowly arriving dinner guests.
The Chancellor and his wife appeared with little fanfare, moving to their seats at the center of the table where Sam and her team sat. There was a faint murmur as people greeted one another and took their seats. Food continued to flow and servants had begun to pour wine into the simple goblets in front of each place setting. Sam’s stomach growled, suddenly hungry.
The Chancellor stood and held up his hands for silence, which he slowly got. “Friends, tonight we welcome new friends from beyond the Great Circle, from a home that our ancestors knew.” DJ translated under her breath to Sam, hearing Daniel do much the same for Teal’c. “They have traveled far, searching for the secrets our ancestors brought with them, as it was promised.”
He held up his goblet and everyone around the table responded by lifting theirs. “May they find what they search for.”
A murmur circled the room and everyone drank. “Eat, enjoy.” The Chancellor sat back down, smiling at Sam as he began to fill his plate from the platters within reach. For a while only the sounds of eating could be heard, but slowly conversation resumed. Daniel and DJ continued their quiet discussion, their voices lowered so that even Sam and Teal’c couldn’t hear them.
“Dr. Moore, Dr. Jackson.” The Chancellor’s voice drew DJ and Daniel out of their private conversation and they turned. “I imagine you must be anxious to begin your search.”
Daniel nodded. “Yes, sir. We are looking forward to it.”
He smiled. “So I was told. Tomorrow, my son Ashen will take you to the library.”
“Library?” Daniel asked, leaning forward.
“Yes, it houses all of our rarest books and many of our ancient tools and artifacts. It was once home of the Ancestors, where Merlin joined his brethren after completing his mission. If you are to find what you are looking for, it is best to start there.”
“How do you know what we’re looking for?” DJ asked, swallowing her disappointment that they would see the stone ring in the morning.
The Chancellor smiled. “I know only that you seek something of the Ancestor’s. Something hidden and lost in time.” His wife came and touched his arm and her turned away briefly. “It is time for entertainment. Please enjoy. I must excuse myself for the moment and see to some business.”
“So, the library it is.” Daniel said under his breath. He could see DJ’s disappointment and smirked. “No playing in the sacred sites without permission,” he said playful, and was rewarded with her smile.
“I suppose the circle will wait. I mean, its stood there for a thousand years or more, right? What’s one more day?”